Christianity & Islam: Pretty Much The Same

After a close comparison of Christianity and Islam, weighing the differences against the similarities, I have come to the conclusion that Christianity and Islam are basically the same religion.

They both have similar themes, similar ideology such as women's roles in society and there is no God save the one promoted by their particular religion.  They both steadfastly maintain that they and they alone are God's chosen people.  They both rely heavily on really old holy books that often share the same stories.  They both exalt a prophet as a representative of God.

The just call these things different names.  God vs Allah, but Allah is simply the Arabic word for God.  Muhammad vs Jesus, but both were men in flesh who lived in the same historical era.  Though Christianity, perhaps as a one up on Islam, believes Jesus was the physical son of God where as Islam believes Mohammad was a prophet/spokesperson for God, but acknowledges he was human.

In truth, the only REAL difference between the two religions is that Christianity has evolved and changed as humanity has evolved and changed while Islam as remained stagnant.  Christianity has grown as our understanding of the world has grown while Islam refuses to grow period.

If we look closely at early Christianity, we see a world that is EXACTLY like the one we now so readily criticize in modern Islam.  Every time a Christian condemns something done in Islam today whether it's jihad or the idea that women are property without rights, they are actually condemning something they themselves used to do.  The crusades were a Christian jihad.  Women in the Christian world were only allowed to own property or vote as little as a century ago.

So knowing that the two came from the same place, why hate eachother so much?  Are Christians really so disgusted by their own pasts they can't bare to recognize it?  Are they so loathe to acknowledge their own shortcomings?  Are Muslims jealous that Christianity's malleable nature has given it more commercial and financial success? Christian nations are more successful, more likely to be first world nations as compared to Islamic ones.  Christian nations tend to be more stable while Islamic ones exist in a state of perpetual war (often with itself).  Maybe Islamists feel left out of the good life?

The point is, we are of the same stuff.  We are not strangers. We are cousins of the same family.  And we shouldn't kill our own families.  So I would like to take this opportunity to ask members of each side to reach out to your cousins and TALK.  Get to know them.  Understand them.  Make friends.

I don't think God/Allah will hold being nice to someone against you.