THRIVE

1. Islam - believes Jesus is not God, he was just a prophet
2. Islam - believes Qu’ran is “un-editted” speech of God spoken directly through a prophet - Christianity believes the Bible was written by humans “under the influence” (but not in a drunk way) of God
3. Islam - Adam sinned then repented and everything was pretty much okay: no FALL and therefore no need for saving - Christianity believes a huge separation happened here that then initiated the need for Jesus (God) to fill in the separation even though it was the fault and doing of humans
4. Islam - believes Abraham was going to sacrifice Ishmael and then built an altar which is now in Makkah - Christianity and Judaism both believe Isaac was going to be the one sacrificed
5. Islam - if you make a pilgrimage trip to Makkah you’re pretty much going to heaven when you die - in Christianity you need to know Jesus
6. Islam - believes in separation of God from his creation - Christianity believes God very involved and intimate with his creation
7. Qu’ran is the equivalent of Jesus in Islam (the common comparison of Muhammad and Jesus is inaccurate: Qu’ran has always existed with God, is sacred and almost deified)
8. Muhammad is the equivalent of Moses in Christianity and Judaism
9. Islam - the pronunciation of the verses in the Qu’ran is just as important as the content - there is no Christian equivalent for this
10. Islam - you are supposed to scorn the “infidel” not following the ways of Islam - in Christianity you are supposed to love anyone who does not know Jesus

I’m sure there are more (and more interesting) comparisons to be made but on my (so far short) journey into understanding Islam better I have come across these 10 and found them interesting.  One of the most interesting is that there is no way of knowing if you’re going to heaven other than if you die in the direct service of Allah - hence the term jihad and the idea of strapping explosives to your body.  And, of course, the idea that there will be many virgins awaiting you when you get there.So far, Islam strikes me as a very “eastern” religion that may have a difficult time integrating with western society for a myriad of cultural, linguistic, religious (of course), and life-stylistic reasons.  There are areas where the Islam way of life has already integrated with western society but it ends up dominating and taking over the local way of life.  As far as Islam is concerned, there is no other way of integration other than domination.  This should be startling to the average American and serve as a kind of shot of espresso in the political-religious arena here in the west.  We love our “tolerance” and this is exactly what is welcoming Sharia law in the UK right now but we should understand that there is no idea of tolerance in Islam.  One of the biggest ideas that ends up differentiating Christianity from Islam is that Islam is all about “submission” and Christianity is all about “freedom”.I’m sure this article is bound to infuriate some readers, so please be kind and leave some “helpful” comments.

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