Running Head: CHRISTIAN AND MUSLIM RELIGIONS
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Christian and Muslim Religions
Part One
Christianity has always been associated with the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is
believed to be the Messiah by a majority of the Christians. Christians believe in the birth, death,
and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Also, they believe in his crucifixion which is dated to
approximately year 30 of the Common Era ("Christianity in America | The Pluralism Project,"
n.d.). In a bid to make people believe the Messiah, Paul recognized as a Jewish tentmaker
converted to the way of Jesus and started preaching to all individuals including the Jews, nonJews, and Gentiles. Paul is also recognized for his involvement in nurturing the small Christian
communities. He also wrote letters to Christians and churches in the Mediterranean world. His
letters to the Christians are found in the New Testament.
The New Testament comprises of the four Gospels that are common and familiar to most
Christians. The Gospels tend to communicate the good news of Jesus Christ. Further, the Gospel
books including Mathew, Luke, Mark, and John are believed to have authority for the Churches.
It is imperative to understand that numerous small Christian churches have evolved over the
years.
The first Christian missions that were centered on preaching and spreading Christianity
were Franciscans, Spanish Catholics, and the first Jesuits. The missions were founded in 1573
CE. The first missions were responsible for the creation of the other forty-four missions that
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followed. Some of the other missions include the pilgrims that arrived in 1620 CE. The
Anglicanism also arrived in the Christian world in 1607CE. The Pilgrims are recognized as the
first Christian community that became permanent in the Plymouth plantation region.
In 1649 all Christians in the world were granted religious freedom. People were free to
engage in their worship without following any restrictions dictated by other churches. During
this period the Protestants had gained government control thus making it easy for them to restrict
the religious rights of the Roman Catholics. Despite the restrictions on the Roman Catholic
religious practices, the Catholic churches continued to attract large masses of people to listen to
their preaching about Jesus Christ.
Additionally, the declaration of independence had allowed more people to have the
freedom to engage in their religious practices regardless of their differences. The independence
was a starting point for the civil religion enjoyed by numerous individuals in America. People
had an opportunity to experience a flexible set of religious practices and ideas. As such, the
freedom of indulging in numerous religious ideas would enable America to be the center of
God’s plans. Further, the religious ideas were not meant to make any reference to a specific
religion. Therefore, individuals from distinct denominations had the freedom to agree to or
disagree with propositions made regarding religion.
Also, despite the Protestants’ decision to put restrictions on the Catholics, in the 1840s
CE, the Catholic population had started to increase in the land. In the 1860s the Roman Catholic
had become one of the dominant and largest religions in America ("Christianity in the World |
The Pluralism Project," n.d.). The religious landscape in America had been hanged due to the
arrival of numerous Catholic immigrants. The immigrants from Ireland and Germany had
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contributed to the large population ready and available to make the Roman Catholic a
recognizable denomination. Another denomination that rose to a dominant position is the
Pentecostal church which was said to be the fastest growing church in the 1970s within the US.
Over the years new churches are being created and developed from the existing denominations.
However, they all preach the same thing which is Christianity, Jesus Christ as the Messiah and
God as the creator of everything in the world.
References
Christianity in the World | The Pluralism Project. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://pluralism.org/timeline/christianity-in-the-world/
Christianity in America | The Pluralism Project. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://pluralism.org/timeline/christianity-in-america/
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Part Two
Being a Muslim individual in the US is not an easy thing even though numerous people
belong to this denomination. The experiences of discriminations from the Christians do not make
being a Muslim in the midst easy. As a Muslim, I have discriminations from fellow Christians,
prejudice, and racism among others. Muslims and Christians find it hard to believe in each
other’s religious ideas, beliefs, and practices. The majority of the Christians associate Muslims
with terror activities (In Heath and In Tarus, 2017). On the other hand, Muslims assume that
Christians are hypocrites.
I have had distinct experiences with the Christians in the nation. For instance, some of
them are willing to support my religion either because they do not agree with Christian ideas or
they are half Muslims and half Christians. On the contrary, it is hard to identify a full Christian
that is willing to accept and accept the Muslims. The Christians have a negative thing to say and
associate the Muslims with. In the same, way the Muslims also have negative opinions of the
Christians.
I remember a time when I had to share a class in college with a Christian individual who
was always opposed to my religion. According to the student, Muslim is a religion or
denomination that is associated with theological threats ("Issues in Christian-Muslim Relations:
Ecumenical Considerations — World Council of Churches," n.d.). Also, the students claimed
that Muslim is an economic and political threat. The students painted a negative picture of the
Muslim religion. He assumed that Christianity portrayed a positive self-image as opposed to
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Islam religion. In most of our classes, we would end up fighting verbally since we had negative
thoughts and opinions concerning each other’s denomination.
Although the student made an effort to abuse my religion I had to reciprocate and defend
my denomination. For instance, I always instead that Christianity was not about preaching the
gospel but rather against the Muslims. I maintained that most Christians indulged in crusades
that would focus on being against the Muslim religion rather than sharing the Bible teachings.
On the other hand, the Christian student would try to criticize our beliefs and ideas
regarding Prophet Mohammed. According to him, Jesus Christ was the only Messiah and the son
of God. The criticisms from the student and I made it hard for each of us to understand each
other’s religion. I believe that proper dialogue would have helped avoid such circumstances
where we had to fight for our religion to be respected.
It is imperative to understand that conflicts between individuals of different religions
arise due to poor communication and the lack of dialogue. The misunderstanding between
Christians and Muslims are not because of the differences in our ideas, practices, and beliefs.
The conflict results from the lack of understanding and appreciation for the different
denominations in the world. Based on my experience I remember that my fellow student utilized
arguments that were associated with what he had heard from other individuals. The arguments
did not have adequate proof to back them up. In the same way, I do not have much knowledge of
Christianity, and yet I was ready to defend my religion by any means possible. As such, through
dialogue and effective communication, the misunderstandings between the religions could be
mitigated.
CHRISTIAN AND MUSLIM RELIGIONS
References
In Heath, G. L., & In Tarus, D. K. (2017). Christian responses to terrorism: The Kenyan
experience.
Issues in Christian-Muslim Relations: Ecumenical Considerations — World Council of
Churches. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/wcc-programmes/interreligiousdialogue-and-cooperation/interreligious-trust-and-respect/issues-in-christian-muslimrelations-ecumenical-considerations
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