The differences between Christianity and Islam

[Guest guest]

Here are the differences between Christianity and Islam. I have no

problem with someone believing what they believe. Just thought if you were

going to put up a FAQ...Everyone should see the differences if they don't

already know. This is just a piece of what is different. I hope this finds you

and yours well ...Mark

On the Godhead

Z Islam Teaches...

† Christianity Teaches...

Islam is monotheistic (Koran 3:64). The first phrase in the Declaration of

the Faith states:

a.. " I bear witness that there is no God but the Almighty God and that

Mohammad is a messenger of God. " [1]

b.. " For God hath said, 'Take not to yourselves two Gods, for He is one

God.' " (Sura 16:53; cp. 20:7)

c.. " Verily God will not forgive the union of other gods with Himself. "

(Sura 4:51)

Islam rejects the concept of the Trinity. The Koran misrepresents the

teaching of Christianity regarding the Godhead, claiming Christians believe in

" three Gods " - Father, Mother, and Son. (Sura 5:116, 5:73-75; cp. (Koran 5:114)

In the account of creation recorded in the book of Genesis, God speaks

plurally of His own Person. (Genesis 1:26, 27; cp. Genesis 3:22; 11:7; Isaiah

6:3, 8)

The Christian Scriptures, both New and Old Testaments, teach that the

Godhead consists of three persons in one: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 11:2 " ...the Spirit... the Lord... Him "

Isaiah 42:1 " My Servant... I... My Spirit... upon Him "

Isaiah 48:16 " The Lord God... His Spirit... sent Me "

Isaiah 61:1 " Spirit of the Lord God... upon Me ... the Lord "

Isaiah 63:9 " He...the Angel of His Presence... His Holy Spirit "

1:20, 21 " the Lord (the Father)... the Holy Spirit ... Jesus "

3:16, 17 " Jesus... the Spirit of God... a Voice from heaven (the

Father) "

12:18 " I... My Spirit... on Him "

22:42, 43 " Christ... the Spirit... Lord (the Father) "

Acts 11:16, 17 " the Lord... the Holy Spirit... God... the Lord Jesus

Christ "

Acts 20:21-23 " God... Jesus... the Holy Spirit "

Romans 1:1, 3, 4 " God... His Son, Jesus Christ... the Spirit "

Romans 5:5, 6 " God... the Holy Spirit... Christ "

See also http://www.dianedew.com/godhead.htm

Muhammad was not divine but the last of the prophets - the very one

predicted in Moses' day[2]:

a.. " I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their

brethren; and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all

that I command him. And whoever will not give heed to My words which he shall

speak in My name, I, Myself, will require it of him. " (Deuteronomy 18:18, 19)

b.. " Mohammad... is the messenger of God and the Khatam [seal, closure,

end, or last] of the prophets... " (Koran 33:40)

c.. " The Prophet Mohammad said to his cousin Ali: 'Thy position from me

compares to the position of from Moses, but there will be no prophet after

me.' " [3]

Jesus was not divine, but merely a prophet.

Jesus claimed to be God. He accepted worship, forgave sins, lived a sinless

life, possessed all the attributes of God, and raised himself from the dead.

See: http://www.dianedew.com/deity.htm

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On the Deity of Jesus Christ

Z Islam Teaches...

† Christianity Teaches...

Islam considers Jesus a prophet just like Moses, Abraham, and Noah. [4]

Mohammad and the Arabs are descendants of Ishmael, which Islam claims

Jesus said by their interpretation of 21:42-44 would supersede the

Israelite nation. [5]

Islam rejects the divinity of Jesus Christ:

a.. " The Messiah, Jesus the son of , was no more than Allah's

apostle and His Word which He cast to ; a spirit from Him. So believe in

Allah and His apostles and do not say: 'Three.' ...Allah is but one God.... "

(Koran 4:171)

b.. " ...Then Allah will say: 'Jesus, the son of , did you ever say

to mankind: 'Worship me and my mother as gods beside Allah?' " (Koran 5:114)

