What religion is closest to Christian?

Answer 1

This a controversial question and will therefore be divided into three categories of answers:

Answers A: There is a specific sect of Islam that is closest to Christianity

Answers B: There is no sect of Islam that is closest to Christianity

Answers C: Islam does not have sects.

Answers A

Answer A1

Islam certainly does have sects, contrary to the desires of Muslims who wish to cling to a unitary idea of truth. There are three main sects within Islam: Ahl Sunna (commonly called Sunni), Shi'a (commonly called Shiite) and Ibadi. The main distinction between them is who has the right to power over the community.

The sect that is closest to Catholicism and Orthdoxy is likely Shi'a and the sect that is closest to Protestantism is likely Ahl Sunna. The reason that the sects divide out in this way is based on power distribution and organization. Shiites have a much more regimented organization with regional religious areas similar to dioceses and Ayatollahs similar in rank to Patriarchs in Orthodoxy. Sunnis have a much more diffuse and more particular set of differences between them, which is much closer to Protestantism. In terms of theology, no sect of Islam is closer to any sect of Christianity than any other, save that Shiite Islam has an additional Messiah called the Mahdi, who is supposed to come with Jesus.

Answers B

Answer B1

None. Islam is not close to Christianity, although many people want you to believe that it is. The basic argument is that Christians and Muslims share the same God, which is completely untrue. If you do your research, you will find that the Muslims derived their God, Allah, from a moon god that dated back from polytheistic practices in the middle east.* The Christian God, many times called Jehovah, dates back to Adam and Eve.

Answer B2

Again a matter of how followers of Christianity have idolized Jesus and pray to him in practice. According to Islam, Jesus is a key prophet, but should be treated as messenger only like Muhammed. It therefore becomes hard for a Muslim to go to a Church since all churches venerate Jesus.

Answer B3

I think to compare a "sect" of Islam wouldn't make much sense, rather look at the two holistically.

Christianity, from what I understand, believes in God who has created all things, I cannot comment on the status of Jesus in Christianity, but if you compare the two religions holistically, they follow relatively the same path to a point. From what i have seen, there is reference in Christianity to other prophets prior to Jesus, and Islam has the same references. The primary difference according to my understanding is that Christianity stops at the stage where Jesus is referred to. Islam on the other hand depicts a continuation of the message brought down by Jesus. It is up to you to decide whether or not you choose to believe that this is true, but consider the original bible (Which is impossible to obtain given that the initial copy of the bible was written 70 years after Jesus passed, and the "Old Testament" having been circulated from about 400 AD) and look at the similarities in the actual message that has been brought down.

Bottom line, irrespective of the differences in religion, we can agree on one thing, God is God, he created everything we know, and he sent down prophets to guide us. It is for us to accept that which God has given.

Answers C

Answer C1

All the interpretations and translations only add confusion, when the answer lies in the basics which is not very visible. Islam is the religion of Abraham .. surprised? Its true. Muhammad is the last prophet.. but who is the first?

With that in mind, Judaism, Christianity and Islam have the same roots and hence are similar. The Quran actively refers to incidents in Torah and Bible, and so these are also holy books for Muslims.

Monotheism is the key here. All claim but many have drifted away from that in practice, giving more focus on the messengers than the source, God (aka Allah).

Islam at its core does not define sects -again an artifact of interpretations and differences in practice.

Answers C2

According to Koran 6:159 and 30:31-32, the Muslim has nothing to do with sects. The following map gives us a picture of the jurisprudence schools of thoughts used in different countries.

Out of all the populations you will not find a single sect that would be like the whole of Christianity. Instead you will find christian sects which are much like the Muslims. Such as the early Nazarene sect. The Koran states that the closest to the Muslim is the christian for specific reasons given in Koran 5:82

- You will find that the worst enemies of the believers are the Jews and the idol worshipers. And you will find that the closest people in friendship to the believers are those who say, "We are Christian." This is because they have priests and monks among them, and they are not arrogant.

- The Arabic term Nasara translated here as christian, though it's most likely a reference to the Nazarene which was the original name for the followers of Jesus as referenced in Acts 24:5-18 which Paul was being accused of, though he flatly denied it.

- Ultimately the Koran states that closest to the Muslims are the learned people who are scholars themselves and humbled to the god.

- The only possible sect that would incorporate Islam and have similarities to Christianity would be the Yazidi sect. A small Iraqi kurdish sect that became infamous after the honor killing of Dua Khalil

- Of course according to some in the past, Islam was considered a heretical sect of Christianity.

- Some even today believe that Islam is a sect that was created by the Catholic church, this was first proposed by Jack Chick after he was given information by a one Alberto Rivera.

Gary Dale Clearey (someone who I don't think believes in Islam's interest) rebuts this argument in his book 'Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness: The Truth about the Vatican and the Birth of Islam'

Islamic Response to asterisk

*Words in languages are in most cases derived and so this is irrelevant. Its important to understand what they refer to. Allah refers to the One Almighty and is not defined by any form- moon or sun or another.

Answer 2

Answer 1

The christian religion as such is very near to Islam for 'a christian ' means that who follows the Christ. This true to Muslims as they still adopt circumcision and fasting, growing beards, praying to only one god (nowadays Christians pray to all their saints) even Christ's mother's dress were just exactly like orthodox Muslim woman's veil.

Answer 2

It's an interesting question to wonder which Christian sect is the closest to Islam, but the majority of differences between Christians and Muslims are not sect-dependent. These include things like Christ's divinity/prophethood, the role of the Messiah, the various sacraments, the nature of sainthood, the interpretation of Biblical text and Qur'anic text, etc.

However, if you have to choose a sect of Christianity that is most similar to Islam, I would choose Nestorianism if only because Nestorians were congregationalist like many Sunnis, believed the Christ had a uniquely human and a uniquely divine essence (as opposed to a mixed essence) which is closer to the Islamic perspective, and because many mosques look similar to Nestorian churches. However Nestorian Christianity is much more similar to other Christian sects than to Islam.

Answer 3

I don't know which Christian sect is closest to Islam. I know that most Christian sects believe in the Trinity. Some worship Jesus some don't, some worship Mary some don't.

Islam is a monotheistic religion.

Muslims believe in one God who has no partners, no children, no parent,...

This is the Muslim understanding of God:

112:1-4

Say: He is Allah, the One and Only;

Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;

He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;

And there is none like unto Him.

2:256

Allah - there is no god except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all existence. Neither sleepiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is before them and what is behind them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills. His Kursi (throne) extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.

Answer 3

If any religion is close to Christianity, I think it would be an abrahamic religion, either Islam or Judaism. Probably Islam because Islam believes that Jesus was a prophet of God but Judaism rejects Jesus. However Christianity has a major difference with Islam and Judaism. Christianity believes in trinitarian monotheism but both Islam and Judaism have strict monotheism. The oneness of God is extremely important in Islam. Also both Islam and Judaism do not believe in the concept that God can be a man. Christianity is a religion which has alot of varying beliefs within itself anyway.