Christianity vs. Islam: Similarities and Differences

Christians and Muslims have been in conflict for a very long time. They have argued and fought over who deserves to live in the Holy Land and they don’t see eye to eye on matters of religious practices or beliefs. But, I think it is very interesting that these two religions, which have been so aggressively against each other’s existence, can have so much in common.

As far as surprising similarities go, both of these religions are monotheistic, they give a lot of credit to the same major historical figures, they both believe that their religious books were divinely inspired, and they believe that the Archangel, Gabriel, is God’s/ Allah’s choice angel to deliver important messages to the human race. But, while the similarities are many, there are a few differences, and they are quite major. Some of these major differences have to do with historical religious figures’ roles.

In Christianity, it is believed that Jesus Christ was the son of God. He was both fully man and fully God at the same time. While this is very hard to wrap your head around, it is the Christian belief. In Islam, Jesus was a very important figure, but not a deity. They believe that Jesus was just a prophet sent by Allah. They believe him to have a played a large role in their religion, but he isn’t believed to have been Allah’s son and he wasn’t sent to save us all from our sin. Muslims think that it is outrageous for Christians to believe that Jesus was fully God, fully man, as well as the son of God. Christians are so adamantly in opposition because their whole religion is based around the fact that Jesus (God) was sent down to die and save us all from spending eternity in Hell, as long as we believe that this actually happened. So, yes, Jesus is important in both religions, but his role is drastically different.

Another major difference is the lineage in which the religion came from. Muslims believe that Ishmael, Abraham’s first born, was the line that Allah favored. Christians believe that God’s chosen people came through the line of Isaac, who was Abraham’s second son. The story is that Abraham was promised a son, by God. Instead of being patient, his wife gives him her slave, Hagar, as a mistress to produce a son. This is how Ishmael is born. Then, Sarah miraculously becomes pregnant and Isaac is born. This is why Christians believe that Isaac is the promised son. He was the miracle. So, yes, both religions believe that Isaac and Ishmael came from Abraham, but they have conflicting views on who was favored in the eyes of God/ Allah.

So, it is true that these two religions have a lot in common. It just so happens that the few disagreements they do have are major in the eyes of both religious groups.

Word Count: 485

Same God, Different Religion

With modern day controversy and war against the widely Islamic Middle East, it is difficult for the Western Christian to find any connections or relation to the Islamic religion. As a Christian myself, I rarely hear of anyone going to attend a muslim service at a mosque, opposed to going to church on a Sunday morning. Looking past the fact that pure ignorance is often a factor in misinterpreting what the Islamic religion is actually about, I believe recent events involving acts of terrorism by radical muslims have twisted American views towards Islam.

Both Christianity and Islam’s foundations are set with the belief that there is only one, true God. Although the Islamic religion refers to God as “Allah,” both Christians and Muslims worship the God of Abraham, whom they both descend from. The Qu’ran even states in reference to all Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike that “…our God and your God is One, and unto Him we surrender…” (29:46). Both religions, and Judaism as well, believe they are descendants of Abraham. Judaism and, ultimately, Christianity came forth from Abraham and Sarah’s son, Isaac, whereas the Islamic religion originates from Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Sarah’s handmaid, Hagar. This initial divide created the differences in Christianity and Islam that we see today.

The basis of Christianity stands on the belief that Jesus Christ was the son of God. Jesus was both fully man and fully God, and was sent to the Earth to die on the cross and thus save mankind from their sin. If you “confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). When researching further on the Islamic religion, I was surprised to find that Muslims also believe in Jesus Christ. Islamic religion believes that Jesus was a prophet of God, but not the son of God. Jesus never died on the cross, and therefore was never resurrected. Although these can be viewed as stark differences, I feel that the belief of Jesus Christ gives Christianity and Islam enough similarity to eliminate the vast divide we see today between Christian and Muslim culture.

