Religious symbols are utilized to convey aspects regarding people's relationship with the sacred or holy. It is also to the social and material worlds in some religious communities. Rituals are an essential aspect of religion because it enables believers to express or reaffirm their value systems. One of the vital objectives of rituals and symbols is communication. Rituals and symbols communicated or intended to pass a message to self, other people, and deities. Islam and Christianity have striking similarities and differences regarding their symbols and rituals. Each religious' community tries to pass a message through several rituals and symbols that are not common in other religious organizations.
It is no doubt that each country develops their unique symbols and rituals to define their beliefs. The main symbol that represents Christianity is the cross. The cross symbolizes Jesus, and Christians accept it as Christ and the son of God. They hold a belief that Jesus was crucified on the cross to deliver all individuals from their sins and focus on redemption, which includes love, forgiveness, peace, and service. They believe in the Trinity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Islam possesses the symbol of the Crescent and Star. Muslims are the earliest stages of the moon and depicts development (Zahniser, 2017). The star symbolizes the light of understanding. Islam is defined by submission and peace.
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Another critical difference between the two religions is Christianity came about due to the foundation of life teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Muslims hold believes that the word of God and teachers was started by the prophet Muhammad. He is the last prophet who taught God's law and demonstrated the Islamic practices through the angel Gabriel. Muslims follow the practices guided in the Quran while Christians follow the teaching from the Bible (Zeidan, 2018). Muslims believed that the greatest commandment is to submit to the will of God. On the other hand, Christians argue that people are commanded to love God with all the heart, soul, mind, and strengths.
Christians and Muslims believe that there is only a single God and all believers are children of God. This aspect implies that both religious organizations are monotheistic, which means one God. Also, they both accept that the world of their God was depicted through the prophets, and Jesus was the prophet who did many miracles (Peel, 2016). Another aspect is that Christianity and Islam both believe that they are descendants of Abraham, which implies that they descended from Judaism and worship the Supreme Being of Abraham.
Also, both religious communities believe that people will have a day of judgment and will be judged during the earth's last days. In Christianity, the judgment revolves if people will go to Hell for the rest of their lives. For Islam, it is known as Akhlrah, which means afterlife. People will stay in their grace till the end of the earth until the day of the judgment. Allah will judge them, and those who lived a pure life will go to Heaven while those who lived sinful life will go to Hell.
From the above comparison, it is clear that the two religions are similar in numerous ways but differ in few practices. These lessons will teach people to embrace religious diversity without judging people from different religious backgrounds. It will also help a person expand knowledge on global complexity and make one able to interact with people from all facets of the world. It will stop misunderstandings about different religions that sometimes lead to tension between numerous denominations. It will also promote the social and cultural development of people, groups, and communities.
References
Peel, J. D. Y. (2016). Christianity, Islam, and Orisa-religion: Three traditions in comparison and interaction . Oakland^ eCA CA: University of California Press.
Zahniser, A. M. (2017). The mission and death of Jesus in Islam and Christianity . Wipf and Stock Publishers.
Zeidan, D. S. (2018). The resurgence of religion: A comparative study of selected themes in Christian and Islamic fundamentalist discourses . Brill.
