Islam and Christianity, Essay Example

Throughout the history of human civilizations people have tried to explain the world around them. The most common way to describe the world was through religion, and there have been many religions in human history. In the 21^st century there are still many different religions, although several of them have grown so large that they are some of the world’s major religions. The major religions are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. These religions share some common traits, and are related to each other in various ways. Buddhism grew out of Hinduism, and Christianity grew out of Judaism. Christianity and Islam also have some things in common, and even though the two religions have often been seen as enemies there are some parts of each faith that are very similar. One of the ways that the religions are similar is that they both view Jesus as an important spiritual figure, but Muslims do not agree with Christians that Jesus was the son of God. These different views on Jesus show how Islam and Christianity are similar in some ways and very different in others. Both Islam and Christianity teach that there is only one God, that human beings are imperfect and sinful, and that only God can save human beings from being sent to Hell to suffer in the afterlife.

There are many different books and religious texts that give insight into different religions. The Christian religion has the New Testament, which is put together with the Old Testament of Judaism to become the book that Christians call the Holy Bible. Islam uses the book the Quran as their holy book, and believe it contains the words of Allah that were given directly to the prophet Muhammad. Other written works, like The Confessions of St. Augustine, can be used to see how believers in Christianity showed their devotion to God. It is interesting to read parts of the Quran and parts of Confessions because it can be seen that the views on God and Allah are very similar in both books. The way that God is described by Augustine is almost exactly the same as the way that Allah is described in the Quran. This similarity shows that both religions come from the same common roots and traditions.

In the Confessions of St. Augustine, the writer explains how he became a Christian after many years of living a sinful life and following other religions. Augustine writes like he is speaking or writing directly to God, but he also describes what God is like to him. In Book I, Augustine writes that God is “the Creator and Governor of the Universe, most excellent and most good.” In the first Surah in the Quran, Allah is described as “the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.” Both the Quran and Confessions explain that God is to be worshipped and loved and that there is only one God.

It is very important to both Christianity and Islam that God must be seen as the most powerful thing in the world, and that anyone who says anything against God or does not believe in God is wicked and sinful. Augustine writes in Book VII about how he grew out of his sinful behavior from his youth and began to believe in God. And when he met people who did not believe in God he would “oppose those deceived deceivers, and dumb praters, since Thy word sounded not of them.” This means that the people he met who did not believe in God were not just ignorant or unaware of God. They were evil and sinful, and the word of God did not come from them. If they did not believe in God then they were deceivers. Augustine also writes about how he used to follow other religions, and how followers of other religions like the Manichees were “corrupted and changed to the worst.” This shows how believers in Christianity like Augustine thought it was very important to oppose other religions as being false.

The Quran contains similar teachings about how Islam is the true faith, and it also says similar things about those who do not follow Islam. In 2:7 the Quran states about those who disbelieve that “Allah has set a seal upon their hearts and upon their hearing, and over the vision is a veil. And for them this is a great punishment.” In 2:8 the Quran says something similar to what Augustine says about those who do not believe in the fait by describing them as being deceived: “They (think to deceive Allah and those who believe, but they deceive not except themselves.” In a similar way to how Augustine describes the unfruitful as being deceived and being deceivers, the Quran teaches that those who do not believe in Allah are not just unaware of him, but are deceivers and liars. The Quran goes on to describe nonbelievers in the same way Augustine does, by calling them “corrupters.” This is a common theme in both religions to see nonbelievers as bad and dangerous.

Both Augustine’s Confessions and then Quran describe God as the creator of everything in the world. Augustine writes in Book VII that God is “our Lord the true God, who madest not only our souls, but our bodies, and not only our souls and bodies, but all beings and all things.” In 2:22 of the Quran it is written that Allah “made for you the earth a bed and the sky a ceiling and sent down from the sky rain and brought forth thereby fruits as provision for you. So do not attribute to Allah equals.” This last line means that believers of Islam must not believe in any other gods or spirits and that Allah is the only creator of all things. It is quite easy to see that the way Augustine describes God is very similar, and almost exactly the same, as the way that the Quran describes Allah. It looks like they are really just describing the same god but using two different names for him. All of the powers that God has in Augustine’s Confessions are the same as what Allah has in the Quran. Both God and Allah are the creators of everything, and anyone who does not believe in them, or believes in other gods, is corrupt and deceiving.

In Confessions, Augustine writes about other beliefs, and he confesses to God that he used to believe in other, In Book VII Augustine writes that he “rejected the lying divinations and impious dotages of the astrologers,” and asks God to forgive him for his past sins. Augustine had once believed that astrologers could predict the future, but came to believe that the predictions from the astrologers “were a sort of lottery, and that out of many things which they said should come to pass, some actually did.” When Augustine realized that the predictions from the astrologers could not be trusted he began to believe more in the Christian God. The Quran also writes about how those who believe on false religions are wrong. In 2:51 it sates “you took the calf after him, while you were wrongdoers,” and in 2:54 it states that “Moses said to his people “O my people, indeed you have wronged yourselves by your taking of the calf. So repent to your Creator and kill yourselves. That is the best for you in the sight of your Creator.” Then He accepted your repentance; indeed, He is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful.” This passage from the Quran shows the importance of turning away from false religions and asking Allah for forgiveness. This concept of forgiveness from God is important to both Islam and Christianity.

One of the central themes of Augustine’s Confessions is that he seeks forgiveness from God. In Book VIII Augustine writes that he was “displeased that I led a secular life.” In his younger days of childhood he had committed sins like being lustful, and believing in other religions. Even though he eventually turned away from those things and began to devote his life to God, Augustinewas filled with regret that he had wasted so many years of his life. Augustine writes many times about how he spent so much time lusting after women and wished that he had lived his life differently. He seems to believe God can forgive him, but only if he makes a full and complete confession of all of his sins. Augustine appears to regret that he knew he should have believed in God but turned away from him. Similar teachings are found in the Quran, such as in 2:92 and 2:93, where Moses brought “clear proofs” to his people but they said “we hear and disobey.” In both Christianity and Islam, nonbelievers are portrayed as people who know better than to disbelieve in God, but turn away from him anyway.

These central themes of Islam and Christianity show how the two religions view the world in very similar ways. Each of the two religions believes in only one God, and also believes that this one God must be loved and worshipped completely. Anyone who does not believe in the single God of Christianity or Islam is seen as corrupt and deceiving, and these nonbelievers do not even deserve to live. In both religions, God and Allah are totally powerful and also totally merciful, and will be kind and forgiving to people if they repent from their sins. The followers of these religions at the time seem to be most concerned about being forgiven by God or Allah, and see themselves as weak and sinful. What is interesting is how the Quran states that those who do not believe in Allah should kill themselves for not believing, which seems to be different from the God Augustine believes in, because Augustine does not seem to wish death to nonbelievers. The similarities between the two religions are greater than the differences, though, because each believes in an all-powerful and merciful God.

Works Cited

gutenberg.org,. ‘The Confessions Of Saint Augustine, Bishop Of Hippo’. N.p., 2014. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.

Quran.com,. ‘The Noble Qur’an – ????????????’. N.p., 2014. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.