There are many other religions that also share similarities with both Christianity and Islam. The similarities, as well as the differences, seen between Christianity and Islam are not mutually exclusive. Judaism is another religion that believes in the God of Abraham- the same God of Christians and Muslims alike. Many cultures and the traditions that we see in modern day come from the very foundation in which three different religions were all built. Although different, they are much more similar than most ignorant followers would be comfortable with.

Word Count: 455

References

“What Are the Differences Between Christianity and Islam?” Truelife, www.truelife.org/answers/what-are-the-differences-between-christianity-and-islam. 01 November 2018.

Qu’ran

The Holy Bible

Blog Post #4: Art of War and USNA

Sun Tzu’s Art of War paints a picture of war as being a set of principles that, if followed, will guarantee victory. The view on war as depicted in this reading is one of order and mental preparation. Sun Tzu does not believe in just using brute force in order to win. He speaks more on the mental aspect with things such as deception, strategy, understanding how and when to do something, and always being prepared for the unexpected. I don’t believe that he makes all of these principles black and white. He gives us a little bit of room to interpret how each of these applies to war. The overarching philosophy is that war is determined more by strategy and preparation than physical force. There are some aspects of Art of War that align with the Naval Academy and some that seem to diverge in another direction.

One philosophy that Sun Tzu mentions that doesn’t align with what we are taught at the Naval Academy is “The Way”. He writes, “The Way / Causes men / To be of one mind / With their rulers, / To live or die with them, / And never to waver.” This seems to imply that one’s subordinates should always follow their ruler, or superior officer. It wants them to almost be robots and think in the same way that they think in. As future officers, we are taught to go into the fleet with an open mind and listen to our chiefs and enlisted sailors. There will be times they have ideas that work better than our own and they must be able to present them. There are obviously times in the heat of war where one must receive orders and act quickly. He or she must trust those orders. However, blindly following your leaders is not something we learn is a good habit in our military and that seems to be what is insinuated in these lines.

A theory that does coincide with what we learn is the constant idea that we must be ready for the unexpected. Much of war is about much more than just brute force and there are countless examples of that throughout our history. One of the first lines that we heard every morning during Plebe Summer was “be comfortable being uncomfortable”. This closely relates to always being prepared for whatever comes next. Not only reacting to things we don’t expect, but surprising the other side is crucial in today’s conflicts. Many classes we take such as Ethics and Naval History teach us decision making and how it has affected battles in the past.

Overall, I think that the overarching philosophy used by Sun Tzu does relate closely with what we learn at the Naval Academy in terms of war not just being physical, but there being much strategy involved as well. However, I feel that the Academy’s teaching is more effective because while it teaches us this importance, there are also times that physical force is needed. I also don’t agree with the previously discussed fundamental about The Way. While there are good points made in Art of War, the way we teach it now is more modernized and effective in terms of today’s battles.

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The Art of War or Ethics at USNA

At the Naval Academy, studies focus mostly on students acquiring technical skills that can be applied in our respective communities when we commission. Instead of war tactics, we focus more on the makeup and operation of equipment that could potentially be used in a time of war, and the ethical studies of war. Unlike our counterpart at the United States Military Academy, there is not an immediate need to learn war tactics. Despite the lack of training in war tactics at USNA, we can still compare to how the Art of War is applied to our military today.

The Art of War focuses on the importance of strategy against a foe and understanding the enemy, the environment, and the reason of the leaders. For example, if a general does not value the life of his men, and sends them to fight at a disadvantage with no regard to their well-being, the chances of winning the battle decrease exponentially. Although the Naval Academy does not necessarily teach war tactics, the lessons taught in the ethics courses help to ensure that the future commissioned officers are able to make decisions that are not detrimental to the unit they will eventually be leading. As future naval officers, we are taught different philosophies, and we conduct case studies by the various philosophical theories to understand the pros and cons of our decisions. By understanding

According to the Art of War, Sun-Tzu states that to achieve victory, a military must “have officers and men who share a single will.” For officers and to obtain a single will means for them to understand the ideals of their nation and their goals in winning the war. It is the officers’ job as leaders to motivate, educate, and take care of their men while at the same time understanding the enemy. The courses in ethics may not provide insight into war, but it provides us with an understanding of reason, which serves well when we have to make decisions in combat.

