Rise Of Christianity And Islam Research Paper

The Birth and Rise of Christianity and Islam Unlike to most people’s knowledge today, the world’s two largest religions are Christianity and Islam. They share an estimated 3.6 billion members, more than half of the world’s population (Strand). Most people do not associate the two as having very much in common; and from the outside looking in it seems almost impossible for the two to share common attributes just by the mere foreignness most people associate with Islam. However, as one studies more in depth and examines the historical factors, many similarities emerge such as: rituals, beliefs, ethics, founding prophets. Islam and Christianity share many core values. In order to truly see and understand these similarities and differences,

The basic message of the Islamic religion is that there is no God but Allah and Muhammad was his prophet. According to the Muslims, Allah is the all-powerful being who created the universe and everything in it, and in order to reach everlasting life, they had to subject themselves to Allah. In order to be guaranteed a place in eternal paradise. This is similar in the way in which Christians believe they will be will be judged, they must accept Jesus and subject themselves to God to be accepted into the kingdom of heaven. Both Muslims and Christians are influenced by the religious laws found in scripture. Muslims have to follow the law of the Five Pillars of Islam: 1) Belief in Allah and Muhammad as his Prophet; 2) A standard prayer five times a day with a public prayer every Friday at noon; 3) Fasting from dawn to sunset during the holy month of Ramadan; 4) Making a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime, if possible; and 5) Giving alms to the poor and unfortunate. Islam and Christianity are preached as a way of life. Like the five pillars of faith Jesus’s ethical concepts of humility, charity, and brotherly love form the basis of the Christianity. Jesus taught his fellow Christians the key teachings of Christianity, to love your enemies, love your neighbors, help and serves others-especially the poor, God loves like a

While Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire, Islam spread throughout the Persian Empire and to North Africa. Many of the ways in which the faiths expanded spread where there was a discrepancy. Early Christians were composed of mostly Jews and some who spoke Greek; however, an increasing number of Latin speaking people began to follow Christian teachings as well. To begin with, Christianity spread slowly, but by A.D 100, Christian churches spread throughout the entire Roman Empire by establishing in many of the major cities of the east and west. The Christian churches were led by presbyters (board of elders) until bishops gained power over them in the second century. The bishops saw themselves as living representatives and the successors of Jesus. With help from these bishops, Christianity began to gain more and more status in the Roman Empire. Although Christianity was a growing power many Romans neglected and ignored Christians because they were seen as potentially dangerous to the state. Many Romans even accused the Christians as to have caused the great fire that destroyed most of Rome. Even while ignored and neglected, they still represented a small but powerful minority in Rome. By the third century, Christianity spread rapidly due to appeal, the Romans began to see that Christianity had much to offer compared to other