Jesus was more than a prophet. He is God. ( 17:5; Mark 1:1; Luke

1:35; Philippians 2:6; Hebrews 1:8; 1 4:15)

a.. He claimed to be God: 4:26; 8:23; 10:30; 13:13; 14:7-10

b.. He accepted worship: 8:2; 9:18; 14:33; 15:25; 18:26; 28:9,

17; Mark 5:6; Luke 24:52; 5:22, 23; 9:38

c.. He forgave sins: 9:6 Mark 2:7

" He was God manifest in the flesh " (1 3:16), " for in Him dwells

all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. " (Colossians 2:9) God was in Christ " (2

Corinthians 5:19), Who is " the brightness of His glory, and the express image of

His person... " (Hebrews 1:3)

By the names attributed to him in Scripture - " Alpha and Omega, "

" Immanuel " (meaning, God With Us), " My Lord and my God, " " etc. - the deity of

Jesus Christ is seen.

Jesus Christ possessed all the attributes of God: omniscience,

omnipresence, omnipotence, immutability, etc. See also

http://www.dianedew.com/deity.htm

God has no sons:

a.. " ...Allah forbid that He should have a son. " (Koran 4:171)

b.. " It is not meet for God to have children. " (Koran 19.92)

c.. " He begets not, nor he is begotten, and there is none like unto

him. " (Koran 112:3)

d.. " No son did Allah beget, nor is there any god along with him. [if

so] then behold, each god would have taken away what he had created, and some

would have lorded it over others! Glory to Allah! from things they attribute to

Him. " (Koran 23:91)

e.. " And they say, 'The Most Gracious Has betaken a son!' Indeed you

have put forth a thing most monstrous! At it the skies are bout to burst, the

earth to split asunder, and the mountains to fall down in utter ruin: That they

attributed a son to the Most Gracious. For it is not consonant with the majesty

of the Most Gracious that He should beget a son. Not one of the beings in the

heavens and the earth but must come to the Most Gracious as a servant. He does

take an account of them [all], and numbered them exactly, and everyone of them

will come to him singly on the day of judgment. " (Koran 19:88)

f.. " And (they) impute falsely, without knowledge, sons and daughters

unto Him...How can He have a child when there is no consort for him...? " (Koran

6:101-103)

The Father declared Jesus to be His Son:

a.. " Thou art my son. This day have I begotten you. " (Hebrews 5:5; cp.

Psalms 2:7)

Jesus himself claimed to be the Son of God:

a.. Luke 22:70; 10:36; 19:7

The angel declared Jesus the Son of God:

a.. " And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come

upon thee, and... that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called

the Son of God. " (Luke 1:35)

Even demons confessed Jesus the Son of God:

a.. " And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and

cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. " (Mark 3:11; cp. Luke 4:41; 8:28)

Many others professed or addressed Jesus as the Son of God - and were not

rebuked for it:

a.. " Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of

a truth thou art the Son of God. " ( 14:33)

b.. " ael answered... Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the

King of Israel. " ( 1:49)

c.. " She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ,

the Son of God, which should come into the world. " ( 11:27)

d.. " Now when the centurion... saw the earthquake ...they feared

greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God. " ( 27:54; cp. Mark 15:39)

e.. " And the high priest answered... tell us whether thou be the Christ,

the Son of God. " ( 26:63)

The gospel writers, inspired by the Holy Spriit, testified of Jesus'

Sonship:

a.. " The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God " (Mark

1:1)

b.. " And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. " (

1:34)

Jesus' Sonship - his relationship with the Father - was the subject of

preaching in the early church:

a.. " ... he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of

God. " (Acts 9:20)

Unbelievers - and Satan himself - challenged Jesus' Sonship:

a.. " ...save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the

cross. " ( 27:40)

b.. " If thou be the Son of God... " ( 4:3, 6; cp. Luke 4:3, 9)

Confessing Jesus is the Son of God is essential to salvation: 1 4:15;

cp. Acts 8:37; 1 5:5, 10, 12, 13 (See also: 5:25; 9:35; 11:4; 20:31;

Romans 1:4; 2 Corinthians 1:19; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 4:13; Hebrews 4:14;

6:6; 10:29; 1 3:8; 5:20; Revelation 2:18)

All who profess the Lordship of Jesus Christ are adopted sons of God:

1:12; 3:18; Phl 2:15; 1 3:1, 2

Jesus Christ was a created being.

a.. " Jesus is like Adam in the sight of Allah. he created him of dust

and then said to him: 'Be,' and he was. " (Koran 3:55, 58)

Jesus Christ was pre-existent to creation.

