Let's take a brief look at some of the major aspects of Jesus Christ, which stand in stark contrast to what's in the world's religions.
- God pursues a relationship with us. Have you ever been in a relationship where you were always the one who was initiating? They are tiresome and usually don't last very long. Best friends are the ones who enjoy each other so much that they invest their time equally in pursuit of that relationship. Unlike religions that try to reach their God, with Christ you see God reaching out to us. Jesus Christ said why he came: "that you might have life, and have it more abundantly." He came to give us an eternal life with him, for those who will believe in him.
- Jesus lived a perfect life and showed his superiority in the miracles he performed...healing the blind, quieting a violent storm at sea, raising people from the dead, instantly providing food for thousands of people. World religions have leaders who gave interesting messages, but none of them showed their miraculous power like Jesus did. Jesus said, "Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves."
- In many world religions people whip themselves for their sins or perform extensive self-sacrificing rituals. Jesus offers us forgiveness because as God, he paid for our sin for us. "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." On the cross, Jesus carried all of our sins for us and paid for them.
- Jesus rose from the dead three days after he was crucified. Many religions talk about reincarnation. Jesus, on a number of occasions, told others that he would be crucified and would then rise from the dead three days later. Jesus wanted to publicly prove his deity beyond any doubt. The Roman authorities were aware of this, and so posted an 11-14 man Roman guard outside Jesus tomb, and sealed it with a Roman insignia warning people to stand clear. Yet, three days later his body was gone from the tomb and Jesus showed himself alive to more than 500 people.
- No world religion claims that their central figure physically rose from the dead or even said that they would.
- The message of the Bible is unique. It is not a compilation of poetic, disjointed ideas. The Bible reveals God and His plan for our lives. It records for us that something in history went wrong and that the relationship we had with God was broken. It tells us how to restore that relationship and what the benefits are of doing that. Click here for a summary of what the Bible presents about this.
1. Jesus Christ is the only major world religion founder who had no beginning in time or space.
The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ, unlike any other person who has ever lived, had no beginning in time or space.
The gospel of John states, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made" (John 1:1-3, NIV).
The apostle Paul, in Colossians 1:15-17 (NIV) stated, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth . . . all things were created by him and for him."
Jesus Himself, when questioned as to His own origin, made the audacious claim, "before Abraham was born, I am" (John 8:58, NIV)!
The Bible teaches that Jesus existed eternally and had no chronological origin. No other religious leader can make such a claim. Gautama Buddha (560-480 B.C.), Mohammed (A.D. 570-632), Confucius (551-479 B.C.), and all other religious founders began their life at birth. Jesus already existed in heaven, prior to His earthly birth.
2. Jesus Christ is the only major world religion founder who lived a perfect and sinless life.
To be fair, Christians agree that many of the world's religions' founders taught high standards of morality and justice. For example,
- Buddha taught the Eightfold Path as a way to wisdom and morality.
- Baha'u'llah taught high principles of justice, world peace, and human rights.
- Moses, of course, provided the Ten Commandments and the Books of Law.
In none of these religions, nor in any other non-Christian faith, do the followers claim their founders to be perfect or without sin.
Only Christians claim, as the Bible teaches, that Jesus Christ was totally without the stain of sin. The writer of Hebrews stated, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin" (Heb. 4:15, NIV).
Likewise, the apostle Paul in commenting about the effectiveness of Christ's atonement stated, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21, NIV). Even Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor who unjustly condemned Jesus to die, admitted, "As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him" (John 19:6, NIV).
Jesus Christ, of all the world's religious founders, was without sin and lived a perfect life. Thus, he alone was qualified to do what was necessary to make salvation available to mankind.
3. Jesus Christ is the only major world religion founder who died as a sacrificial atonement for the sins of humanity.
Muhammad taught that to receive forgiveness of sins, one needs to ask for it sincerely and,
- if Allah (the Islamic god) wills (and you can never be sure of that), he may grant it.
- Buddha taught that sins cannot really be "forgiven", only that the desires of this life must be overcome by enlightenment.
