essay help?

Question

hey guys help me with this short essay

Compare and contrast Christianity, Judaism, and Islam

thanks!

Answer 1

Christianity and Islam are two of the world’s largest religions. The two are different in beliefs but are similar in origin. Like many religions both Islam and Christianity claim to be the one and only true way to God. Although Islam and Christianity differ in major ways, they also share some similarities.

Islam teaches that in order to achieve true peace of mind and surety of heart, one must submit to God or “Allah” and live according to His revealed Law. Being a Muslim requires willful submission and active obedience to God and living in accordance with His message. Conversely, Christianity does not teach absolute submission to God, but teaches that man is sinful and can never inherit eternal life in the presence of God as a result of the sins of our first parents, Adam and Eve, as well as our own personal sin. Therefore it became necessary for God to become man in the person of Jesus Christ, who as the Son of God was sinless and unblemished. His purpose was to suffer and die in atonement for the sins of all whom accept his sacrifice for sin.

Judaism and Christianity developed on the basis obeying God, on adherence to his rules and intentions and their faithful fulfillment. Since the fulfillment of God’s will is a duty of a Jewish or Christian person, both religions fall into the rule-deontological category.

In Judaism, God is seen as having a contractual relationship with the Jewish people where they must obey his holy laws in return for their status of the chosen people. God rewards or punishes Jewish people based on whether they obey or disobey his will. In parts of the Old Testament, however, God does show mercy or forgiveness, and in later interpretations God’s laws such as the Ten Commandments are followed not only out of loyalty to God but also because of their high moral character.

In Christianity, the emphasis is placed on love of God rather than on obeying his will. People must believe that God is merciful and loves them as well. As a reflection of God’s love, people must also love other people (and the whole humanity in general) and forgive their enemies.

Answer 2

It usually helps to make an outline first - it gives you a roadmap for what you need to do and an idea of the steps you need to take in gathering information -- you'll have to do your own research, but try something like this:

(1) Introduction
(2) Common background and main concepts and history of each religion
(a) Judaism
(b) Christianity
(c) Islam
(3) Major similarities among 3 religions (at least 3 or 4)
(4) Major differences (at least 3 or 4)
(5) Conclusion

Hope that gets you started

Answer 3

To shorten and summarize the longer answer below,
all three religions follow along in historical sequence.

(A) Judaism
(1) Laws given by Moses and other prophets by revelation from God
(2) Scriptures in the Torah (first 5 books of the Bible)/Tanakh and other sources such as the Caballah (mystical teachings)
(3) Belief in a Messiah, but has not come yet

(B) Christianity follows Judaism but added changes
(1) Laws incarnated in Christ and taught by his apostles and other authors in the Bible
(2) Scriptures in the Bible, both Old and New Testament, but more emphasis on the New Testament after Christ
(3) Belief in a Messiah, incarnated in Jesus who will come again and fulfill the same prophesies that the Jewish also believe in
(some Jewish followers believe that Jesus fulfilled these and will come again; others do not believe that Jesus fulfilled these and are waiting on the Messiah who will)

(C) Islam followed Christianity and added more changes
(1) Laws given by Mohammed by revelation from Allah
(2) Scriptures in the Koran (in addition to following the Bible Scriptures and prophets)
(3) Belief in a final Messiah or "Imam"
Muslims who believe in Jesus as Christians do, might tie this Imam to Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit; Muslims who deny or reject Jesus, or only see him as another prophet, may not make this connection but see the final Imam as separate.

http://216.109.125.130/search/cache?p=messiah%2C+islam%2C+realtruth.org&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-501&x=wrt&u=www.realtruth.org/articles/0402-tmoo.html&w=messiah+islam+realtruth+.org&d=UzxQPUVuN8gn&icp=1&.intl=us

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I would organize the essay based on the past, present and future of these three religious traditions and cultures. They all follow in sequence from the teachings that started with Mosaic law and Old Testament scriptures, but brought changes from there.

(I) Introduction - common foundation of all three religions (they all respect the Old Testament Scriptures)
(II) Compare / Contrast
(A) Founding Prophets and laws
(1) Similarities
(2) Differences
(B) Current laws and practices
(1) Similarities
(2) Differences
(C) Future beliefs and prophecies
(1) Similarities
(2) Differences
(III) Conclusion - how the three faiths can grow to exist in harmony in order to achieve the goals they share in common

Examples of Similarities:
(1) They are all monotheistic, or recognize one supreme God
(2) They all recognize the Old Testament scriptures, and have retained the patriarchal structures from earlier traditions
(3) They all promote the practice of prayer and observance of holy days
(4) They share a common claim to holy temple or land
(5) They all promote belief in a Messiah but vary on how that Messiah has or has not manifested
(6) They have different sects or denominations (Orthodox, Reformed, Messianic Jew; Protestant Catholic Nondenominational Christian; Sunni Shiite Sufi Muslim, etc.)

