comparison table between christianity, islam and judaism

8/6/2019 Comparison Table Between Christianity, Islam and Judaism

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Comparison Table

A table showing the differences and similarities between Christianity, Islam and Judaism.

Comparison Table between Christianity, Islam and Judaism:

This section looks at some of the differences and similarities between the three great monotheisticfaiths: Christianity, Islam and Judaism.

Topic Christianity Islam Judaism

Origin of the Name From the Greek: christos ,

'Anointed' - referring to JesusChrist.

Derived from an Arabic

word for 'submission'. Alsorelated to the Arabic word salaam , 'peace'.

From the Hebrew: Yehudim ,

'Judah'.

Founder Jesus Christ(c. 4 B.C. - 30 A.D.)

Mohammed(570 - 632 A.D.)

Abraham (First Patriarch, born c. 1800 B.C.)

Divisions Three main groups:Orthodox , Protestant andRoman Catholic .

Two main groups: Sunni andShia (The division occureddue to a dispute as to thelegitimate successor of the

prophet Mohammed). Thereis also a mystical/asceticmovement in Islam known asSufi.

Several divisions, includingHasidic, Conservative andReform Judaism. Ethnicgroupings include Ashkenazi(The majority) and SephardiJews.

Followers(2006 Estimate)

2,100 Million 1,300 Million 14 Million

Nature of God One God, who exists in threedistinct persons (TheTrinity): Father, Son andHoly Spirit (Matthew 28:19).

One God (Arabic: Allah ),who is not a trinity. TheIslamic view of God is calledstrict Monotheism (Quran112:1).

One God (known in Englishas 'Yahweh' or 'Jehovah') -"...Hear Israel, the Lord isour God, the Lord isone." (Deuteronomy 6:4).

Holy Book(s) The Bible (from theGreek: Biblos , 'books'), given

by God to man. The Biblewriters were inspired by Godin their writings. ThusChristians refer to the Bible

as the Word of God (2Timothy 3:16).

The Quran or Koran (Arabic:'recitation'), revealed to the

prophet Mohammed over a period of about 20 years. TheQuran is the final revelationgiven by Allah to mankind.

The Hebrew Tanakh, similar to the Christian OldTestament, comprised of theTorah (Hebrew: 'Law'),

Nevi'im ('Prophets') andKetuvim ('Writings').

Jesus Christ The second person of theTrinity: "...true God fromtrue God" (Nicene Creed),and born of the Virgin Mary.

A prophet, sent by Allah and born of the Virgin Mary, butnot divine (Quran 5:17).

An ordinary Jew, not theMessiah nor a divine person.

Jesus Christ, The Missionof

To reconcile Man to God,through his death as asacrifice for the sins of allmankind.

To proclaim the Injil , or gospel. This gospel has beencorrupted over time byhuman additions andalterations.

As Judaism rejects the ideaof Jesus as Messiah , hismission is of no relevance.

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Jesus Christ, The Death of "...For our sake he wascrucified...he suffered deathand was buried. On the thirdday he rose again...heascended intoheaven..."(Nicene Creed)

Jesus was not crucified(Quran 4:157), but wasraised to Heaven by Allah(4:158).

Jesus was crucified for hisclaim to be divine.

Holy Spirit The third person of theTrinity, truly divine: "....withthe Father and the Son he isworshipped andglorified." (Nicene Creed)

Identical with the AngelGabriel, who appeared to theProphet Mohammed givinghim the Quranic text.

Not a distinct person, but adivine power which for example, was given to theProphets.

Other Traditions The writings of the earlychurch fathers andecumenical councils,including the Creeds.

The Hadith, a collection of traditions/sayings of theProphet Mohammed. TheHadith functions as asupplement to the Quran,giving guidance to Muslimsfor daily living.

The Talmud, an oral traditionexplaining and interpretingthe Tanakh. It includes theMishnah - a code of Jewishlaw.

Examples of Rituals The Sacraments, includingBaptism and HolyCommunion(Eucharist). In

Orthodoxy and RomanCatholicism, five more areadded, viz: Confirmation(Chrismation), Marriage,Penance, Holy Orders andAnointing of the sick.Prayer is also an important

part of the faith.

Five important rituals(known as the pillars of Islam):

1. Shahadah - A professionof faith.2. Salat - Prayer five timesdaily.3. Zakat - alms giving.4. Sawm - Fasting during theHoly month of Ramadan .5. Hajj - Pilgrimage to theHoly city of Mecca.

Rituals include theCircumcision of newly bornJewish males, Barmitzvah - aceremony marking the'coming of age' of JewishBoys and observation of theSabbath ( Shabat ). As in theother faiths, prayer isimportant. The Jewish prayer

book is called the siddur .

Sin We inherit a sinful naturethrough our commonancestor Adam, who rebelledagainst God. Jesus Christatoned for our sins throughhis death on the Cross(Romans 5:12-17).

There is no concept of original sin, nor vicariousatonement. All Humans are

born sinless, but humanweakness leads to sin.

Judaism rejects the doctrineof orginal sin. Atonement for sins commited is madethrough seeking forgivenessfrom God in prayer andrepentance. In addition, theday of atonement ( Yom

Kippur ) is set aside speciallyfor this purpose.

Salvation By grace through faith inJesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Achieved through goodworks, thus personalrighteousness must outweigh

personal sin (Quran 23:101-103).

Through good works, prayers and the grace of God. There is no parallel tothe Christian view of substitutionary atonement.

Hell A place of everlasting punishment for theunrighteous (Matthew25:46). There is no crossover

between Heaven and Hell.

A place of torment and fire(Quran 25:65, 104:6-7). InIslam, Hell is known as

Jahannam . Jahannam hasseveral levels and a personmay not necessarily spendeternity there.

Tradtionally, there is theconcept of Gehinnom or Gehenna - those who die insin may suffer temporary

punishment, but certain sinsmerit eternal punishment.However, Judaism's ideas of the afterlife have variedwidely among differentgroups and in different time

periods. For the most part,Judaism doesn't emphasizethe afterlife.

Topic Christianity Islam Judaism


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