Comparative analysis of Christianity and Islam

Christianity v. Islam

Christianity and Islam

Christianity and Islam have many historical, political, and even religious similarities. The former is the largest religion in the world, and its influence over the course of Western and even world history hardly requires comment. From the extensive reaches of the Holy Roman Empire, the authority wielded by the Catholic Church over almost all of Europe and other adjacent areas for over a thousand years, and the political and societal fragmentation and reorganization that took place during the Reformation, the Christian religion has for better or worse been one of the most decisive factors in shaping our modern world. In the modern era itself, however, Islam is one of the fastest growing religions, and has had an increasing impact on world politics and many domestic societies over the centuries. Historically, Muslims retained control of a flourishing society in Spain and the surrounding areas for many centuries. During the period of the Moorish empire, great advancements were made in mathematics, science, and literature that still have resounding effects on our society and culture today.

Due to the common heritage of these two religions and their combined influence on Western culture, it may perhaps seem strange that the differences between the two belief systems have caused so much conflict over the millennia of their co-existence. This can in many ways be seen as stemming not from true differences in the basic theology of the two religions, but rather on different historic interpretation of certain elements of the religion. Because of their common origin, the concepts of the arche and the cosmos are very similar in the two religions. There are some differences in these concepts, it is true, but it is in the areas of telos and ethos that the fundamental differences that have created the modern conflicts between Christianity and Islam -- or more specifically between Christians and Muslims -- have arisen.

First, to explain the similarities: both Christianity and Islam have a belief in one universal God or Allah, and this God is also the primary arche according to both theological systems (Smith 1991; Ibrahim et al. 1997). According to certain interpretations of the Christian Bible, God is literally "the word;" the substance of thought and/or idea from which the matter of the universe and all of its inhabitant were created. There are some differences in the concepts of God among the various branches of Christianity and Islam (neither of which can be considered a fully unified and rigidly defined system of theological belief), most notably the Catholic concept of the Trinity that holds Jesus Christ to be one aspect of God and therefore fully divine, whereas in Islam he is considered a major prophet but not a divine figure (Smith 1991; Ibrahim et al. 1997). This difference had led to major conflicts in the past, but it is not of as much importance now as it has been in other periods of history.

The theory of the cosmos according to both Christian and Muslim theology is also very similar, largely because it is intimately tied to their concepts of the arche. The specific concepts again have slight differences, but generally the universe and any apparent laws that govern it are considered to be either part of God, or direct and conscious manifestations of God's will. That is, neither theology expressly disagrees with scientific explanations for the way the universe works, but both theories of the cosmos ascribe such explanations to God's will. Thus, God (or Allah) is able to suspend any laws of the cosmos at will in acts known as miracles. There can be nothing that is impossible for God or Allah, because he is considered truly omnipotent by both religions (Smith 1991; Ibrahim et al. 1997).

It should be clear that the basic underlying concepts of both Christianity and Islam are remarkably similar. Yet despite these similarities, different interpretations of the two religions' theologies concerning the ethos and telos have created many conflicts over the centuries. Oddly, it is similar interpretations of these theological imperatives that has led to the misunderstandings between the people of these religions. Both religions have an underlying purpose, or telos, of reuniting its adherents with God/Allah after death through service and devotion in life (Smith 1991; Ibrahim et al. 1997). This has played out in different ways throughout history in the two religions; different sects in both religions have at certain times interpreted this telos in a way that demands the unification of this world under the theology of only one belief system. Certain branches of Islamic mysticism or Sufism promote the idea that this world is a fragmentation of the oneness that is Allah, and it is the goal of Islam to affect the reunification of the apparent separateness of this world with or in Allah (Ibrahim et al. 1997). When taken to extremes, this belief has led to serious conflicts between the followers of the Islamic faith and the other faiths and cultures they have encountered.

This same telos has been of greater or lesser importance during the history and schisms of Christian theology, as well. For Christians, however, the reunification with God in the afterlife is affected through Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection (Smith 1991). There are some differences in Christians theology on this point; some beliefs maintain that Jesus' crucifixion automatically redeemed the sins of mankind, while others believe that faith in Jesus as the son of God is required (Smith 1991). Other theologians and Christian sects have also placed certain requirements of behavior and/or confession on the idea of redemption, which is incarnated in the reunification with God, but this still speaks to the same basic telos.

Just as the ideas of arche and the cosmos are intimately tied together in these two religions, the concepts of telos and ethos are also closely related. At various points throughout the development of the Western world, the Christian and Muslim ideas of reunification taking place to only after death, but in this world as well, have led to bitter disputes, military actions, and countless deaths. This is because the shifts in the telos in this regard have had corresponding shifts in ethos; to some adherents of both religions even today it is a moral imperative to spread the word of Christianity or Islam and attempt to convert others -- in other words, to unify them in the name of their religion (Smith 1991; Ibrahim et al. 1997).