The Bible, however, teaches that the only way sins may be forgiven is for an atonement to be made to cover them. The Old Testament taught that a sacrificial system using animals could temporarily atone for some sins. The New Testament, however, teaches that the ultimate sacrifice for sin was made by Jesus Christ by His death on the cross. He died as a sacrificial atonement for the sins of the world.
As John 3:16, (NIV), states, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."
Romans 8:3 (NIV) states, "For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering."
Only Jesus was qualified to be our sacrifice as He was without sin. Further, He gave Himself willingly to rescue us from our sinful lives and hell. Jesus said, "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord" (John 10:18a NIV).
4. Jesus Christ is the only major world religion founder who rose from the dead to demonstrate His power and authority.
Ever wonder what would rank as the most important event in all of world history?Would it be the invention of the wheel, the rise of the Roman Empire,World War II,or the fall of Communism?
Clearly, the most important event of all time, and one of the best attested historically of ancient times, was the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The Bible indicates that the third day after His crucifixion He rose from the dead and then, for 40 days afterward, was seen alive by a number of witnesses.
The apostle Paul reported to the Corinthians after Jesus' death "that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born" (1 Cor. 15:4-8, NIV).
Paul, along with the writers of the four Gospels and the other New Testament writers were absolutely convinced of the fact of Jesus' resurrection. Paul even states that if it were not true, then the Christian faith is false, "and if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead" (1 Cor. 15:14-15, NIV).
Indeed, Christianity stands or falls on the truth of Christ's resurrection. It is the one historical event that validates both the claims of Jesus about Himself and the message that Christians proclaim. No other religious leader validated his truth claims in such an undeniable way.
- Moses, as great a prophet as he was, is dead.
- Muhammad is dead.
- Buddha is dead.
- Confucius is dead.
- Baha'u'llah is dead.
- Any and all the founders of the world's religions are dead.
- Only Jesus Christ overcame death itself with this ultimate miracle, establishing once and for all the truth of His Lordship.
Jesus, however, demonstrated His superiority to all others by His birth, life, death, and resurrection. Thus, no other person who has ever lived can and should capture our allegiance as does Jesus. He alone offers us the way of salvation and the assurance of eternal life. As the apostle Peter boldly stated so long ago, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12, NIV). Jesus Himself said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John14:6, NIV).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------PART 1 ----ISLAM
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MOHAMMAD AND JESUS CHRIST
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SOME OF THEIR LAST WORDS
JESUS: "Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Luke 23:34. (said while dying on the cross at Calvary after being betrayed and sentenced to die for no legitimate reason).
MUHAMMAD: "May Allah curse the Jews and Christians for they built the places of worship at the graves of the prophets." Bukhari, Vol. 1, #427 [Muhammad had been poisoned years earlier by a Jewish woman whose husband was killed by the Muslims and the poison had slowly worked its effect. He said this while dying in the arms of his wife Aisha].
SLAVERY
JESUS: had no slaves. Jesus taught to do to others as you would have them do to you. Jesus had no slaves, and it is apparent from His teachings that He would not have slaves. He freed men, not enslaved them. No one wants to be enslaved against their will.
Further, Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:8-10,
"We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers..."
From these verses, we see that forcibly enslaving people, and trading in slaves, are against Christian teachings.
MUHAMMAD: was a slaver. He owned and sold many slaves, both male and female. He said Allah allowed him and his Muslim followers to have sex with their female slaves when the men wanted to. Reference the Quran, Sura (chapters) 33:50, 52, 23:5, and 70:30. Slaves are considered "booty" for Muslims when taken in raids, thus they are Muslim's property. Muhammad felt proud and conceited enough to enslave thousands of people.
The great Islamic historian Tabari wrote regarding Muhammad's sexual intercourse with his slave Mariyah; "he had intercourse with her by virtue of her being his property." [Tabari, Volume 39, page 194].
Muhammad made slaves out of the people he raided and fought against. Most notable were the women and children survivors of Muhammad's massacre of the 800 males (young teens and up) of the Jewish Banu Quraydhah, Sura 33:26. The Sirat Rasulallah - the earliest biography of Muhammad, gives much more detail on pages 461 and on. Shortly after massacring the Jewish males Ibn Ishaq wrote on page 466:
"Then the apostle divided the property, wives, and children of the Banu Qurayza among the Muslims, and he made known on that day the shares of horse and men, and took out the fifth", (Muhammad and his family got one fifth of all the spoils of war). . . Then the apostle sent Sa'd . . . with some of the captive women of Banu Qurayza to Najd and he sold them for horses and weapons."
