They are based on the oral transmission of the stories and discourses, which may have been influenced by the growing split between Christians and Jews" (Fisher, 286). Virtually all that is known about Jesus comes from the gospels. The four gospels are not detailed historical narratives of the life of Jesus; they are accounts of salvation history, and they are testimonies of faith. Though they tell the story of Jesus" public ministry and of his death, they also tell of his resurrection and his imminent return, and of the ways in which he fulfilled the prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures (Corrigan, 349). Although Christians believe that were written under the guidance of God, they are not his direct word. This is a major difference in the two scriptures. The gospels Good news) were written to convince Jews that Jesus was the Messiah, whereas the Qur"an is the final revelation of God.
Christianity and Islam are monotheistic religions. They believe in one God is the creator of the world and all that is in the world. However, there is one variation on the oneness of God. Christians consider that there are three part of God. First, there is the God the Father; this is the God represented in the Old Testament. Second, there is the God the Son; this is Jesus as the Christ. Finally, there is the Holy Spirit. The three are considered to be one in the same. This is not the belief in Islam. Muslims believe that considering God to be three different entities contradicts the oneness of God (Armstrong, 210). .
Another similar yet different comparison of these two religions is the exercise of prayer, a way of communicating with God. Prayer is an integral part of Christianity and Islam. It is an obligatory practice for Muslins is to pray five times a day to God (Allah). This is not a point for debate and is one of the five pillars of Islam (Peters, 44). Muslim prayers are exact and always in Arabic. All Muslims throughout the world pray at the exact same time daily in relation to the position of the sun.
