A Superficial Comparison Between Islam and Christianity

INTROVERT:   Christianity is in essence an introverted and introspective religion whose followers seek a personal relationship with God through His Son, the Incarnation.    They are exhorted to pray in secret.

       Matthew 6:5   And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.  Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

  6.  But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou has shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

EXTROVERT:  Islam is an extroverted religion whose followers make a display of their prayers five times a day as they face a rectangular block of stone located on a particular piece of real estate.  It emphasizes following the Shariat, the religious law, as a means to obtaining paradise after death.

UNITY:  In Christianity God's Messenger is God Himself who comes in the form of the Son to reveal the Father to those who believe on Him.  Math 11:27   All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.   Math 16:19  And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.    There is no separation between God and His Son as there is between God and His prophet.    God is described as The Word, (John 1:1) and the Incarnation as "the Word made flesh."   It is love for the Son that is the key to salvation in Christianity, for love for the Son is love for the Father who sent Him. John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.   John 14:7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father.   Christianity forgives the sinner and welcomes all men into its fold.

DIVINE HERITAGE OF MAN:  Christianity calls attention to the divine heritage of every man and which should be claimed by him in this very life by following the Son   "Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven, and all things will be added unto you."

SEPARATION:  The Creed of Islam is "There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is His Prophet."  The Prophet speaks of God's attributes but not about His fundamental nature. God and His Messenger are not viewed as equal and it is not love for the Prophet that gives the keys to the kingdom of heaven..  Islam is a religion that separates the believer from the non-believer, who is called an infidel (one who is not faithful to the Prophet)

PEACEFUL:   Jesus is called the Prince of Peace whose message is to love them that hate you, to return good for evil.  Christians spread their religion by means of doing charitable works, establishing schools, hospices, orphanages, feeding the poor etc.   The influence of Christianity led to the complete elimination of slavery in Western civilized countries.

BELLICOSE:  Islam has the reputation of being a religion spread by the sword; a religion that oppresses its followers, a religion that declares non believers "infidels" who can be killed in holy wars for not following the holy book. 

This superficial comparison between Christianity and Islam would lead one to believe that these two religions are quite different.  In truth, the same criticisms which can be leveled against Islam can be leveled against Christianity.  And to state that Christianity is an introverted religion is only partially correct.  Islam has its mystics who could not be more introverted.  In fact, without mystics, no religion would be worthy to be called the name.  Mystics make up the heart of Judaism, Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam.  The founders of some religions have been more explicit than others, and the founders of some have also been more discreet in their pronouncements of this truth.

Suffice it to say, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism all have as their goal, binding the soul back to its Creator.  If their followers get involved in external rites and ceremonies to the extent that they forget the inner truths their founders preached, that is their loss and the loss of those who accept them.

While Moslems face a piece of real estate, the Christians face the statue of Jesus and the Hindus face the statues of their various gods and goddesses.  Buddhism couldn't be more statue oriented for they carved thousands and thousands of replicas of Buddha into the mountains of China and Afghanistan.  

What do all of these religions have in common:  extroversion and introversion and a moral law that must be followed by all to achieve happiness and success in this life and the next.  So, if we follow the moral law of any of these religions and practice introspection as they all recommend, it won't make any difference if we bow to Mecca five times a day or attend our church or synagogue, cover our heads, leave them bare, wear shoes or not, our Creator, Who is within, won't care.  The one God, of whom there are not two, will guide our steps back to Him.