History & Stats

Christianity

Islam

Date founded

c. 30 AD

622 CE

Place founded

Palestine

Saudi Arabia

Founders & early leaders

Jesus, Peter, Paul

Muhammad

Original languages

Aramaic and Greek

Arabic

Major location today

Europe, North and South America

Middle East, 
Southeast Asia

Adherents worldwide today

2 billion

1.3 billion

Adherents in USA

159 million

1.1 million

Adherents in Canada

21 million

500,000

Adherents in UK

51 million

1.6 million

Current size rank

Largest in the world

Second largest in the world

Major branches

Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant 

Sunni, Shiite 

Religious Authority

Christianity

Islam

Sacred text

Bible = Old Testament (Jewish Bible) + New Testament

Qur'an (Koran)

Inspiration of sacred text

Views vary: literal Word of God, inspired human accounts, or of human origin only

Literal Word of God

Status of biblical prophets

True prophets

True prophets

Status of Jewish Bible

Canonical

Non-canonical but useful as a (corrupted) inspired text

Status of Jewish Apocrypha

Canonical (Catholic);
useful but non-canonical (Protestant)

Non-canonical

Status of New Testament

Canonical

Non-canonical, but used as a (corrupted) inspired text

Summaries of doctrine

Apostle's Creed, Nicene Creed

Six Articles of Faith

Religious law

Canon law (Catholics only)

Sharia

Other written authority

Church fathers, church councils, ecumenical creeds (all branches);
papal decrees, canon law (Catholics only) 

Hadith

Beliefs & Doctrine

Christianity

Islam

Ultimate reality

One creator God

One creator God

Nature of God

Trinity - one substance, three persons

Unity - one substance, one person

Other spiritual beings

Angels and demons

Angels, demons, jinn

Revered humans

Disciples, Apostles, church fathers

Prophets, imams (especially in Shia Islam)

Identity of Jesus

Son of God, God incarnate, Savior of the world

One of many accepted prophets of God, but not the son of God and not the savior of mankind.

Birth of Jesus

Virgin birth

Virgin birth

Death of Jesus

Death by crucifixion

Did not die, but ascended bodily into heaven (a disciple died in his place)

Resurrection of Jesus

Affirmed

Denied, since he did not die

Second coming of Jesus

Affirmed

Affirmed

Mode of divine revelation

Through Prophets and Jesus (as God Himself), recorded in Bible under the anointing and guidance of God

Through Muhammad, but rewritten by numerous authors as recorded in Qur'an

Human nature

"Original sin" inherited from Adam - tendency towards evil

Equal ability to do good or evil. God plays no part in man's choices.

Means of salvation

Faith in and acceptance of Jesus as the only sacrifice given by God for forgiveness of our sins. 
Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Correct belief, good deeds, death defending Islamic beliefs, killing non-Islamic believers, Five Pillars

God's role in salvation

Forgiveness is available solely by His love and Grace toward us through His Son Jesus

Predestination

Good afterlife

Heaven; which is existence in the eternal presence and loving care of God. Our purpose; to Glorify God

Eternal paradise:

In Islam Paradise is the place where a Muslim will be reclining, eating meats and delicious fruits, drinking exquisite wines, and engaging in sex with beautiful women and young boys.

"As to the righteous, they will be in gardens and in happiness (to them will be said:) "Eat and drink ye, with profit and health, because of your (good) deeds "They will recline (with ease) on thrones (of dignity) arranged in ranks; and we shall join (marry) them to companions with beautiful big and lustrous eyes... And we shall bestow on them, of fruit and meat, anything they desire. They shall there exchange, one another, a cup free of frivolity, free of all taint of ill. Round about them youth (handsome) as pearls well-guarded." Surah 52:17, 19, 20 & 22-24

Evil afterlife

Eternal hell, which is separation from God with full awareness

Eternal hell

View of the other religion

Author's view of Islam from a Christian standpoint;

Islam is a corrupted religion based upon vain and self-serving imaginations of the man Muhammad of which in part the Judaic Old Testament and Christian New Testament were re-written to fit the personal, social, and political ambitions of Muhammad and since by his followers.

Christians are respected as "People of the Book," but they have mistaken beliefs and only partial revelation. Jesus was a prophet, but not the son of Allah.

The Old Testament prophecies of, and fulfilled by, Jesus, were mere coincidence. 

