There are many different types of religions in the world. Some of the oldest religions are Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism being the oldest. All of these religions have interesting histories about their founders and have similarities and differences in what they believe in. Such as, Christianity to Islam, Hinduism to Christianity, and Islam to Hinduism.To start off with, Christianity is one of the most influencing religions in Europe and most of North America. This religion was founded by Jesus Christ. It is the only religion where its followers believe in Jesus Christ being the on of God; most other religions see Jesus as a prophet. Just consider the history of Jesus Christ.
From the beginning, Mary, also known as "Virgin Mary," gets visited by the angel Gabrielle. Gabrielle tells her that she is pregnant with God's child. Then, Gabrielle goes to Joseph, he's a carpenter, and tells him that Mary is carrying God's child and to marry her. Mary and Joseph then get married and had to make a trip to Bethlehem. Even though Mary was pregnant, they still had to make the journey. For the journey Joseph buys a donkey to put their belongings on, and so that Mary didn't have to walk the whole way there.
When they got to Bethlehem, the Inn was full. The inn keeper, who took pity on Mary being pregnant, let them sleep in the stable with the animals. Mary and Joseph agreed, and that night baby Jesus was born. Even all of the animals knew that Jesus was born. Mary put Jesus in a manger with straw in it to keep him warm. People came to visit the baby Jesus because he was rumored to be a King.
After Jesus was born, there was a bright star, also known as the Star of Bethlehem, and if you followed it, it would lead to baby Jesus. There are three men to are known to have followed the star. They are known as the Three Wise Men, all of them bearing gifts to Jesus. The gifts they presented to the baby were Myrrh (pronounced mer), frankincense, and gold. All of these gifts held great value during Jesus' time.
Throughout Jesus' life, he performed many miracles. For example, if you were blind; he would make you see again. Eventually, people of power didn't like Jesus creating miracles for people. They were afraid that Jesus would become of a higher power than them. The people of power got one of Jesus' followers to go against him. When they got Jesus in prison, they tortured him, and crucified him on the cross. When he died, they buried him in a tomb. Jesus then rose again on the third day, only to tell his many followers that the gates to heaven were now open.
From then on, Jesus' followers started a new religion, Catholicism, which later turned into Christianity. Many Christians have the same beliefs or they are similar. For one thing, all Christians believe that there is only one God. They don't believe that there are many Gods such as the ancient Greeks and Romans did. They also believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Christians don't think that Jesus was a prophet, but the actual son of the person who made the world.
All Christians believe that what the Bible says is exactly what happened in real life. They don't question it because it's God's word, it has to be true. Christians also believe Jesus will return to Earth one last time. We all are born sinners. We have natural sin because of Adam and Eve disobeyed God. That is why all Christians go to confession; to get their sins forgiven by the pastor or priest. Also, all nonbelievers of the Christian faith receive eternal punishment, and believers get eternal salvation. In other words, if you don't believe in God you go to Hell; if you believe in God you go to Heaven. All Christians give 10% of their income to the church to help out the sick and some church finances.
There are many Christians in the Western part of the world, but in the Middle Eastern part of the world the major religion is Islam. Islam was started by the Prophet Muhammad when hew as about 40.
Muhammad was born in 570 AD, during his first 39 years he began to believe in one God. At around 40 years old Muhammad had religious visions; he received messages and revelations from God, or as he called him Allah. Muhammad received his visions until 632 AD. When Muhammad got followers, he would teach them about his revelations; most of his revelations are written about in the Qur'an (Koran). Over time, Muhammad had many followers. Except, his faith was not accepted in his hometown of Mecca.
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