SIN
JESUS: was born sinless; He lived a sinless life. Jesus asserted his sinlessness.
John 8:46 - "Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth why don't you believe me?" Also note 2 Cor. 5:21, 1 John 3:5, Heb. 4:15
MUHAMMAD: was declared to be a sinner - Sura 40:55 - "Therefore have patience; God's promise is surely true. Implore forgiveness for your sins, and celebrate the praise of your Lord evening and morning."
Sura 48:1,2 - "We gave you a glorious victory so that God may forgive you your past and future sins ....."
Muhammad also prayed for forgiveness of his sins, Bukhari volume 9, #482:
"...O Allah! Forgive me the sins that I did in the past or will do in the future, and also the sins that I did in secret or in public.
Further, Muhammad even acknowledged harming or cursing people unjustly. From Sahih Muslim, volume 4, "The Book of Virtue and Good Manners, and Joining the Ties of Relationship, chapter MLXXV
"HE UPON WHOM ALLAH'S APOSTLE INVOKED CURSES WHEREAS HE IN FACT DID NOT DESERVE IT, IT WOULD BE A SOURCE OF REWARD AND MERCY FOR HIM".
Hadith #6287 - "Abu Juraira reported Allah's Messenger as saying, "O Allah, I am a human being and for any person amongst Muslims upon whom I hurl malediction or invoke curse or give him whipping make it a source of purity and mercy."
PUNISHING SINNERS WHO WERE WILLING TO REPENT
JESUS
From John 8:2-11
At dawn He (Jesus) appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They were using this question as a trap in order to have a basis to accuse Him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with His finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one sir", she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
MUHAMMAD
From the Hadith of Abu Dawud, #4428
"Buraidah said: "A woman of Ghamid came to the Prophet and said: "I have committed fornication", He said: "Go back". She returned and on the next day she came to him again, and said: "Perhaps you want to send me back as you did to Maiz b. Malik. I swear by Allah, I am pregnant." He said to her: "Go back". She then returned and came to him the next day. He said to her: "Go back until you give birth to the child." She then returned. When she gave birth to the child she brought the child to him, and said: "Here it is! I have given birth to it." He said: "Go back, and suckle him until you wean him." When she had weaned him, she brought him to him with something in his hand which he was eating.The boy was then given to a certain man of the Muslims and he (the prophet) commanded regarding her. So a pit was dug for her, and he gave orders about her and she was stoned to death. Khalid was one of those who were throwing stones at her. He threw a stone at her. When a drop of blood fell on his cheek, he abused her. The prophet said to him: "Gently, Khalid. By Him in Whose hand my soul is, she has repented to such an extent that if one who wrongfully takes an extra tax were to repent to a like extent, he would be forgiven". Then giving command regarding her, prayed over her and she was buried.""
WAR - TREATMENT OF ADVERSARIES
JESUS: In Luke 9:54, 55 Jesus rebuked His disciples when they wanted to destroy a town that rejected Him. Also, in Luke 22:52, Jesus' disciples started to fight against those that came to arrest Jesus, He stopped them, and healed a man injured in the fight.
MUHAMMAD: told his followers to aggressively make war on non-Muslims: 9:5, 29. Sura 9 was one of the last Suras given by Muhammad. Initially, when Muhammad's group was weak, he ordered his followers to try to get along with other people. After the Muslims became powerful, he ordered them to spread Islam by force. Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman continued his wars of aggression. A few of Muhammad’s actions include:
The massacre of approximately 800 Jewish male captives: (noted in Sura 33:26).
He ordered the execution of 10 people when he took Mecca.Three of these people were slave girls who had previously made fun of Muhammad.Refer to "The Life of Muhammad", pages 551 and 552.