Genesis 1:26; 3:22; 11:7 ( " ...us...our...our... " )

Proverbs 8:22-36

Isaiah 48:12, 16

Micah 5:2

1:1-3,10; 3:13; 6:62; 8:35, 58; 17:5, 24

Romans 11:36

1 Corinthians 8:6

Ephesians 3:9

Philippians 2:5

Colossians 1:15-19

Hebrews 1:2

Revelation 3:14

The virgin birth:

Islam and Christianity agree that Jesus miraculously was born of a virgin.

(Koran 19:16-26; Isaiah 7:14)

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On Salvation

Z Islam Teaches...

† Christianity Teaches...

Islam rejects the doctrine of original sin[6].

a.. Mohammad said, " Every human being is born in a state of a pure

nature; but through the influence of his parents, he may become non-Moslem. " [7]

b.. " Whoever goes aright, for his own soul he goes aright; and whoever

goes astray, to his own detriment he goes astray. And no bearer of a burden

bears another's burden... " (Koran 53:38)

c.. " ...no soul earns (evil) but against itself. Nor does a bearer of a

burden bear the burden of another. " (Koran 6:165)

d.. " So whoever does an atom's weight of good will se it and whoever

does an atom's weight of evil will see it. " (Koran 99:7, 8)

The Bible teaches man is born into sin.

a.. By Adam's sin (Genesis 3), death spread to all mankind: Genesi 5:3

with 1:24, 25; Psalms 51:5; Romans 5:12, 14).

b.. None is born without the mark of sin upon his soul; " all have

sinned. " (2 Chronicles 6:36; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:10, 12, 23; 5:12, 14; 11:32;

Ephesians 2:3; 1 1;10)

Salvation comes only through Allah. Only those who obey Allah and Mohammed

his prophet can enter into Heaven:

a.. " If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (Submission to

Allah), Never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter he will be in the

ranks of those who have lost . " (Koran 3:85; cp. 5:10; 25:68)

b.. Those who " believe not in Allah and His Messenger, He has prepared,

for those who reject Allah, a Blazing Fire! " (Koran 48:13)

Salvation comes only through Jesus Christ:

a.. " Neither is there salvation in any other [than Jesus]: for there is

none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. " (Acts

4:12)

Also see: 8:24; 14:6; 10:1-2, 9; Acts 4:12; Revelation 5:1-9; 1

2:22, 23; Isaiah 43:11; Hosea 13:4; 1 2:5

Also see http://www.dianedew.com/salvatn.htm

Islam denies the crucifixion of Jesus. Jesus never died:

a.. " They denied the truth and uttered a monstrous falsehood against

. They declared: 'We have put to death the Messiah Jesus the son of the

apostle of Allah.' They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but they

thought they did... They have no knowledge thereof but the pursuit of a

conjecture; they slew him not for certain, but God took him up to Himself. "

(Koran 4:154-158)

Jesus died and rose again.

a.. " Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death

hath no more dominion over him. " (Romans 6:9)

b.. " And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became

obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. " (Philippians 2:8)

c.. " For where a testament [is], there must also of necessity be the

death of the testator. " (Hebrews 9:16)

d.. Also see: Luke 18:33; 24:20; 11:13; 12:33; Acts 2:24; 22:20;

Romans 5:10; 1 Corinthians 11:26; 15:19, 20, 22; Hebrews 2:14; etc.

Also see http://www.dianedew.com/resurctn.htm

Salvation must be earned:

By good works:

a.. " Every man's actions have we hung around his neck, and on the last

day shall be laid before him a wide-open book. " (Koran 17:13)

By almsgiving[22]:

a.. " Lend to God a good loan. " (Surah 73:20)

b.. " ...the Koran regularly enjoins the giving of alms (zakah), as the

outward sign of piety and means of salvation... an obligatory contribution... to

be exacted from all who, whether voluntarily or under constraint, enter into the

brotherhood of Islam; but it is not a tax. Rather is it to be regarded as a loan

made to God... Free-will offerings are also a means of expiating offences... " [8]

c.. The root meaning of the word Zakat (almsgiving) is " to purify. " [23]

Surah 9:103 says: " Take of their wealth an offering to purify them and cleanse

them thereby. "

The only sure way to make it to heaven is for a Muslim to die in a jihad

( " holy war " ).

