Christianity and Islam

Rise of Christianity• Some Jews began to revolt against Roman rule,

resulting in all Jews being banned from Jerusalem

• Jesus of Nazareth

– Born in the town of Bethlehem

– All knowledge about Jesus comes from the Gospels, the first four books of the New Testament

– Traveled around preaching people to repent their sins and seek God’s forgiveness

• People needed to seek forgiveness for the coming of Judgment Day

• People were to practice humility, mercy, and charity

– As Jesus traveled, he gathered a small group of disciples, or followers• According to the Bible, Jesus performed

miracles and defended the poor– Roman authorities feared a political uprising

and arrested Jesus and sentenced him to death

• Jesus was crucified = nailed to a cross – Some believed he rose from the dead and

spent another 40 days teaching his disciples before ascending into heaven

– As a result, people began to call him Jesus Christ, the Greek word for Messiah

• Spread of Christianity

– Jesus’ disciples began to teach that all people could achieve salvation

• Salvation = forgiveness of sins and the promise of everlasting life in heaven

– The Apostles – the 12 disciples that Jesus had specifically chosen to carry out his message• Were the earliest Christian missionaries• Mostly only taught in Jewish communities

– Paul of Tarsus believed that God had sent him to convert non-Jews• Without him, Christianity might have

remained a branch of Judaism• The Christian message of eternal life after

death appealed to many• Roman religious toleration contributed to

the spread

• Persecution– Some local officials and rulers, such as Nero,

saw Christians as a threat and arrested and killed them• Fed to the lions, made them martyrs• Martyrs = people who die for their faith and

thus inspire others to believe• Christianity survived and triumphed

• Imperial approval of Christianity

–Emperor Constantine became the first Christian emperor after he converted after winning a battle

• He issued the Edict of Milan, which made Christianity legal within the empire and declared official tolerance of Christianity

–Emperor Theodosius outlawed public non-Christian sacrifices and ceremonies

• As a result, Christianity was adopted as the Roman religion and polytheism began to disappear

• The Early Christian Church– Development of ceremonies that inspired

people’s faith and made them feel closer to Jesus• Eucharist = held in memory of Jesus’ last

supper with his disciples–Eat bread and drink wine in memory of

Jesus’ death and resurrection• Baptism = people admitted into the

Christian faith• Mass = religious ceremony

– Hierarchy

• Priests ran the ceremonies and instructed a small local community

• Bishops = high-ranking church official who oversees a group of churches in a particular area

• Many Christians believed that Peter the Apostle founded the Roman Church

–Peter had been the bishop of Rome, so later bishops of Rome were seen as Peter’s spiritual heir

–They took the name popes

–Popes were seen as the head of the entire Christian church

Muhammad• Muhammad was born in Mecca and had a

successful career as a merchant• While traveling on business, Muhammad met

followers of Judaism and Christianity– These faiths influenced his thinking

• Muhammad was a religious man who often left his home to live in a cave for extended periods– One of the times at the cave, Muhammad

awoke to find himself in the presence of an angel, who commanded him to speak messages from Allah

– Decides God has chosen him to be a prophet to spread messages• Allah was the one and only true God• Instructions on how to live to please Allah and live

in paradise after death– Begins to preach in public and gains a number of

followers• Muhammad moves from Mecca to Yathrib, which came

to be called Medina, “the Prophet’s city”– This journey came to be known as the hegira, or hijra– The year the hegira took place became year one on

the Islamic calendar (622)• This new faith was called Islam, meaning “achieving

peace through submission to God”– Followers were called Muslims, claim ancestry to

Abraham and his son

Basic Religious Teachings• Monotheistic, the Qur’an is the sacred text of

Islam– The Qur’an also lays out five basic acts that

are central to Islam• The Five Pillars of Islam– Belief – profession of faith• “There is no god but God (Allah) and

Muhammad is the messenger of God”

– Prayer – perform five daily prayers, always facing Mecca

– Giving of alms or charity– Fasting = going without food or drink• Do this from dawn to dusk during the month of

Ramadan, the month when Muhammad began to report the messages• Muslims believe that fasting is a way to show that

God is more important than one’s own body– Pilgrimage, called the hajj, to Mecca• Pilgrims gather by the thousands to pray in the

city’s large mosque• Mosque = building in which Muslims worship

– Obeying Allah’s will means following the Five Pillars

• Guidelines for good behavior outlined in the Qur’an

–Muslims are forbidden to drink alcohol or eat pork

–Must wash themselves before praying and prohibits lying, stealing, and murder

– Jihad = “struggle for the faith”

• Struggle to defend Muslim communities or to convert people to Islam

– Islam is a peaceful religion

• The Qur’an teaches that Allah is the same God that the Jews and Christians worship–Muhammad considered Abraham, Moses, and

Jesus to be messengers of God, but saw himself as the last prophet

– Both the Jewish and Christian bibles came from God, but the Qur’an was the final message from God to humanity

–Muslims are to respect Jews and Christians as “people of the book”

Judaism Christianity Islam

Date est. 1500-2000 BC

First century AD

600s

Founded by

Hebrews Jesus/Paul of Tarsus

Muhammad

Where founded

Israel / Mid East

Mid East Mid East

Followers called

Jews Christians Muslims

Main prophet

Moses Jesus Muhammad

Claim ancestry

Abraham Abraham Abraham

Judaism Christianity Islam

Other prophets

Moses Moses & Jesus

Text Torah Bible Quran

Polytheistic/Monotheistic

Mono Mono Mono

Building worship

Synogogue

Church Mosque

Feelings violence

Anti-violence

Anti-violence

Anti-violence

Pilgrimage Jerusalem Jerusalem Mecca