Quotes & Sayings


We, and creation itself, actualize the possibilities of the God who sustains the world, towards becoming in the world in a fuller, more deeper way. - R.E. Slater

There is urgency in coming to see the world as a web of interrelated processes of which we are integral parts, so that all of our choices and actions have [consequential effects upon] the world around us. - Process Metaphysician Alfred North Whitehead

Kurt Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem says (i) all closed systems are unprovable within themselves and, that (ii) all open systems are rightly understood as incomplete. - R.E. Slater

The most true thing about you is what God has said to you in Christ, "You are My Beloved." - Tripp Fuller

The God among us is the God who refuses to be God without us, so great is God's Love. - Tripp Fuller

According to some Christian outlooks we were made for another world. Perhaps, rather, we were made for this world to recreate, reclaim, redeem, and renew unto God's future aspiration by the power of His Spirit. - R.E. Slater

Our eschatological ethos is to love. To stand with those who are oppressed. To stand against those who are oppressing. It is that simple. Love is our only calling and Christian Hope. - R.E. Slater

Secularization theory has been massively falsified. We don't live in an age of secularity. We live in an age of explosive, pervasive religiosity... an age of religious pluralism. - Peter L. Berger

Exploring the edge of life and faith in a post-everything world. - Todd Littleton

I don't need another reason to believe, your love is all around for me to see. – Anon

Thou art our need; and in giving us more of thyself thou givest us all. - Khalil Gibran, Prayer XXIII

Be careful what you pretend to be. You become what you pretend to be. - Kurt Vonnegut

Religious beliefs, far from being primary, are often shaped and adjusted by our social goals. - Jim Forest

We become who we are by what we believe and can justify. - R.E. Slater

People, even more than things, need to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone. – Anon

Certainly, God's love has made fools of us all. - R.E. Slater

An apocalyptic Christian faith doesn't wait for Jesus to come, but for Jesus to become in our midst. - R.E. Slater

Christian belief in God begins with the cross and resurrection of Jesus, not with rational apologetics. - Eberhard Jüngel, Jürgen Moltmann

Our knowledge of God is through the 'I-Thou' encounter, not in finding God at the end of a syllogism or argument. There is a grave danger in any Christian treatment of God as an object. The God of Jesus Christ and Scripture is irreducibly subject and never made as an object, a force, a power, or a principle that can be manipulated. - Emil Brunner

“Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh” means "I will be that who I have yet to become." - God (Ex 3.14) or, conversely, “I AM who I AM Becoming.”

Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. - Thomas Merton

The church is God's world-changing social experiment of bringing unlikes and differents to the Eucharist/Communion table to share life with one another as a new kind of family. When this happens, we show to the world what love, justice, peace, reconciliation, and life together is designed by God to be. The church is God's show-and-tell for the world to see how God wants us to live as a blended, global, polypluralistic family united with one will, by one Lord, and baptized by one Spirit. – Anon

The cross that is planted at the heart of the history of the world cannot be uprooted. - Jacques Ellul

The Unity in whose loving presence the universe unfolds is inside each person as a call to welcome the stranger, protect animals and the earth, respect the dignity of each person, think new thoughts, and help bring about ecological civilizations. - John Cobb & Farhan A. Shah

If you board the wrong train it is of no use running along the corridors of the train in the other direction. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

God's justice is restorative rather than punitive; His discipline is merciful rather than punishing; His power is made perfect in weakness; and His grace is sufficient for all. – Anon

Our little [biblical] systems have their day; they have their day and cease to be. They are but broken lights of Thee, and Thou, O God art more than they. - Alfred Lord Tennyson

We can’t control God; God is uncontrollable. God can’t control us; God’s love is uncontrolling! - Thomas Jay Oord

Life in perspective but always in process... as we are relational beings in process to one another, so life events are in process in relation to each event... as God is to Self, is to world, is to us... like Father, like sons and daughters, like events... life in process yet always in perspective. - R.E. Slater

