The seven earths are arranged one above another like a stack of plates; we inhabit the top one, and the devil the bottom one, which is hell. Above the earths God placed an analogous stack of heavens; the lowest heaven is our own sky, the topmost is Paradise. The scale is generous by terrestrial standards: the standard distance, that between any two neighbouring plates, takes five hundred years to traverse, and larger dimensions are encountered at the top and bottom (Cook, 26)."
Jacob Neusner, Bruce Chilton, and William Graham (2002) put the notion of Christian heaven into context by citing 1 Corinthians 15:45-49, which reads:
So also it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living psyche; the last Adam is life-giving spirit. The spiritual is not first, but the psychic is, then the spiritual. The first man was from Earth - dust. The second man from Heaven. As is the man of dust, such are those who are of dust; as is the heavenly man, such are those who are heavenly (Neusner, Chilton, and Graham, 2002, 46)."
Both Christianity and Islam have punishments that will be dealt to the wicked. The wicked, those who do not have faith, who have done evil deeds, might not see heaven, or at least not in the same way as the devout will see it.
That Muslim phrase echoes the cry of the Biblical prophet that God has humbled Himself to behold the things that are in heaven and earth. Such close affinities of thought, language and religious posture, though never far from radical divergencies, are too wide and real to be disregarded. They mean a significant agreement about man's status before God (Cragg, 1959, 75)."
So we see the many similarities and differences between Islam and Christianity. Just as Christianity followed Judaism, so did Islam follow Christianity, and it was necessary for a couple of things to happen. First, that it closely resembled Christianity enough as to suggest that the idea of a passing of the flame, so to speak, from Christianity was plausible. Therefore we have similarities in the life and experiences of Jesus and Muhammad. We especially find resemblances in those experiences that suggest a relationship with God.
For people who believe that Islam is the third installment of the Word of God, and who wish to convert, the resemblances between Jesus and Muhammad are comforting to that end. For most Christians, however, the vast differences between Jesus and Muhammad are enough to convince them that they belong in the fold of Christianity. There are people who would point out that Jesus was a teacher of peace, and that Muhammad experienced no conflict in killing a person to defend his faith. Although while in Mecca, Muhammad had confined his work to calling the faithful to Allah, he was later forced to defend Islam against the non-believers (Cook, 53-54). Jesus, on the other hand, would lay down his life, turn the other cheek, and would not respond to threats with violence, and he did not encourage his disciples to respond that way either. Jesus was confident that the unbelieving would be dealt...
Islam and the West The author of Islam and the West, Bernard Lewis, has an extensive background in the study of Islam. He has both a B.A. And Ph.D. In history from the University of London. His B.A. emphasizes the Near and Middle East, and his Ph.D. focused on the history of Islam. He did additional graduate work at the University of Paris. He taught for many years at the University
Islamic Terrorism: The Radicalization of Religion Abstract This essay�focuses on radical Islamic terrorism, from its roots in the Shia rebellion that led to the Iranian Revolution to the modern day terrorist group Daesh/ISIL/ISIS/IS.� It discusses how 9-11 introduced many Westerners to the idea of radical Islamic terrorism and the self-proclaimed holy warriors who carry out these acts as a form of jihad.� In order to help explain modern terrorism, the paper discusses
Buddhism vs. Islam What is the purpose of life? Life holds different meaning for people across the world; such different perceptions on life are framed by religious beliefs. Such meanings and significance be divided into two groups. There are people for whom the significance lies within the world we live in and then there are those who would like to believe in life after death and the entire notion of heaven
Gender and Islam Books The war in Iraq has shone attention on the plight of women in the Middle East. For many scholars, the issue of the rights of women as mandated in Islamic texts and the role of Muslim women in the contemporary Islamic world is one of the most pressing issues. This paper examines two works that shed light in this regard -- Islam, Gender, and Social Change edited by
Byzantine and the Islamic Empires The decline of the Roman Empire gave birth to new political formations that had a tremendous impact upon the world at large. Out of this disintegration emerged three new political formations, such as the Eastern Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic empires. These different regimes had steady economic and intellectual contact with one another and both the Byzantine and Islamic empires impacted the
Chrislam is not an official religion, but the beginning stages of what some people characterize as a synthesis between two of the major world religions, Christianity and Islam. As an official movement, Chrislam is relatively new, however as both religions are Abrahamic and non-fundamentalists of either religion have long conceded the possibilities of observing both religions simultaneously. However, within the last decade there has been a push for the observation
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now