Differences Between Islam and Christianity

 

  Islam Christianity
What is the true religion? Islam is the only true religion.
Anyone choosing a religion other than Islam will be lost (Koran 3:85). Disbelieving the Koran leads to a painful punishment (84:20-5). Those with gods other than Allah are heirs of the fire of hell (2:257).
Christianity is the only true religion.
Jesus said that He was the way, the truth, and the life, and no one gets to the Father but through Him (John 14:6). One must accept Jesus as He claimed to be, or one will die in sin (Jn. 8:24).
What role do good works play with our standing before God?

Good works are meritorious for right standing before God only after all we can do.

Good works of self-purification bring salvation from the blazing fire (92:14-21). One needs not only faith, but good works in order to avoid being lost (103:1-3). It is regular prayer throughout the day and good works that amend for sins (11:114). The garden of paradise is earned by one’s labors (7:43). The balance of good deeds is what yields salvation (23:101-3).

Good works are not meritorious for right standing before God only after all we can do.

Salvation is a free gift that must be received through faith, not of works, since no one is good enough to earn it from an all-holy Judge. If this is genuine faith, then it is automatically demonstrated by the overall good life produced by it (Romans 4:5; 11:6; Galatians 3:11, 23-26, and 5:6; Eph. 2:8-10; 1 Jn. 5:10-13; and James 2:14-26, NAS).

