Similarities Between Islam and Christianity free essay sample

GENERAL PURPOSE: To inform. - SPECIFIC PURPOSE: To inform my audience about the similarities between the religion of Islam and Christianity. INTRODUCTION 1. (ATTENTION GETTER) Most of us do not know that the teachings of Islam and Christianity are related to each other. This is because our society do not open their minds to know about other religions and cultures. Now, there are lots of conflicts happened between these two religions because there is no understanding between us, the Muslims and the Christians. If you remember about the `Allah` issue which happened two years ago. The actual fact is the Christians also worship the same God as we, the Muslims worshipped. 2. (RELEVANCY STATEMENT) Judaism, Christianity and Islam are the Semitic religions, which means the religion that have their own Holy Scriptures which sent by God Almighty to His lovely Messengers, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad S. A. W. (Peace Be Upon them all). We will write a custom essay sample on Similarities Between Islam and Christianity or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page For example, the Torah for the Jews, the Gospel for the Christians and the Qur`an for the Muslims. 3. (CREDIBILITY STATEMENT) I have studied the Holy Qur`an and the Holy Bible for more than two years. I`m doing comparative religion study as my personal interest. Sometimes, I had a discussion and a dialogue with my Christian friends for them to share about their religion. I asked them some things that I do not know about Christianity and at the same time I also share things that they do not know about Islam with the knowledge that I have. From the discussion that we made, praise be to God, slowly the unity and prosperity take place between us. 4. (REVEAL TOPIC) Today, I would like to inform you about the similarities between these two Abrahamic religion. 5. PREVIEW) The similarities between Islam and Christianity can be revealed from these aspects. * Relationship with God Almighty * The origins of Islam and Christianity through the descendants of Prophet Abraham (Peace Be Upon Him) * Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) sent only for the lost sheep of Israel (Bani Israel) (TRANSITION: Here are some explaination about these aspects that we have in common with verses quote from the Holy Scriptu res from both religions. ) BODY I. (MP 1) Relationship with God Almighty. (INTERNAL PREVIEW: This aspect is the common term in Islam and Christianity) A. SP 1) The followers of Islam which called as Muslims are the people who fully submitted to God`s will. Only to God we worship and only to Him we search for help. In the holy Qur`an Surah Al-Fatihah verse 5 explains about this. Surah Al-Ikhlas verse 1-4 also explain about the Oneness of God. â€Å"Say: He is God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him. † B. (SP 2) In Christianity, there is also teaching about the Oneness of God, which means to worship only to God Almighty. In the Holy Bible, the teachings to worship God Almighty are told in Deuteronomy 6:4 and Mark 12:29, â€Å"The LORD our God, the LORD is One. † Jesus Christ (Peace Be Upon Him) is not God. He never claimed Divinity. Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) said in the Holy Bible, Matthew 4:10 and Luke 4:8, â€Å"Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve. † II. (MP 2) The origin of Islam and Christianity through the descendants of Prophet Abraham (Peace Be Upon Him) (INTERNAL PREVIEW: Now, let us examine the descendants of Prophet Abraham (Peace Be Upon Him)) A. SP 1) Judaism, Christianity and Islam are known as Abrahamic religions because of their common origin through Prophet Abraham (Peace Be Upon Him). Muslims consider Prophet Ishmael [(Ismail)Peace Be Upon Him)], the first born son of Abraham, to be the Father of the Arabs and Abrahams second son, Prophet Isaac [(Ishaq) Peace Be Upon Him], is called Father of the Hebrews. The story of Prophet Abraham (Peac e Be Upon Him) and his sons is told in the Book of Genesis and the Quran but with certain differences. Prophet Ishmael (Peace Be Upon Him) is considered to be the ancestor of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) Muslims commonly refer to Christians and Jews as People of the Book (Ahlul Kitab), people who follow the same general teachings in relation to the worship of the One God (Tawhid) as known by Prophet Abraham (Peace Be Upon Him). III. (MP 3) Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) sent only for the Jews; the lost sheep of Israel (Bani Israel) (INTERNAL PREVIEW: As you can see, Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) sent by God only to guide the Jews; the lost sheep of Israel (Bani Israel). Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) does not teach the religion of Christianity. He is sent by God to guide the Jews to worship God Almighty just like the other prophets before him. ) A. (SP 1) The Holy Qur`an, Surah Ali-Imran verse 49, â€Å"And (appoint him) an apostle to the Children of Israel, (with this message): I have come to you, with a Sign from your Lord, in that I make for you out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by Gods leave: And I heal those born blind, and the lepers, and I quicken the dead, by Gods leave; and I declare to you what ye eat, and what ye store in your houses. Surely therein is a Sign for you if ye did believe;† B. (SP 2) The Holy Bible, Matthew 10:5-7, â€Å"These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. † This verse tells us that Jesus (Peace Be Upon Him) sent his twelve disciples to go preach the Gospel of God to the lost sheep of Israel. If they follow and preach the laws and the commandments, the heaven will be rewarded. CONCLUSION I. (SUMMARY STATEMENT) As we have known, the religion of Islam and Christianity have a lot in common in certain aspects. Knowing other religions and cultures is important to build an understanding towards the others. We can unite the people from all aspect of life by understanding because by building understanding, we can talk from the hearts of the others. That is what I believe which is true. II. (MEMORABLE CLOSING STATEMENT) Take some time to realize that we are not different from each other. We are all the same because we are the servant of God and from one descendant, which is from the descendant of Prophet Adam (Peace Be Upon Him). So, I hope you guys can take some of your past time to do some research about the other religion to build understanding amongst each other so that hopefully we can unite to prevent any type of terrorism. Unity brings peace to the world. REFERENCES Yusuf Ali, Abdullah. (2008). The Holy Qur`an, Original Arabic Text with English Translation and Selected Commentaries. Malaysia: Saba Islamic Media. Version, King James. (2011, January 4). Alkitab Bible Study 2. 6. 1. Retrieved from http://www. kiyut. com/products/alkitab/ Zakir Naik, Dr. (2011, February 19). Similarities between Islam and Christianity. Retrieved from http://islam101. net/comparative-religion-mainmenu-34/41-christianity/145-similarities-between-islam-and-christianity. html