Religion and Theology

In all of the worlds religions, Christianity and Islam have proven to be the most dominant.  Although sharing distinct differences, these two religions nevertheless share a common similarity a belief in One True God.

This characteristic makes these two religions differentiable from other creeds that teach numerous deities of godly entities.  Thus, it is worth noting to have a deeper understanding on its two founders, Jesus Christ and Prophet Muhammad, and how their respective teachings were able to influence countless preceding generations from different nations even after their deaths.

Jesus and Muhammad
Jesus Christ

As what tradition dictates, Jesus Christ was born at around 2000 years ago in Bethlehem, to a virgin mother named Mary, who was at the time already engaged to be married to a rightful and just man named Joseph.

This miracle was made possible thru an apparitionvisitation made by Angel Gabriel to Mary, bearing Gods message of the fulfillment of prophesies made in the Old Testament that a Savior would be sent to reclaim Israel to its former glory.

Hence the young Jesus grew in stature and in strength and was filled with Gods wisdom, for the grace of God was upon Him.  However, it was only on his 30th year when he started His ministry.  It involved numerous miracles, healings, and teachings on love for mankind and on God, which lasted for three years, and after which He was crucified on the cross.

The Prophet Muhammad
The Prophet Muhammad was born on April 20, 571 AD, in the Arabian Peninsula (The Brief Life, 2005, p. 1).  His father, Abdullah, although poor, was a direct descendant of Ishmael, the son of Abraham while his mother was Amina the daughter of Wahab.  As their family was poor, at 16 years of age he was employed under Khadeejah, who was from a prominent family of business women, and by time he was 25, Prophet Muhammad married her (The Brief Life, 2005, p. 1).

Prophet Muhammads ministry started thru a series of visions at night from Angel Gabriel, wherein he was told of future events that would prove to be accurate as he had envisioned them (The Brief Life, 2005, p. 1).  During the course of these visionsvisitations by Angel Gabriel, Muhammad was given direct instructions from God, or Allah in Arabic, that consisted on the rightful path towards total submission to the will of Allah.  Prophet Muhammad died when he was 63 years old his Islam life ministry lasting exactly 23 years (The Brief Life, 2005, p. 4).

Jesus and Prophet Muhammads Death, on Their Respective Religion
In Christian beliefs, Jesus death holds the defining moment of the faiths exponential propagation.  Thoroughly empowered by the Holy Spirit upon His resurrection, His disciples went to the farthest reachable regions as well as to the very heart of the Roman Empire to assure that Jesus teachings will be heard by all men.  Indeed, it would seem that His death was the culmination of the mission that He had endeavored, and may be summed up in a few words He had come to earth with the goal of leaving again, after transferring His mission to others (Yancey, 1995, p. 227).

Likewise, Jesus death resulted in the apostles gaining of unquestionable confidence, bravery, and resolve, as can be evidenced in the manner they had preached the Gospel as compared with the seemingly hesitant manner when Jesus was still with them, bodily.  This tremendous effort put forth by the Christian faiths founding leaders resulted in the eventual acceptance of Rome as its official religion, and later paved the way for religious conquests that transformed almost every nation into Christianity.

On the other hand, Prophet Muhammads death in 632 AD had also resulted in the same manner of exponential propagation of the Islam faith.  However, certain unresolved issues regarding the proper succession to the leadership had resulted in the creation of a major division between the Sunnites, which is the majority, and the Shiites, the minority.  Despite of this unfortunate incidence, Islam soon spread its influence across the globe starting in the Middle Ages with Sassanian Empire, which is Persia, the southern Byzantine provinces, and even as far as Spain (History of Islam, 2010, P. 1).  This tremendous growth can be seen today with Islams proliferation in different countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Americas, such that its members totaled to more than a billion people worldwide (Islam, 2008, p. 1).

Differences in Worship
The very foundation that Jesus teachings suggest, of Him being God-made-man, signifies the manner to which His followers have been worshipping Him.  Being the sole provider of the authority to forgive sins, He then becomes the principal subject from which sinners ask for deliverance.  Thus, it is common to witness images of Jesus in churches, chapels, and even in the homes of those who believe in His divinity.  For a Christian, it is only through Jesus that a person may attain eternal life in heaven.  The importance of Jesus in their spirituality is such that, irrespective of the good deeds that a person may have bestowed, it would be tantamount to nothing if his faith does not reside in Jesus.

This verity was likewise true even to those who were with Him during his earthly ministry.  He was commonly regarded as God one who has power over nature, illnesses, demons, and even death itself, by those who know of His true nature.  Perhaps this has stemmed from the numerous miracles he had performed, which included turning water into wine, calming of a storm, feeding multitudes with only 5 loaves of bread, raising Lazarus back to life, and others.

The Prophet Muhammad, on the other hand, is regarded by the faithful as the only true messenger of the words of God.  Worth noting is the fact that in Muslim beliefs, there had been many messengers, or prophets, over the ages, which included Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and even Jesus (Islam, 2008, p. 1).  Unfortunately, the aforementioned prophets have failed in their missions of delivering to the world, Allahs true message, either by their own shortcomings or by being manipulated by religious authorities after their lifetimes. Thus, Prophet Muhammad is regarded by Muslims not as a God, but as the only true messenger who had been successful in his mission of propagating Allahs words.  Because of this belief, Islam does not have statue, bust, or any image of resemblance to the Prophet Muhammads in all of their mosques.
Christianity and Islam in the Present Era

It certainly seems that Christianity, especially during the second half of the 20th century up to the present, is experiencing a renewed vigor in its mission of propagation.  We have witnessed how numerous churches have sprang-up in almost every community in every city.  Likewise, numerous programs in mass media have proliferated during these past decades, making Christian service a common occurrence on daily T.V. programming.  The Word of God, in accordance to the teachings of Jesus, are also being manifested in various methods in print, such as in booklets containing colorful Biblical illustrations intended for children, fliers informing church community services, advertisements and even thru evangelic tools on the internet, and others.

Perhaps because of what is in direct contradiction to the prevailing reality during the early centuries of Christianity, where there exists only a single authority for the proper dissemination of Jesus Words, Christianity has since exhibited an exponential growth in terms of popularity and acceptance.  The resulting division of delegating evangelical missions seemed to have made this religion greatly beneficial of the resulting outcome.

On the other hand, just as Christianity has been enjoying an increase in its popularity, so too does Islam.  This may be evidenced by their global membership that according to recent estimates, have already reached over a billion people (Islam, 2008, p. 1).  Even in the United States, which is a predominantly-ProtestantChristian nation, estimates of Muslim population have been pegged ranging between 2 to 6 million people (Islam, 2008, p. 1).

Islams ever-increasing popularity likewise is evident in the manner that mosques are being constructed in different countries and in various States in America.  Their propaganda tools, just like with Christian churches, are likewise to be seen everywhere from fliers on the streets, T.V. advertisements, radio, and on the internet.  

Indeed, the very magnitude of success that both Christianity and Islam have exhibited lie on the verity that these two religions were able to withstand and outlive the struggles that accompanied their rise to glory that spanned for over a millennium.  It certainly seems that their founders, Jesus and Prophet Muhammad, were correct in their aspirations of offering mankind a refuge for his troubled soul, at least while still in their mortal embodiments.  The ultimate goal, though, is in choosing the right option that will truly grace ones soul of an everlasting existence with God, in eternity.