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Michelle Webb
PeterNeumann
BT1305
11 March 2013
Response to Alternative Belief
The Arabic wordIslamliterallymeans‘surrender’or‘submission.’Islam, asafaith,meanstotal
and sincere surrendertoGodso that one can live inpeace andtranquility.IslamandChristianityare
verysimilarintheirbeliefsastheybothbelievethere isonlyone God,andhe is creatorand Sustainerof
the universe (Seda9).The belief thatGodsentprophetssuchas Noah,Abraham, Moses,David,Joseph,
Johnthe Baptist,Jesusetc.ispresentinbothreligionsaswell believingthatMary wasthe motherof
Jesusanda virgin,therefore Jesuswasbornmiraculously. Muslims,alsobelieve thatJesusChrististhe
Messiahand preformedmiraclesandSatanisevil;thereforeone shouldnotfollow Satan.Theiropinions
on Anti-ChristandJudgmentdayare alsoalignedwithChristianity,andthatJesusChristwill returnby
descendingfromHeavenandwillkill the Anti-Christandnon-believerspeople will be judged (Abdullah).
There are three maindifferencesbetweenIslamandChristianity: The Divinityof Christ,The
Crucifixionandthe OriginalSin. InIslam,the Trinityiscompletelyrejected.JesusisneitherGod,norSon
of God,Jesuswasa humanprophetandnot divine. Muslimsonlyworshipone God,the creatorof the
universe.The godthatthe Quran refersto is Allah- the god andcreator of Jesusandthe same God that
Jesusinthe Bible referstoas Fatherandto whomJesususedto pray. OnlyGod, the OriginatingCreator
of the Heavensandthe Earth, isto be worshipped.Thiswasproclaimedbyall the Prophetsand
Messengersof Islamwhowere sentbyGod throughoutthe ages,andisthe core belief of Islam (Seda9).
Anotherdifference betweenthe religionsisthatthe Quran says Jesusdidnotdie onthe cross,
but God made itappear thatway. Islamsuggestswhenthe disciples were scaredinthe upperroomon

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the Day of Pentecost, itwasbecause theyhadn’tseentheirlonglostmasterina longtime – but why
wouldn’ttheygreethiminalovingwayif theymissedhim?Because the disciples duringthe most
critical time,all leftwhichmeansthatthere were noeye witnessesforthe crucifixionof Jesus.That’s
whywhentheywere terrifiedtosee him;itwasbecause theyforsookhim (Abdullah).
The third mainbelief thatIslamcarriesoutthatChristianitydoesn’t,isthe theoryonthe Original
sin. TheybelieveAdamandEve inParadise enjoyedperfectfreedomandhappinessandGodallowed
themto eatthe fruitsof the Garden as theypleased.He forbade themtoapproachone tree andwarned
if theydidtheywouldbothbe wrongdoers.Satandeceivedthem, andtheyate fromthe tree.The Quran
believesandunderstandsthatAdamandEve feltshame andturned inrepentance toGod butthey
rejectthe conceptthe original sin,orthe notionthat all humansare bornsinnersbecause of the actions
of Adam(Seda38).
The Islamiclawcoversall aspectsof life;itdealswithhow toworshipGodand how to deal with
others.All Islamiclawresultsinfivebasicrulingsunderwhicheveryhumanactioncanbe classified:
obligatory,encouraged,permitted,discouragedandforbidden.The reasontheyobeythese lawsis
because Godcommandsthemto do so.For example,eatingporkisforbiddenbecause Godmade itso.
Islamalsopromotesmodestandseekstominimizeimmoralityinsociety.One of the waysitdoessois
by requiringbothmenandwomantodressat the standardsIslamhas set.
Althoughmanypeople are temptedtosaythat Islamand Christianityare verysimilar,itiscrazy
to claimsuch a similaritywithoutacceptingandanalyzingbothstandpoints.The Christianpositionis
quite different,evenif alotof the principle andbeliefsseemalike. Christiansbelievethatthe perfect
surrenderandhumiliationwasundergonebyChrist:perfectbecause He wasGod,surrenderand
humiliationbecause He wasman (Jomier137).The Christianbelief isthatif we somehow share the
humilityandsufferingof Christwe shall alsoshare inHisconquestof deathandfinda new life after

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have diedandin itbecome perfect.InChrist,anew kindof man appeared:andthe new kindof life
whichbeganinHim isto be put intous (Abdullah). Christiansbelieve thatabelieverisnotone who does
rightall the time,butone whoadmitsto doingwrong,repentsandcontinuallygetsupaftereach
stumble because the Christ-lifeisinsideof him, repairinghimall the time. Christians alsobelieve inthe
Trinity,thatJesus,the Sonof Man, wascrucifiedforour sinsandresurrectedafter3 days andit isHoly
Spiritwhoiswithus here onearth.Many Christiansbelieve withoutthe TrinitythereisnoChristianity,
but Muslimsdonot believe inthe Trinity (Lewis64).

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Works Cited
AbdullahAl-Qadhi,Mish'al."IslamvsChristianity." IslamvsChristianity.DiscoveringIslam, 24Jan.2013.
Web.10 Mar. 2013.
HISHEdotcom.“AhmedDeedat- CrucifixionorConspiracy?”Youtube. HISHEdotcom, 26
November2010. Web.10 March 2013.
Jomier,Jacques. Howto Understand Islam.New York:Crossroad,1989. Print.
Lewis,C.S.,C. S. Lewis,C.S. Lewis,andC.S. Lewis. MereChristianity.London:Fount,1997. Print.
Seda,Pete. IslamIs --:An Introduction to Islam& Its Principles. Ashland,Or.:P.Seda,2002. Print.