To promote societal transition to sustainable ways of living and a global society founded on a shared ethical framework which includes respect and care for the community of life, ecological integrity, universal human rights, respect for diversity, economic justice, democracy, and a culture of peace. - The Earth Charter Mission Statement

Christian humanism is the belief that human freedom, individual conscience, and unencumbered rational inquiry are compatible with the practice of Christianity or even intrinsic in its doctrine. It represents a philosophical union of Christian faith and classical humanist principles. - Scott Postma

It is never wise to have a self-appointed religious institution determine a nation's moral code. The opportunities for moral compromise and failure are high; the moral codes and creeds assuredly racist, discriminatory, or subjectively and religiously defined; and the pronouncement of inhumanitarian political objectives quite predictable. - R.E. Slater

God's love must both center and define the Christian faith and all religious or human faiths seeking human and ecological balance in worlds of subtraction, harm, tragedy, and evil. - R.E. Slater

In Whitehead’s process ontology, we can think of the experiential ground of reality as an eternal pulse whereby what is objectively public in one moment becomes subjectively prehended in the next, and whereby the subject that emerges from its feelings then perishes into public expression as an object (or “superject”) aiming for novelty. There is a rhythm of Being between object and subject, not an ontological division. This rhythm powers the creative growth of the universe from one occasion of experience to the next. This is the Whiteheadian mantra: “The many become one and are increased by one.” - Matthew Segall

Without Love there is no Truth. And True Truth is always Loving. There is no dichotomy between these terms but only seamless integration. This is the premier centering focus of a Processual Theology of Love. - R.E. Slater

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Note: Generally I do not respond to commentary. I may read the comments but wish to reserve my time to write (or write off the comments I read). Instead, I'd like to see our community help one another and in the helping encourage and exhort each of us towards Christian love in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. - re slater

Tuesday, June 15, 2021

Five Surprising Similarities Between Christianity & Islam




Five Surprising Similarities Between
Christianity & Islam

by Sal
December 21, 2020

Photo Credits: World Magazine


Let’s forget about differences for a second.

With more than 2.4 billion followers, Christianity is the largest religion in the world. In terms of percentage and worldwide spread, Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world with around 1.8 billion adherents. However, these two major faiths are still perceived to be substantially disparate in terms of followers, beliefs, and practices. With Christianity being practiced majorly in the Western world, and Islam is the dominant religion in Middle-East and Asia, their geographical compositions differ considerably as well.

Furthermore, both belief systems have attracted and provoked significant negative criticism and ire over the years. Contrary to what many believe, however, both Christianity and Islam are perhaps two of the most closely linked religions to have ever existed. With a myriad of similarities stemming from their shared history and belief systems, Muslims and Christians are called Abrahamic cousins for a good reason.

Here are five surprising similarities between the two major faiths that are a source of perceived salvation for billions of people around the globe.

1. Both have the same basic framework

Judaism, Islam, and Christianity are the main three Abrahamic religions. Abrahamic alludes to the fact that all three are Semitic-originated religions that claim descent from the Judaism of the ancient Israelites and the worship of the God of Abraham (Ibrahim in Islam). In this regard, Christianity and Islam are monolithic religions that propagate the belief that divinity lies with one God who is the creator of everything. In fact, monotheism is the underlining fundamental belief of both faiths. Moreover, the structural similarities go beyond this.

They both have a revered prophet who preached the word of God against all adversities of his time. Muslims draw their jurisprudence from Prophet Muhammad’s word, whereas Christians believe in Prophet Jesus Christ. Lastly, people of both religions believe in similar rules/commandments that not only influence their moral conduct and behavior in this world but also inform their relationship with God. In this regard, they are also run on the inherent notions of heaven, hell, day of judgment, and the divine reward.

