Saturday, March 5, 2011

Muslim V. Christian views

Law is a direct outflow from a worldview's theology. Therefore, at the very core, Christian and Muslim's view of law is going to be completely different from start. Muslims believe people are innately good, while Christian's know that each person is born sinful. This opposing views of mankind greatly influence the importance of law. In addition, the view of God is polar opposites. As the God of Christianity is loving and merciful, Allah is seen as the "absolute authority" though he is unreliable and unknown. He is seen as harsh, waiting to condemn people. Just looking at these aspects of each worldview it's evident that theirs laws cannot be similiar.
The Christian law stems from WHO God is--it is a natural law. His laws agree with His character. For example, He is a God of justice and therefore calls people not to steal. Also, he created laws because He LOVES us. In the end, God judges man in accordance with His law. He knows this and therefore lovingly gave us the law, in written form, in the Bible, too--its like a teacher giving all the answers to test! And no matter how many times we fail in following His law, He still forgives us limitlessly. Further, God gave us the law to protect us! He knows our sinful instincts and gave us laws so that we may enjoy life to its fullest. If someone murders another peron, God knows this will haunt the murderer, too, and wreck his life--not to mention the person he has killed and that man's family's.
On the other hand, the Shari'a law is based off of the Hadith and Qu'ran. It is vague and does not answer many of the issues prevailent today, and it is not based off of Allah's character. Therefore, it has no basis. It is merely men trying to please their "God" however is really has nothing to do with who their God is. The law is more like something to be condemned by and earn points with, rather than the laws the God of Christianity has placed in love. While failing to abide by Allah's law condemns one to Hell, Christians can be saved through the person of Christ, and therefore do not have to live in a constant state of fear.
Further, back to the issue of who man is--since Muslims' do not see man as naturally bad, they do not see man having absolute power as an issue. Their faulty view of man can easily be seen in the government's falling apart all over the Middle East. Rather than respecting authority, people make bold claims that they are following "Allah's will" in attacking the government or flying into buildings. Because of Allah is "unknown", Muslims' can essentially make up any law under the pretense that is "his will," displaying their lack of stability and solid law. On the contrary, the Christian law is based on God who is unchanging, and therefore a solid rock through all of eternity.

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