Does there need to be a sacrificial atonement for sins? There does not need to be a sacrificial atonement for sins.
Though sacrifices are important in Islam, none make atonement for sins. It is the piety in which they are offered that pleases Allah (22:32-7). Everyone is responsible for his or her own sin, and there is no bearer of the burdens of another (6:164; and 17:15). Since Allah is most merciful, He simply lets all sins slide for those who repent and have good works (2:37 with 39:53).
There must be a sacrificial atonement for sins.
Though God really wants a person’s heart rather than animal sacrifices (Psalm 40:6; 51:16-9; and Isaiah 1:11-8), the debt of sin must still be paid. “The wages of sin are death” (Rom. 6:23), and an all-Holy Judge must enforce this penalty. For “without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins” (Hebrews 9:22). We all fall under this curse, since we are all unclean and all our righteousness is as filthy rags (Isa. 64:6). Once the heart is penitent, then God accepted animal sacrifices (Ps. 51:19). But the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sins (Heb. 10:4). Instead “we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Heb. 10:10). He was the perfect Lamb of God. “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross” (1 Peter 2:24). Though the God of Islam is portrayed as holy, He is not as holy as the God of the Bible who upholds the penalty for sin. Further, though the God of Islam is portrayed as loving and merciful in letting sin slide for the repentant, He is not as loving and merciful as the God who willingly laid down His life to pay the penalty. There is no greater love (Jn. 15:13; and Acts 20:28).
Did Jesus die and rise again? Isa (Jesus) never died.
Isa never died, but was lifted up into heaven while another resembling him was crucified (4:157-8).
Jesus died on a cross and rose from the dead.
Jesus died and was raised from the dead. This event was foretold in the Old Testament and by Jesus in the New Testament. Others gave their life bearing witness for this event (Isa. 53 with 1 Pe. 2:21-4; Matthew 16:21-3; Jn. 2:19-22; 19:16-30; 20:24-9; and 1 Cor. 15:3-4).
Does God have a begotten Son? Allah (God) does not have a begotten Son.
That Allah should beget a son is “an abominable assertion” (19:88-9), a “grievous word” and “lie” (18:5). Allah is far above having a son (4:171). Allah does not have a consort to even have a son (6:101).
God has a begotten Son.
God has an only begotten Son (Ps. 2:7 and 11-2; Proverbs 30:4; Jn. 1:18; and 3:16). Thus the Son has the same nature as His Father: both are eternal, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, creator of everything outside their own Being, etc. Since God is all-powerful, He does not need a consort to beget a Son from eternity.
Is Jesus God? Isa is not Allah.
Isa is no more than a favored servant and an example to the Israelites (43:57-9). He is only a messenger of Allah (4:171). He was a great prophet who prophesied of Ahmad (“the Praised One”) or Muhammad (61:6).
Jesus is God.
Jesus certainly was a prophet (Acts 3:22-3), but He has always been the only true God there is along with the Father and Holy Ghost (Is. 9:6; 43:10; Jn. 1:1-3 and 14; 5:18-23; 8:56-59; 20:28-29; Acts 20:28; Rom. 9:5; Colossians 1:13-18 with Is. 44:24; Heb. 1:2-12; Revelation 1:7-8, 17-18; and 22:6, 12-20 with Isa. 44:6). Since the above verses teach that Jesus created the heavens and that Jehovah did it alone, Jesus must at least be one of the members of Jehovah. To teach otherwise is to devalue Jesus. He never prophesied of Muhammad.
The Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is not Allah.
The Holy Spirit is the angel Gabriel (2:97 with 16:102; and 26:192-3).
The Holy Spirit is God.
The Holy Spirit is God (2 Samuel 23:2-3; Ps. 95:7-11 with Heb. 3:7-19; Isa. 6:8-10 with Acts 28:25-7; Jer. 31:33-34 with Heb. 10:15-6; Mt. 28:19 [equality with the Father and the Son]; Acts 5:3-4; and 1 Cor. 6:19-20). The Spirit of God was involved with creation (Gen. 1:2; Job 33:4; and Ps. 104:30), yet Jehovah claims to have spread out the heavens and earth alone (Isa. 44:24). Thus, the Spirit of God must be the Creator as well.
Is God Triune? Allah is not Triune.
Allah is one Allah and not a Trinity (4:171). Disbelievers affirm the Trinity (5:73). The Trinity is assumed to be polytheistic (5:116; 9:30-1; and 72:2-4).
God is Triune.
Although the doctrine was not formulated in scholarly language until the fourth century, the Bible still teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three distinct or different persons, who are eternally and inseparably one in purpose, nature, and being (Ps. 44:20-21 with 45:1-7; Is. 43:10; Mt. 3:16; 4:10; and 28:16-20). So the Father is not the same person as the Son, and the Son is not the same person as the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not the same person as the Father, but nonetheless, each Person eternally makes up the only Being of God there is. Hence, the charge of trinitarianism entailing polytheism is a false understanding of the Christian doctrine. If the Koran is really the word of Allah, then presumably He should be able to accurately articulate this doctrine.
Is God sexist? Men are better than women.
Men are made to a superior degree above women. Women are to be obedient, and when they are not, they are to be sent to bed and beaten (2:228; and 4:34).
Men are equal to women.
Though the Bible is clear that men and women have different roles, nonetheless, men and women are both made in God’s image and both are one in Christ (Gen. 1:27; and Gal. 3:28).
Marriage in heaven? There will be marriage in heaven.
Being married to virgins in the afterlife is one of Allah’s blessings (2:25; 4:57; 44:51-4; 52:17-20; 55:41-78; and 56:36-47).
There will be no marriage in heaven.
Jesus was clear that in the resurrection, there will be no marital relations. Instead, individuals there will be as the heavenly angels (Mt. 22:23-30).
Koran? The Koran is the word of Allah.
It could only be from Allah, since it confirms and explains the Scriptures before it (2:41 and 97; 3:3; 4:47; 5:44-9; 10:37; 12:111; and 46:12). If in doubt, then one is challenged to compose some other scripture like it (2:23; 10:38; 11:13-4; and 52:33-4). Men working with jinn (certain heavenly creatures) could never compose a similar piece of work (17:88). Those who deny this revelation have hell-fire that awaits them (4:56).
The Koran is not of God.
The Koran cannot be from God since it contradicts what God has already revealed (Acts 17:10-11; and Gal. 1:6-9). Even the Koran says the Bible is to be believed as the word of Allah (10:94), and His words cannot be altered (6:34; cf. Ps. 12:6-7; Isa. 40:7-8; Mt. 5:17-8; Mt. 24:35; and Jn. 10:35). The Law of Moses as well as the Gospel of Isa gives guidance and light (3:3; and 5:44-9). Isa says in the Koran that He is to be obeyed (3:50). One can obey Him by learning His teachings in the Bible. This Bible that was around in Muhammad’s time is the same Bible today. Further, there are plenty of false revelations that are similar to the Koran (e.g., the Book of Mormon), and these all contradict what God has already revealed in the Bible.