World Religions Report

Jesus and Muhammad were the two most influential people in all of religious history. From the moment Jesus and Muhammad were born, they taught many people about their religions and their teachings continued into the future. In the year 6 B.C.E.(before common era) the son of God, Jesus Christ was born near the town of Bethlehem. (Fisher, 2006) About 600 years later in a town called Mecca, the Prophet Muhammad was born. The experiences of these two men shaped the future of both religions. This paper will take a look at the lives of these two men and the impact they had after their deaths. A comparison of these men and how they influenced their religions and how they are worshipped today will happen as well. All of these things will try and explain the teachings and messages these two men conveyed to their followers and how they are being followed today.

Before Jesus was born there were many prophecies telling that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem, especially in the book of Isaiah in the old testament of the Bible. Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary and his father Joseph in the year 6 B.C.E. He was born during the Judean reign of King Herod. (Fisher, 2006) When Jesus was 12 years old, his parents found him in the temple listening to the teachers and asking them questions. He told his parents, “I must be in my father’s house”. (Bible, Luke 2, 49) After that there is not much written about Jesus up until the age of 24. Jesus was a simple who was known for his devotion to the Lord. Jesus began to tell people about God at about the age of 25. At this time of his life, he was healing the sick and exercising demons. When traveling to Nazareth, Jesus was baptized by John, who later became one of Jesus’ Apostles. After being baptized, Jesus had begun to preach on a higher level. The death of Jesus Christ happened on the day after the Last Supper. He was then resurrected and that was a major point in the Christian religion. Both occurrences had major impacts on the religion, while Jesus’ resurrection is looked at as the biggest point in Christianity. Before the day of Jesus’ crucifixion, he gathered his disciples and the last supper began. Jesus then told his disciples of his impending death. Jesus knew that one of his apostles would betray him. Judas was the one who told the Pharisees and chief priests where Jesus was and then Jesus was crucified. He died for everyone’s sins. He rose from dead three days later, and until the day he was taken to heaven, he appeared to his apostles for 40 days and told them about the kingdom of God. Then Jesus was taken up in a cloud and two angels said to the apostles “Jesus would return the same way he went up into heaven”. (Bible, Acts 1, 3&11)

Muhammad, the Prophet, was born in the year 570 C.E. (Common Era) (Fisher, 2006) Muhammad was born into a poor clan. His father died before Muhammad was born. Because of his father’s death, Muhammad could not inherit any of his father’s land, which made Muhammad grow up in poverty. At 12 years old, he visited Syria and saw the views of Jews and Christians and found a respect for these people. He was a servant until the age of 25 when he married a wealthy widow named Khadija. They had 6 children; 2 boys who died in infancy, and 4 girls. When Muhammad was 40, the angel Gabriel came to him and said he was to be the messenger of God. Muhammad’s followers became known as Muslims and they created the religion called Islam. Muhammad made the decision to take the messages he had been given to the public. These recitations were all taken down in written form and were later to become the Holy Qur’An, the sacred scriptures of the Islamic religion. Muhammad came to make up rules he said had come from God himself. “Some of the revelations included that the world would end, that God would judge humans mercifully if they submitted to His will, and that people should pray to show their gratitude to God (Bard, 2005).” Muhammad and his meager followers, at this time, then