He attacked the Jewish city of Khaibar where he took one of the Jewish leaders and tortured him to force him to tell where some buried money was.After the man refused to talk, and was near death, Muhammad ordered that his head be cut off. Refer to "The Life of Muhammad", page 515.
WOMEN & MARRIAGE
JESUS:was not married. He healed women, forgave women, and encouraged women. The New Testament teaches that husbands should love their wives and not be harsh with them:Col. 3:19, Eph. 5:25, that men and women are equal in Christ - Gal 3:28, that they should be treated with respect - 1 Pet 3:7.
MUHAMMAD: commanded his male followers to beat their disobedient wives. He gave men the right to beat their wives who persistently disobeyed them.
Sura 4:34 "As those you fear may be rebellious admonish, banish them to their couches, and beat them."
The above verse was revealed in connection with a woman who complained to Muhammad that her husband slapped her on the face, which was still marked by the slap. At first Muhammad said to her "Get even with him", but then added 'Wait until I think about it". Later on the above verse was revealed, and Muhammad added, 'We (He and the woman) wanted one thing, Allah wanted another.
The Hadith also said much about women:
Muhammad said that women are generally so evil, that they will make up the majority of people in to hell.
Continuing with Bukhari,Vol. 1, #301: "O women! Give alms, as I have seen that the majority of the dwellers of Hell-fire were you (women). They [women] asked, "Why is it so, O Allah's Apostle?" He replied, "You curse frequently and are ungrateful to your husbands."
Bukhari Vol. 1, #28: "The Prophet said, "I was shown the Hell-fire and the majority of its dwellers were women who were ungrateful." It was asked, "Do they disbelieve in Allah?" (or are they ungrateful to Allah?), he replied, "They are ungrateful to their husbands and are ungrateful for the favors and the good done to them...."
CHRIST'S IDENTITY
JESUS: said He was the Son of God: John 5:18-27, 10:36, Matt 26:63, 64
[Jesus] asked, "Who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven."
Matthew 16: 15-17
JESUS IS THE WORD OF GOD
"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14
MUHAMMAD:said Jesus was not the Son of God - the Quran makes no distinction among Prophets and Christ is no more than a Messenger:
Sura 5:75 "Christ the son of Mary was no more than a messenger: many were the messengers that passed away before him ..."
The Quran denies Christ's divine origin:
Sura 43:59:"He was no more than a servant: we granted our favor to him, and we made him an example to the children of Israel."
Sura 3:59:"The similitude of Jesus before Allah is that of Adam: he created him from dust, then said to him, "Be": and he was."
JESUS WAS WORTHY OF WORSHIP
A man worshipped Jesus, and Jesus permitted it, but Jesus taught that only God was to be worshipped in Matthew 4:10 -
Jesus said to him, "Away from me Satan for it is written, "Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only".
Yet Jesus allowed people to worship him in Matthew 8:2 -
"And behold, there came a leper and worshipped Him saying..."
The Bible commands us to worship Jesus Christ:
"... all should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honors not the Son honors not the Father which sent him." John 5:23
"... let all the angels of God worship him." Hebrews 1:6
"... at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:10, 11
MUHAMMAD: JESUS WAS NOT WORTHY OF WORSHIP
The Quran implies that Jesus is not worthy of worship:
Sura 43:81:"Say: 'If the Most Gracious had a son, I would be the first to worship him.'"
PRAYER
JESUS: taught His disciples to pray simply, and from the heart.God listens to the heart, not the outward form:
Matt: 6:5-13:"But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words..."
Jesus taught that true prayer was an expression of relationship and communication with a heavenly Father.
MUHAMMAD: taught formalized prayer ritual: (quotes are from Bukhari, Vol. 1)
488 - passing in front of a praying person annuls his prayer
489 - it's a sin to pass in front of someone while they're praying
660 - don't raise from prayer before the Imam {Muslim cleric leading the formal, ritualized prayers), or God will turn your face into a donkey's face
685 - if the prayer rows (of men) aren't straight, God will alter your faces
690 - if the prayer rows aren't straight, the prayer is not good
717 - if you look up during prayer, you'll lose your eyesight
759 - if you don't perform the bowing perfectly, your prayers are not accepted
******note: all references of scripture are accurate to best of my knowledge
