Hurtful Love - the Difference Between Christianity & Islam
Last week Chuck Colson wrote of Loving Your Enemies and how the Koran doesn’t have the equivalent of the Biblical requirement to forgive and reconcile with those who wrong us.
The foundation of Islamic life is on the Five Pillars of Islam which are:
- Belief in the Oneness of God and that Mohammad was his last prophet
- Establishment of daily prayers
- Concern for and alms giving to the poor
- Fasting during Ramadan
- Pilgrimage to Mecca
Here are the foundations of Christianity
- Love God with all your mind, heart and soul
- Love your neighbour as much as you love yourself
A cursory look shows that the word love is not central to Islamic living as it is to Christianity. The Koran provides explicit details of who can and cannot be killed and also when they should be fought. In contrast, nowhere in the New Testament do we find instructions from Jesus on justifying any sort of killing. The entire New Testament is on forgiveness and reconciling with everyone, Christian and non-believer.
In a nutshell, Islam is about doing things and Christianity is about loving people and God’s creation. No doubt there have been exemplary Muslims who live according to the Christian tenets and there have been numerous Christians who have been lived totally contradictory lives.
Fortunately for Catholics we have hundreds of saints that we can emulate together with Our Lord to live a life of Love.