2. A shared History

Not only do the followers of these Abrahamic faiths believe in the existence of one true God, but they also share their historical roots. The Middle East acts as the birthplace of these two faiths. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, which is modern-day Israel, and carried his Baptisms in the region surrounding Jerusalem. Islam was born in Arabia (modern-day Saudi Arabia), mainly in the cities of Makkah and Medina, which were both home to Prophet Muhammad. All these places are accorded unparalleled spiritual importance in the Middle East.

Besides their region of origin, both religions also have similar genesis when it comes to major prophets and religious personalities that shape their legacies. Primarily, they trace their histories — and the history of human creation — to the first man ‘Prophet Adam’. Similarly, the sacrifice of Abraham (Ibrahim for Muslims), the struggles of Moses, the Ark of Noah (Noh in Islam), the piousness of John the Baptist, and the miracles of Prophet Jesus (Isa for Muslims) are all heralded as telling tales shared between the two religions. In fact, believing in Prophet Jesus — who is the main Prophet for Christians — is a cornerstone belief for Muslims as well. Quran and Prophet Muhammad hold Prophet Jesus in high regard. In fact, Islamic tradition also believes in the coming of the antichrist and the resurrection of the Prophet Jesus.

3. Jesus and Muhammad

Christianity revolves around the tradition and practices of Jesus and, similarly, Islam revolves around the tradition set by Prophet Muhammad. The sanctity of both figures is of utmost importance in both religions. The story of Jesus, as accepted by Islam as well, is quite similar to the story of Prophet Muhammad. Jesus’s birth was a miracle since he was born of a virgin woman named Mary (Maryum in Islamic tradition). He faced considerable hardships while preaching the message of God; his struggles are matched only by Prophet Muhammad who was shunned by his own people when he started spreading Islam. Despite all the social calamities they faced, both Prophets continued preaching their respective faith. It is true that, unlike Prophet Muhammad, Jesus was crucified by the Roman authorities; however, both of them still succeeded in setting stones for the two most prominent organized religions of the world.

Interestingly, both religions also value the steadfast companions of their respective prophets. For example, the twelve disciples of Jesus of Nazareth have the same status in Christianity as the ten blessed companions of Prophet Muhammad who were with him through thick and thin. Besides that, both did works of charity to help the poor. Both elevated the role of women in their respective societies. Both transformed their societies through major social and political reforms. And both taught about God, and in their own way, tried to bring people into deeper spiritual communion with God.

4. Holy Books — Bible and Quran

Islam and Christianity both have their own sacred books — the Quran in Islam and the Bible in Christianity — which are considered to be the source of God’s word. These books hold the messages that were preached by the respective prophets of both religions. In fact, the Quran acknowledges the existence of the Bible as God’s word as well; however, it holds that the essence and meaning have been changed.

Muslims and Christians treat their books as sources of morality. The basic doctrines stated in the holy scriptures are treated as God’s covenants which need to be followed earnestly by all. These include the commandments of Jesus in the case of the bible and the pillars of Islam in the case of the Quran. Both are treated with equal reverence by their followers.

5. Belief in the Hereafter and Accountability

One of the most defining features of all Abrahamic religions is the notion of accountability. The fundamental idea in both Christianity and Islam is that man would be held accountable for his actions on the day of judgment. The result of this divine accountability would then determine if a person would land in heaven on hell in the hereafter. It is the stringent theme of accountability at God’s hands that compels the adherents of both faiths to follow their respective commandments.

In fact, Christianity and Islam both regard the ongoing life on this planet as being frivolous and temporary; the life of the hereafter, on the contrary, is eternal and permanent. The promise of reward or punishment, therefore, influences the behavior and actions of Muslims and Christians alike.

Regardless of the differences between Islam and Christianity, both religions are closer to each other than what many people believe. Moreover, despite all their similarities and differences, these two great religions, with all their beliefs and dogmas, continue to influence the world in unprecedented ways.


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ADDITIONAL REFERENCES

Tell Me About Islam - 



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