I had never considered the fact that Christians and Muslims could even be precisely compared on any level. I come from a Christian family and background, and comparing my own lifestyle and beliefs to that of a Muslim seems absurd, but the more I recalled the basics behind each I came to the realization that they consist of basic grounds that are only different when you dive beneath the surface. Islam and Christianity are built on the same general foundations, but the further you examine the roots of each you will see that they are worlds apart. Each has a distinctive element within every aspect that sets it apart from the other, but certain connections create a special tie between them.
One of the most prevalent differences that can complexly be seen to serve as a similarity between the two religions is their particular perception of God. Both religions practice monotheism, meaning they worship and praise only one true God, but the question still pondered over in today’s society is do Christians and Muslims worship the same God. In Christianity, God is viewed as the Holy Trinity consisting of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The Trinity is three separate pieces to create one whole. The Father is viewed as the “fountainhead” of the three persons . He exemplifies the divinity of the Trinity and exists to fill the Son and Spirit and give them life and meaning in a Christian’s life. Jesus serves as The Father’s living example . Through his time on earth, Jesus discipled to the people and shed light on God’s purpose. Lastly, the Holy Spirit’s sole purpose is to “reveal Christ” and to figuratively live in and within Christian believers and guide their life. In Muslim belief, there is a belief in the High God known as Allah, which is translated to mean “The God.” Rather than through the trinity, or through a physical aspect of God, Allah’s prophecy was spread through Mecca by the discipleship done by Muhammad. Muslims are not able to comprehend the concept of a Trinity of God. In Muslim belief it is wrong to try to characterize and describe the nature of Allah. In the Islamic faith, “shrink” is another word for association. However, Muslims can interpret it to mean “holding anything or anyone equal to Allah.” “Shrink is the most serious and unforgiveable sin in Islam for which there is a death penalty.” Although the Trinity is ultimately seen to Christian believers as One God with three contributing parts, Muslims interpret it to mean that there is more than a single God, which allows for it to be understood as shrink. In addition to these two perceptions, Muslims simply cannot wrap their minds around the fact that there is “three in one” or “one in three,” contributing to the fact that they feel the Trinity does not exist. To Ultimately answer the question, Christians and Muslims do not worship the same God in context. His nature and being is different in how Christian and Muslims invision him to be.
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Secularization, being the separation of church and state is incorporated differently in Christian and Muslim belief. Within Christianity lies a lot of debate over the issue of secularization. There appears to be two ends to the spectrum. The first is the “Religious Right, a group of Americans who believe that God and country are for one; for the nation to forsake God would be immoral and unpatriotic.” In complete contrast, the other group of people fall under what we can refer to as “radical secularism.” Radical Secularists believe that “religion and state institutions should be cleanly separated.” They also feel as though since America is very diverse and consists of numerous religions in the mix, that the country should be not tied down to one religion and treat it any different in favor of the others. In contrast to Christianity, Islam does not have a particular church that can be tied to the world or country that is involved, so in reality it would seem as though Muslims could not consider the concept of secularization. However, rather than tying secularization to the concept of a church and state, Muslims simply connect it through religion and state. In certain aspects of Islam, specifically Islamism, the belief that secularization cannot exist for Islam remains. “From an Islamist point of view, religion and state cannot and must not be separated.” “According to this view, any separation is an offense against Islam as well as a violation of Muslim identity.” Sharia, also known as Islamic “norms and values,” is what forms the “Islamic postulate,” which is a “self-contained, all-embracing, holistic system of norms and values that must shape individual conduct and the social order, economy, law and politics.” Ultimately, Islamists understand Sharia to be God’s way of life and law for every aspect of the world, religiously and politically. Due to this concept, Muslims view their religion as “religion and world and religion and state.”
The last aspect I want to consider is gender differences and similarities between Christianity and Islam. Christians have formulated that sexism, or the favoring of a certain group based on gender is a sin and something that God looks down on. In Christianity, women are often times seen as predominate to men. “Christianity in the West has been understood to be feminine.”
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