Differences:
Since these are separated historically in time, they address different stages or cultures. They have different holidays and calendars.

(1) Judaism emphasizes the Torah or the Mosaic laws under the Old Testament. Some Jewish followers recognize and accept Christ as the Messiah who fulfills scriptural prophecies (Messianic Jews); while some are not taught or do not believe that Jesus fulfills these scriptures. So there is variation or disagreement when it comes to the New Testament.

(a) Laws given by Moses or other prophets
Moses is the main prophet who brought the Ten Commandments, and there are others in the Bible.
There are something like 613 Jewish commandments to follow.

(b) Forgiveness
There is a day or ritual for atonement and forgiveness.
Messianic Jews recognize Jesus' role in this process,
but others may not and may rely on other traditions.

(c) Spirit of the laws
I would describe the spirit of Judaism as "Justice" or "Justification." The point is obedience to God's laws. Again, because Jewish traditions retain more of the Old Testament, the emphasis has been on the letter of the law, or retributive justice, rather than the spirit of the law in the New Testament that speaks to restorative justice.

(2) Christianity emphasizes faith that Jesus came to fulfill the Old Testament laws and will return to establish the Kingdom of God. So that those who believe in Jesus are saved by Grace.

(a) Jesus is the law or word of God incarnated
Jesus is the main focus, and by his spirit then all the other prophets and laws are made true. The two great commandments, as the basis of all the other laws and prophets, are to love God with all one's heart mind and soul, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, joined as one law by Jesus' new commandment to love one's neighbor as Christ loved us, so that the love of God and love of man are reconciled and fulfilled in Christ.

(b) Forgiveness and reconciliation
Atonement and forgiveness of all human sin is made by Jesus' sacrifice that takes the place of previous rituals for sacrifice.

[Note: Depending on the person and the denomination, some believers extend salvation in Christ to all people, which I believe is more consistent with the Christian message and faith in Jesus as universal Messiah. However, the prevailing perception of Christianity is that it excludes other traditions, which I find causes contradictions that require interfaith mediation and reconciliation to resolve before Christian teachings can be fulfilled.]

(c) Spirit of the laws
I would describe the spirit of Christianity as "charity." Again, the emphasis is on the New Testament or living by the spirit of the law, which is love or charity toward all neighbors, so that the Old Testament laws are fulfilled in the spirit of Christ.

(3) Islam came after Christianity. Some Islamic followers only recognize Jesus as a prophet or teacher, and either deny his sacrifice happened, or do not believe Jesus is the Messiah but Mohammed is the final Messenger and there are no other prophets after him. The men and women pray separately; and there are 5 pillars required to be a Muslim.

(a) Mohammed as the sole prophet
Since Mohammed was both a spiritual leader and a military leader, there is still a mixture of religious and political interpretations of his laws. So I would warn against confusing militant groups or states with the true Islamic faith or practice, in which "jihad" is purely an internal spiritual battle between oneself and good and evil, and does not mean a military war.

Followers of the other religions tend to separate from the secular government system more, but since there are Muslim states that incorporate or require religious beliefs as part of the government structure, the true religion is often confused with political policies.

(b) Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Muslims believe in God's mercy, but only those who are also Christian recognize Jesus' role in bringing this to all humanity.

Since by the teachings in Islam, all followers are to love all the "people of the book" (Jews, Christians and Muslims alike), to follow all the scriptures (both in the Bible and the Koran), and to accept all prophets sent by God (which would include Jesus as well as all disciples, apostles, prophets and teachers who proclaim him as Messiah), then this teaching would call for spiritual reconciliation between the different traditions in order to live in harmony. Islam also teaches followers to refrain from "usury." Like Christianity, Islam teaches followers to make peace with neighbors before making an offering to God; but reconciliation is not fully practiced by either faith.

(c) Spirit of the laws
Islam literally means submission to God. The spirit of the laws is "mercy." This is consistent with the final stages prophesied in Christianity about the coming of the Holy Spirit when Jesus returns. So what seems to be missing is spiritual reconciliation between these different religions as progressive stages in history.

I believe the future of all three of these traditions is that they will grow to fully embrace one another as tribal "cousins" and ultimately join in the spirit of Christ, or truth love and charity. They will each retain their separate cultural traditions, but there will no longer be denial or conflict among them or their followers.
If the meaning of Jesus Christ is to bring "Justice with Mercy" then this spirit should bring together and fulfill all three religions.