Salvation comes only by faith, through grace:

a.. " For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of

yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, lest anyone should boast. "

(Ephesians 2:8, 9)

b.. " Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified

in his sight... being justified freely by his grace... Where is boasting then?

It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay; but by the law of faith.. Therefore

we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. "

(Romans 3:20, 24, 27, 28)

c.. " Now to him that worketh is the reward nor reckoned of grace, but of

debt.... Even as also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God

imputeth righteousness without works.... Therefore it is of faith, that it might

be by grace... " (Romans 4:4, 6, 16)

On divine providence:

a.. " ...so whoever is willing, he may take a path to his Lord. And you

do not will unless God wills... " (Koran 76:29, 30)

b.. " Thou causest to err thereby whomever Thou pleasest and guidest

whomever Thou pleasest... " (Koran 7:155)

Man has free will.

a.. " Whosoever will, let him drink freely of the river of life "

(Revelation 22:17; cp. 3:15, 16; etc.)

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On Eternal Judgment

Z Islam Teaches...

† Christianity Teaches...

On Paradise:

Those who kill or are killed by unbelievers will return to the garden of

Paradise (Koran 9:111), where they will enjoy many lustful pleasures - sex with

virgins, pleasant food and drink, etc.:

a.. " They shall recline on jeweled couches face to face, and there shall

wait on them immortal youths with bowls and ewers and a cup of purest wine...

with fruits of their own choice and flesh of fowls that they relish. And theirs

shall be the dark-eyes houris (celestial virgins), chaste as hidden pearls: a

guerdon for their deeds. " (Koran 56:15)

b.. " pure beautiful ones... goodly things, beautiful ones, pure ones

confined to the pavilions that man has not touched them before... " (Koran 56:54,

67-71)

On Heaven:

Those who have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and submitted their lives

to his Lordship will enjoy eternal bliss in heaven, where there will be no pain

or sorrow, no disease or death.

a.. See http://www.dianedew.com/heaven.htm

On Hell:

a.. " Those who invoke a god other than Allah not only should meet

punishment in this world but the Penalty on the Day of Judgment will be doubled

to them, and they will dwell therein in ignominy. " (Koran 25:68)

b.. " Non-believers will go to hell and will drink boiling water "

(14:17).

c.. " ...the unbelievers... shall have a great punishment in world

hereafter " (Koran 5:34).

d.. " We shall say: 'Lay hold of him and bind him. Burn him in the fire

of Hell, then fasten him with a chain seventy cubits long. For he did not

believe in Allah, the Most High...' " (Koran 69:28)

e.. " Would that you knew what the fire of Hell is like! It leaves

nothing, it spares no one; it burns the skins of men. It is guarded by nineteen

keepers. " (Koran 74:19)

On Hell:

Those who reject Jesus Christ will suffer eternal torments in hell.

See http://www.dianedew.com/hell2.htm

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On Creation

Z Islam Teaches...

† Christianity Teaches...

The Genesis account should not be taken literally, as it contains

discrepancies.[9] The earth is billions of years old.

Creation took eight days, it says in Surah 41:9, 10, 12. Surah 10:3,

however, states creation took six days.

A literal interpretation of Scripture indicates the earth is only a few

thousand years old.

God created the universe in six days and rested on the seventh day.

(Genesis 1:1 to 2:2)

The universe was produced by a " big bang " (Koran 21:30), produced by a

kind of gas.[10] (Koran 41:11)

The Koran states God created every living thing from water.[11 (Koran

21:30; 24:45)

" In the beginning, God " (Genesis 1:1) alone existed.

God spoke the universe into existence by a word.

a.. Genesis 1:20-21, 24 " And God said... and it was so. " (Cp. Psalm

148:5)

See http://www.dianedew.com/creation.htm

The Creator did not rest: " We created the heavens and the earth and all

between them in six days, nor did any sense of weariness touch us. " (Koran

50:38) God rested on the seventh day: " For in six days the Lord made heaven

and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. " (Exodus 31:17).

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