While I grew up in a Christian household, I started questioning my beliefs near the end of high school in my transition to college (go figure). The idea of other religions fascinated me - especially Judaism and Islam - because essentially at the core of these, along with Christianity, the central belief was exactly the same. There is only one God. The Divine being, the man in the sky, the all seeing, all powerful creator of the universe. Yet what always boggled my mind is how all three of these claim that they are the right ones and all other religions are false. But these three religions are so interlinked, to make such a bold statement seems almost silly. And while Christianity, Judaism and Islam have numerous differences when you compare them, they still have a stunning number of similarities. You'd think as monotheistic religions, sharing common divinely-written scriptures, common rituals and practices, similar beliefs of afterlife and pious devotion would result in some sort of peaceful co-existence between the three. But as history as taught us...sadly this usually doesn't seem to be the case.
Christianity - We are all born out of sin. This stems back to the original sin, which resulted from Adam and Eve. Jesus died for the sins of every single person in the world - the ultimate sacrifice. Those who accept Jesus as their lord and savior will spend eternal life in heaven with God after they die. Those who reject him will spend eternity in hell after death.
Judaism- Very similar to Christianity in that not only are we frail, but we are sinners. Because we were created from God's image, we have the ability to reason and forge our own destinies through our decisions; we have the ability to make or break ourselves. We have two impulses, one good and one bad. God is seen as a loving God and we are his beloved children. Judaism is more concerned with actions than with dogma and the observance of rules regulating human behavior is highly stressed upon. Doing good deeds and believing in God reserves you a spot in heaven.
Islam- Unlike Christianity and Judaism, there is no such thing as original sin. Although Adam and Eve sinned, they repented and were forgiven, thus their mistake had no repercussion on the rest of the human race. Humans are strongly encouraged not to make the same mistakes as they did, but that everyone still sins because of the passion bestowed upon us by Satan. We each are assigned two angels who record our good deeds as well as the sins we cast during our lifetimes which are thus reviewed at the final judgment, the day when all will rise from the dead and either go to paradise or hell.
How do you move from problem to solution?
Christianity- Because we are born out of sin, the path to salvation lies in believing that Jesus Christ died for our sins and understanding that God's love is eternal. Many Christians are baptized to signify purity or a cleansing from sin and a devotion to God. Christians are encouraged to follow the Lord's message in the New Testament
Judaism- By following the fundamental things essential to Judaism - the Torah (Hebrew bible) that was revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai , its commandments, and the firm belief that God guides humanity through ethical principals.
Islam- By pledging complete allegiance to God and his prophet Mohammed, who received God's revelations and with with formed the Qur'an. By following the Qur'an, which contains moral exhortations which form the basis of Sharia law, this will lead you to the path of salvation. It outlines the generosity, fairness and requirements for daily prayer, alms giving, abstinence during daylight hours during Ramadan and pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. The five pillars of Islamic faith are fundamental in Muslim life.
How best to live this solution in our lives? (How I apply it to my own life)
One of the biggest issues I have with accepting Christianity is the fact that the idea of doing good deeds guarantees you a spot in heaven gets tossed out the window. The only way you can spend eternal life with God is by accepting Jesus Christ as your lord and savior. I've always come to the example of "well what if I was a serial killer spending life in prison? If I truly accepted that Christ died on the cross for my sins and asked to be forgiven for the multiple people I had intentionally killed, would I be saved?" Granted, I'm sure there might be something about that in the bible and I may sound ignorant for not knowing it, it just seems like there are so many holes in this idea. What about children in third-world countries who know nothing of God's existence? Are they damned to hell because they don't know of the sacrifice? Seems rather unfair if you ask me. Another thing that drives me nuts is the stress that Christianity is a monotheistic religion, yet the Trinity exists.
Judaism confuses the hell out of me because of the belief that Jesus was a false prophet. I don't understand how this can be so, seeing as he was Jewish, and Islam says he was a true prophet of God whose message just got corrupted and Christianity says he is God incarnate and the savior of the world.
While all three religions may use different platforms to get their message across, at the end of the day, that message is essentially the same; we are to submit ourselves to the will of God because he created us. All three closely link religion with morality, and even though I might not be a religious person, that's something I highly value. I think it's important to show dignity and concern for other people, regardless of whether you believe doing so will get you a ticket to heaven or not.
I'm not sure if this class helped me to fully determine what exactly I believe in. While it did clarify a lot of questions I have about different religions, it also only raised new ones that I have yet to fully ponder. It was still really insightful though, and I loved hearing everyone's opinions and I'm thankful that class discussions never got too heated.
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