Rituals & Practices

Christianity

Islam

House of worship

Church, chapel, cathedral, basilica, meeting hall, private home, all the earth where fellow Christians gather together in the name of Jesus

Mosque

Day of worship

Sunday

Friday

Religious leaders

Priest, bishop, archbishop, patriarch, pope, pastor, minister, preacher, deacon, Spirit filled laymen

Imams

Major sacred rituals

Baptism, communion (Eucharist)

Five Pillars: prayer, pilgrimage, charity, fasting, confession of faith

Head covered during prayer?

Generally no

Yes

Central religious 
holy days

Lent, Holy Week, Easter

Eid-al-Fitr, Eid-al-Adha, month of Ramadan

Other holidays

Christmas, saints days

Mawlid, Ashura

Major symbols

Note; symbols or icons representing God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Heaven, or Christianity, are NOT Biblically proscribed, but instead were condemned by God. See: Exd 20:4, Lev 26:1, Deu 4:16, Deu 4:23, Deu 5:8,

However, many still use the following symbols: Cross, crucifix, dove, anchor, fish, alpha and omega, chi rho, halo

Crescent, name of Allah in Arabic

Doctrine

Christianity

Islam

The Religion

Christian = Disciple of Jesus Christ. "A living sacrifice". Children of the living God. Eternal existence after death with God through the sacrifice of God's Son Jesus

"Islam" = Submission (to God). 

Names of God

Father, YHWH = "Eternal", Almighty, Healer, Lord of Hosts, King of Kings. 

Additionally See: 
 Sacred Name of God 

"Allah" = "The God", Forgiving, Merciful, Wise, All-knowing, Mighty, Helper, Protector, etc.

Nature of God

God is our Father, our Creator. Jesus is His physically and spiritually begotten divine Son. God existed before all creation. He has no beginning and no end. God is a Spirit.

Allah is one. He begets not and He is not begotten and there is none like unto Him. (The term "Father" is never used in the Qur'an of God.)

God in 3 words

God the Father

"Allah akbar": God is great

God's purpose and plan

God so loved the world (His creation)  that he gave his only begotten Son (Jesus), that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 
John 3:16

Allah does as He pleases.
"Allah has created mankind primarily so that they may know their creator through his creations." No particular plan for mankind, no revealed purpose.

Is God a Spirit?

God is the  "Holy Spirit". 

John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

No, an angel can be a spirit. God is not spirit.

Can God suffer?

God suffers with His creation. Jesus expressed this suffering when He wept concerning the impending destruction of Jerusalem and in compassion for the grief suffered by people with deceased loved ones.

God is merciful and compassionate [but does that mean He shares our passions?

God's Spokesmen

Old Testament Prophets,  Jesus followed by the apostles.

OT Prophets, Jesus, culminating in Muhammad. Muhammad was the final prophet of God

Who is Jesus Christ?

The only begotten son of the Supreme God, born of the woman Mary, begotten by the Holy Spirit. Jesus descended from Heaven, became human and died for us as God's required sacrifice for the sins of this world, so demonstrating God's love for us. We now can only come to the Father through Jesus the Son, for God can not allow sin to approach Him, as He is without sin.

 Also see: Who Is Jesus? 

A prophet of God, born of Virgin Mary, by the word of the God as told to Mary by Angel Gabriel. He was taken up by Allah, but a phantom was crucified in his place.

God's Written Communication

The Bible (Books) of 66 Old Testament books in Hebrew and Aramaic and 27 New Testament books in Greek, composed by numerous authors across many centuries under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Written in the dialect of the common people as to bring the light of God's Word into the Spiritual darkness of this world.

For more about the 
Holy Bible please see:
 Old Testament 

 New Testament 

Al Qur'an (the recitation) of 114 suras (units) supported by many volumes of hadith (traditions). The Qur'an was dictated to Muhammad by the Angel Gabriel in pure Classical Arabic. It is our link to God.

Nature of Man

Born under the curse of the original sin from Adam and Eve. Natural enmity towards God. Only through the drawing of mankind to God by Himself and through the empowerment of His Holy Spirit can humans turn from their evil ways and become holy as He is Holy

Sinless at birth with capacity for unlimited moral and spiritual progress through belief in God and faithful adherence to the teachings of Muhammad. 

Personal accountability

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and God being unapproachable by sin filled humans, our wages of sin is death. God calls on humans though their God given free will to choose life and depart from evil. Only after repentance, accepting the sacrifice offered to us through Jesus, and being re-born in the Holy Spirit can we become children of The Resurrection.

The activities of the wicked and of the saint, of the generous and of the grasping, are all Allah's creation. Allah may give up to seven spirits to a man. But those who choose good will be rewarded, and evil punished.

