blog post #2

Amber Wyatt

http://amberwyatt.blogspot.com

History 101-04

September 27, 2011

Jesus to Christianity versus Muhammad to Islam

   Christianity and Islam are closely related religions. Both religions are rooted in the same fundamental beliefs, 

however, they differ in their prophets and the interpretation of God’s message. These differences have led to

the creation of numerous branches within these two religions , bringing forth new interpretations that have 

created a “religious rift”  between Christians and Muslims.

   Although there are different branches within Christianity, Jesus’ words appear to be identical within the 

Bible throughout the different sectors. This has led researchers to conclude that a common “Q” source once

 existed and was used when constructing the pages of the Bible. However, the message of Jesus and the 

interpretation of Jesus’ message varies from the two main sectors within Christianity; Protestants and 

Catholics.

    Protestants, unlike Catholics, do not believe in hierarchy within church and do not emphasize tradition as 

much as Catholics. The only authority of the Protestant sector is the authority of the scripture. Yet, the main 

difference between these two are how they view the atonement of Christ. According to Protestantism, the 

death of Christ was a “substitution sacrifice that satisfied God's justice.” Contrarily, Catholics believe the 

death of Christ “created merit that is shared with sinners through sacraments.”

    The religion of Islam has the Koran as the “source of truth.“ Muslims believe that the original New 

Testament, which they call Injil, was the original revelation that Jesus received from Allah. However, they 

believe that the Christians have “corrupted the original Scriptures,” therefore, making the Bible an unreliable 

source. Muslims believe that the message of Muhammad continued the “original truths” that were outlined in 

the Injil, and have corrected the “errors” that Christians have added. Like Christianity, the founder’s message

 and the interpretation of Muhammad’s message varies within the two main sects of Islam; the Sunnis and the

Shiites sector.

    The Sunnis accept that the “first four Caliphs, including Ali, were the rightful followers of Muhammad.” 

However, like Protestantism in Christianity, they don't grant the kind of “divinely inspired status to their clerics

 that Shiites do with their imams.” Shiites believe imams are descendants of the Prophet.

    Sunnis and Shiites are like Catholics and Protestants in some of their fundamental beliefs. But their 

differences, especially in nations where the Sunni-Shiite split is emphasized by the closeness of proximity, runs

 so deep that intolerance and violence makes coexistence difficult. In conclusion, this intolerance within the 

Islamic religion has, in my opinion, put a greater emphasizes on the “religious rift” between Islam and 

Christianity making coexistence between two common religions a “far fetch” idea.

References

http://middleeast.about.com/od/religionsectarianism/a/me070907sunnis.htm

http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/charts/catholic_protestant.htm