Comparison Of Islam With Other Sects

Search for Truth (THE ONLY TRUE RELIGION) ISLAM Muslim doctrine is often summarized in "Six Articles of Faith." According to this list, to be a Muslim one must believe in: 1. One God; 2. The angels of God; 3. The books of God, especially the Qur'an; 4. The prophets of God, especially Muhammad; 5. The Day of Judgment (or the afterlife); and 6. The supremacy of God's will (or predestination). This list is sometimes shortened to Five Articles of Faith, which leaves off belief in the supremacy of God's will. JEWISH BELIEF (Misdirected Human Beings) The 13 Articles of the Jewish Faith proposed by Maimonides are these: 1. God exists 2. God is one and unique 3. God is incorporeal 4. God is eternal 5. Prayer is to God only. 6. The prophets spoke truth. 7. Moses was the greatest of the prophets. 8. The Written and Oral Torah were given to Moses. 9. There will be no other Torah. 10. God knows the thoughts and deeds of men. 11. God will reward the good and punish the wicked. 12. The Messiah will come. 13. The dead will be resurrected.

CHRISTIAN BELIEF (Misdirected Human Beings) "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved." --Acts 16:31 "On account of the heresies, the toil of discovery must be undertaken." --Clement of Alexandria, c. 195 AD "Christianity claims to give an account of facts - to tell you what the real universe is

like." --C.S. Lewis, 1944 Christianity tends to take beliefs quite seriously. The early fathers and councils carefully distinguished between "orthodoxy" from "heresy" in an effort to preserve what they saw as the true Christian message. In the Middle Ages, established doctrine was carefully safeguarded, and in the 16th century, reformers called for the stripping away of superfluous doctrines and emphasized true faith as the only requirement for salvation. And Christian beliefs remain important today: the many denominations within Christianity center primarily around matters of doctrine rather than practice. Given the great historical attention that has been devoted to it, the 2,000 years' worth of available writing on its many subjects, and its sometimes complex philosophical arguments, Christian doctrine can be an intimidating subject to tackle, especially for the beginner. The following articles therefore attempt to summarize the general consensus of Christian beliefs on everything from God to the afterlife, with historical development and denominational differences taken into account as much as possible.