Analyzing the Experience of Humanities Essay

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Qur'an similar to and different from the Holy Bible? Give examples from each work to illustrate their similarities and differences

The Qur'an is the holy book of Islam, the religion established by Muhammad while the Holy Bible is the sacred book of Christianity. There are a number of ways in which the Qur'an is similar as well as dissimilar to the Holy Bible. For starters, both of them consist of chronicles, teachings, poetry, and reprimanding. Several chronicles encompass the similar basic occasions and individuals. The Qur'an and the Bible both teach the creation of the world by a distinct almighty, all-knowing God who commands human beings to follow the morality set out for them. First of foremost, one of the key similar doctrine is that God, referred to as Allah in the Qur'an, and Yahweh in the Bible, is the only creator of all things in the universe and whose power, supremacy and wisdom cannot be matched, let alone be surpassed. In addition, both sacred books agree that God commands human beings to be moral, and acting different from this has its own consequences.

One of the major similarities between these two sacred books is that they both teach monotheism, which is the total supremacy and knowledge of God, divine mercy and forgiveness, human weaknesses and sins as well as faith. In a similar manner to the New Testament of the Bible, the Qur'an does accept Jesus as a prophet. However, dissimilarity is perceived, as it denies that Jesus is the son of God. On one hand, the Holy Bible points out the concept of the Holy Trinity, which is, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. However, on the other hand, the Qur'an believes in only one true God. In both of the holy books, the greatest sin in the world is that of idolatry. Jeremiah and Abraham in the Bible and Qur'an, respectively, make the argument of the judgement of not worshipping a wordless idol who a human being creates on his own as the creator or maker. In the New Testament within the Bible, Jesus makes the declaration that He and God, the Father, are one, and whoever has seen Jesus Christ, has seen God. Jesus goes on to tell the congregation that "before Abraham is, I am." In addition, it is imperative to remember that within Torah, after Moses questioned God, what his name is, God responded "I am" (Matthew 26:63-68). In accordance to the Qur'an, Torah is identified as a revelation from God to Moses. In particular, the Torah encompasses the group of the first five books of the Holy Bible. However, the Qur'an does not give any kind of specific identification of what Torah is. Despite the fact that the Torah in itself does not provide a specific author, the New Testament does refer to them as the Torah of Moses.

In another aspect, different from the Holy Bible, the Qur'an does not have any chronological structure and does not tell its stories in a lined arrangement. This can be perceived in the sense that the lives and stories of prophets, for instance, Moses, Abraham and also Jesus, are disseminated across the suras. Secondly, in as much as the Qur'an developed out of the experiences as well as traditions in the Arab realm, its notions were allocated in a great deal towards Judaism and to a lesser extent, to Christianity.

The story of creation and the sin by humanity is also a narrative that points out the similarities and differences between the two sacred books. The similar narrative is that God created man from dirt, giving him life emanating from His mouth. God tells the man to eat any food of the garden they desire, apart from a single tree. Subsequently, God creates a woman out of the man. A force appears upon them and tempts them to have food from the tree, trying to assure them that they will become like God, once they eat from the tree. In turn, both the woman and the man eat from the forbidden tree. As a consequence, they come to be ashamed and try to cover their nakedness with leaves. God questions both man and woman, retelling them that He had already commanded them not to eat of the tree. God makes the man leave the garden and commands them to till the land and fill the earth. However, there is a difference between the two. For starters, in the Bible, the Garden of Eden is on earth whereas the garden in the Qur'an is in heaven.

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Secondly, the Bible asserts that God created man by breathing into man "the breath of life," whereas in the Qur'an Allah creates Adam by stating "Be." Third of all, in accordance to the Qur'an, the forbidden tree is referred to as the tree of eternity or immortality, while on the other hand, in the Bible, it is referred to as the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. In addition, in the Bible, there is also the Tree of Life, which was not prohibited.

The Qur'an and the Bible have more than fifty individuals in common, characteristically in the similar narratives. Prophets such as Enoch, Job, Ishmael and Imramare, are recognized in the Qur'an, however they are not handed any story or narrative. Similarly, in the Bible, these individuals are recognized as righteous men of God, but not as prophets. The exception is Ishmael who is not written of positively. On the other hand, on several instances, these two sacred books have common occurrences, but take place in dissimilar narrations. One of these instances include Gideon and Saul. With respect to the Holy Bible, Saul as well as Gideon are depicted as military leaders of Israel between the period of Exodus and Exile. In particular, in the book of Judges, Gideon is perceived as being uncertain regarding leading the Hebrew people to battle. In order to illustrate the supremacy and power of God, God communicates to Gideon, telling him to spot when the troops get to a river and whoever drinks water without his hands was to be sent home by Gideon. Subsequently, the Hebrew people have victory. On the other hand, in the Qur'an, the similar event ensues with respect to Saul while on the way to meet Goliath. Similarly, in the Biblical version, Saul is hesitant as well with regard to the battle against Goliath's army.

Another point of dissimilarity is with regard to Mary and Miriam. With regard to Miriam, the mother of Jesus, she is referred to by the Qur'an as the daughter of Imram and the sister of Aaron. "O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man of evil, nor thy mother a woman unchaste!" (Yusuf Ali 19:28). On the other hand, in the book of Exodus in the Bible, Miriam is depicted as the sister of Moses and Aaron as well as a prophetess. She is also the daughter of Imram, but she lived almost 1000 years prior to the depiction of Mary, the mother of Jesus. It is imperative to note that in the Holy Bible, Mary and Miriam are two different women. On one hand, Miriam, was the sister of Aaron and Moses whereas Mary, who is the mother of Jesus, was the daughter of Eli (Luke 3: 23).

In conclusion, the Qur'an being the holy book for the Muslims, and the Holy Bible being the sacred book for the Christians, have a great deal of similarity with regard to their key contexts and message being communicated. However, there are differences with regard to a number of beliefs and also differences in the narrations within the two books.

What is Dante's rationale for the punishments meted out to sinners? Discuss some of the types of sins and their punishments

Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, the opening part of a spiritual passage that will take the poem's storyteller, the "pilgrim Dante," through torment and into heaven. In particular, Dante considers the whole passage as a process of learning for its main protagonist and for the audience, with the audience acting as a form of Christian every person whose position as a sinner and necessity for restoration is mutual amongst all human beings. Inferno refers to the nine circles of Hell and the punishment meted out to the sinners apprehended within their domains. The outline of Dante's Hell is exceptionally intricate. The netherworld is separated into nine circles, and every one of them is purposed for a different variation of sin, and the lower circles are additionally pronounced into sub-realms. As a result, the eighth circle, "Malebolge" is made up of ten distinct "bolgia," with every one of them being purposed or meant for a dissimilar kind of fraud, fluctuating from pandering to fortune-telling to the provision of evil guidance.

Inferno is chock-full with poetic justice, as the multitudes of sinners undergo a destiny apt and fitting to their crimes. For example, the lustful, are flung around in….....

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