Believers are:

"The children of God"

"My slaves"

Concept of Success

"Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul. 

Love your neighbor as yourself".
  
Accept Jesus as your savior and Lord in its truest meaning. 

Obey God.

"We hear and we obey"

Life after death

All will be resurrected unto final judgment.  The righteous will rule with Jesus in God's eternal kingdom when the dwelling of God will be with men. Those who, during life, reject God's offer of forgiveness through the sacrifice paid by His Son Jesus will spend eternity in separation from Him which is known as hell.

At the Resurrection, righteous go to the Garden of God, but do not see God. Wicked dwell forever in fire. Especially righteous do not need to await the Resurrection.

Martyrdom

"They shall put you out of the synagogues (churches) yea, the time comes, that whosoever kills you will think that he does God service." (John 16:2) (consider the beheadings of Christians being done by Muslims today)

"I say unto you, He that hears my (Jesus) word, and believes on Him (God) that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation (at death); but is passed from death unto life. John 5:24

"Call not those who are slain in the way of Allah `dead.' No, they are living, only ye perceive it not." (2:154)
"those who are slain in the way of Allah .. bring them into the Garden [ Paradise ]." (47:4-6)
(Each martyr has 72 virgins waiting for him in Paradise : Sermon at Al-Aqsa Mosque 9-20-2001 cf. 56:37)

Enemies

"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;"  
(Mat. 5:4 Words of Jesus)

"Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight." (John 18:36)

Upon His soon return this world will be His kingdom, and then, we His servants will fight for that which is rightfully His. Judges 1:14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints.

"Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities. Lo! Allah loveth not aggressors. And slay them wherever ye find them." (2:190)
"O Prophet! Exhort the believers to fight." (8:65)
"O ye who believe! Fight those of the disbelievers who are near you, and let them find harshness in you." (9:123)
"Lo! Allah loveth those who battle for His cause in ranks, as if they were a solid structure." (61:4)

Prayers

"But thou, when you pray, enter into your prayer closet, and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father which is in secret; and your Father which sees in secret shall reward you openly." (Matt. 6:6)

Pray without ceasing. 
(1Th 5:17) 

1Ti 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;

1Ti 2:2 For kings, and [for] all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

1Ti 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior;

(Ob'adah-b-Swa'met reported that Muhammad had said: Five prayers [i.e., times of prayer] - the Almighty Allah made them obligatory.)
"When the call is heard for the prayer of the day of congregation, haste unto remembrance of Allah" (62:9)

Modesty

"In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;" (1 Tim. 2:9)

Authors note: Any type or style of dressing that draws attention to oneself is a form of self pride, self worship, and the desire to have others worship oneself. Christians should dress humbly and without ornate or flashy styles.

Examples of lack of modesty are common in many of today's Mega Churches where women are seen wearing mini-dresses, 3 inch heels, and exposed cleavage while attending Sunday (self) worship services.

"Tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, ... and to draw their veils over their bosoms ... let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment." (24:31)
"Tell thy wives and thy daughters to draw their cloaks close round them ..." (33:59)

Criminal Justice

"For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil ... But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he (authority) beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." ( Rom. 13:3-4)

"Retaliation is prescribed for you in the matter of the murdered." (2:178)
"As for the thief, both male and female, cut off their hands." (5:38)
"The adulterer and the adulteress, scourge ye each one of them with a hundred stripes." (24:2)

Women

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." (Gal. 3:280

Note: The term 'weaker vessel" was not used in a negative manner in 1Peter 3:7, but referred to the tender and sensitive nature that God has given woman. It also refers to the position of care that God has placed man unto a woman. I see this as comparing the less sensitive handling that a man may have of a male friend or brother in Christ (a clay pot) as to the way he must relate to a woman or sister in Christ (delicate vase). The bible speaks of woman being created as man's help mate. In the eyes of God and according to Jesus, the one among us who serves is the most blessed and the one to be honored.

Also the reference to "that your prayers be not hindered" is very clear that if there is enmity or discord between a man and his wife, then it is possible that his prayers are being hindered. God desires for a man to be at peace with everyone including his wife before approaching His throne of Grace. God's entire plan of procreation is exercised and fulfilled through the marriage of man and woman.

Husbands, honor your wife.

"Men are the managers of the affairs of women for that God has preferred in bounty one of them over another, and for that they have expended of their property. Righteous women are therefore obedient, guarding the secret for God's guarding. And those you fear may be rebellious admonish; banish them to their couches, and beat them. If they then obey you, look not for any way against them." (Sura 4:38)