From the three Religions of the Book, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, most people would think Christianity and Judaism are more closely related while Islam is an outlier. The idea that Islam is a radical religion is a stereotype that is not going away anytime soon. Rather, the truth can be explained about this religion so common folk do not conform to fake news and uninformed opinions of others. The number of similarities between Christianity and Islam is very surprising. Although they share many similar ideas, Christianity and Islam are mutually exclusive because some core beliefs differ.
There is a common misconception that Christianity and Judaism share many of the same beliefs but that is false. All three religions believe in one God. While Christains believe that Jesus is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Jews believe that Jesus is not God. Rather, they believe him to be a false Messiah. Not only do Jews reject Jesus as God, but they also belittle him and deny his holiness. Islam and Christianity share the belief that Jesus is the central figure of the reglion and that he is the Messiah or the Son of God. Although Muslims and Christains both accept Jesus as the Messiah, their meaning of Messiah differs. Christains view Jesus as the Messiah because he is literally the Son of God. This goes back to the Holy Trinity where Jesus is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is the Messiah or Son of God but he also is God the Father. On the other hand, Muslims believe that he is the Messiah but not God. Rather, they believe that Jesus is a prophet of God, but not actually God. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus asks, “‘Who do you say I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’” (Matthew 16:15-16). This passage from the Bible clearly defines Jesus as God (Christ) as well as the Son of God. On the contrary, it is written in the Quran that “They [Muslims] have certainly disbelieved who say that Allah is Christ, the son of Mary” (Sura 5:17). It is apparent that Muslims do not believe that God is the son of Mary. Muslims believe that Jesus is the Messiah but not God. While Muslims and Christains share many of the same beliefs, they come into conflict when determining whether or not Jesus is God.
Due to this conflict, Islam and Christianity are mutually exclusive relgions. Mutually exclusive is defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “being related such that each excludes the other”. Since Islam and Christainity disagree on a fundemental ideal, they cannot happen at the same time. The status of Jesus as being a prophet in Islam and God in Christanity makes the two relgions vastly different. Although Islam does not disagrace Jesus or deminish his contributions to society like Judaism, Islam does not accept Jesus as God. Therefore, it is entirely different from Christianity so the two are mutually exclusive.
Despite agreeing on Jesus as the Messiah, Muslims and Christians disagree on whether or not Jesus is God. Due to this major discrepancy, the two religions cannot happen together. If one were to believe that Jesus is God, he or she would be violating a major belief of Islam. It is suprising to see the similarities between Christianity and Islam when the majority of people think the Judaism and Christianity are more closely related. While all three Religions of the Book believe there is one God, they each have their own beliefs about who God is.
Adam Davis
596 Words
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mutually%20exclusive
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