Although the way we fight wars is much more different than years past, we can still use the fundamentals taught in the Art of War. However, I find it more useful for leaders to study ethics as it will be necessary when making decisions that can determine the life and death of other people in their command.

by Carlos Gallardo

Word Count: 408

Works Cited

Sun-Tzu. The Art of War. Trans. John Minford. London: Penguin, 2009.

The Tragedy of the Death Star

The death star is one of the most iconic weapons in film history. In Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, the destruction of the death star is the epic conclusion to the opening film of the series. The destruction of the Death star was celebrated in theaters all around the world when the movie opened in May of 1977 and is seen as a triumphant victors by the “good guys”. Audiences assume that the rebels are the good guys due to the way the film was written and directed. It would have been just at easy to make the Jedi a bitter group of fanatics full of people dedicated to an antiquated religion; but the empire is the antagonist. Looking at the death star attack from the point of view of the empire is an extremely different type of attack. From the aspect of a storm trooper it seems like a small group of disgruntled rebels attacked a major base and killed hundreds of thousands of men. However this attack to the rebels, was a great success that cut deep into the heart of the oppressive empire. This example shows that the morally sound thing to do depends on the side one chooses to be on. This idea is very similar to how Americans look at the things that our country has done in the name of liberty and victory.

Modern America has chosen to justify many of the actions that our founding fathers and military leaders has done in the name of our freedom. Washington attacking the British on Christmas day was something that if looked at from an unbiased point of view, could seem morally reprehensible. The bombing of Japan to end World War II was a good idea for America but was a devastating attack similar to the destruction of Alderaan. The pattern of similarities continues to this day. After the attack on the world trade centers in 2001 the United States began its war on terror. A byproduct of this war is the use of the Muslim scapegoat to blame for many of the problems that are occurring throughout the world. This is the same thing that was done in Episode III, when the Jedi were blamed for the collapse of the old empire. The Jedi were not to blame, but to many in the public, this was a logical thought that led to the rise of the galactic empire. Our modern government is not evil or led by a madman who shoots lightning out of his hands but there are some similarities. These similarities occur in government around the world and throughout time because of the harsh truth that the morally just actions are decided by the victors.

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Ryan Franco

Star Wars: An Empire Just Like That

Blake Bizousky

The Imperial Empire from George Lucas’s Star Wars can be seen to have some direct parallels to the Roman Empire. Rome, in approximately 500 B.C., originally had a republic as the centerpiece of their government. However, after the risk of a civil war within the Republic, political dissatisfaction, and a slave revolt, three powerful men took charge of Rome. These three men were known as the Triumvirate, consisting of Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus, came into power around 60 B.C. After some time, Caesar and Pompey both wanted to become the overall ruler of Rome. After a defeat at Pharsalus, Pompey fled. In short, Caesar had assassins kill the assassins who killed Pompey and then he took control of Rome. Once in total control, the transition into the Roman Empire began.

The similarities between the rises of the Imperial Empire in Star Wars to the true history of the Roman Empire can be seen quite clearly. In Star Wars Episode I: A Phantom Menace, the galaxy far far away is governed by the Galactic Republic, with each planet having a group of representatives. From the start, the ancient Roman civilization and the Star Wars universe share an equivalent government structure. Even more alike both republics are ousted by an empire.

Within Star Wars Episode III, the Republic begins to crumble and falls. Inside of the Galactic Republic, Senator Palpatine first places himself in total control of Republic with the approval of the other senators, making himself Supreme Chancellor. Once in the role of Supreme Chancellor, or as I like to call it, “Totally Not Emperor,” Chancellor Palpatine issues Order 66, commanding all troops of the Republic’s army to kill all Jedi, the ones who keep the balance in the universe. If you are keeping in the back of your mind the way Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire came into power it may seem a little similar. Just like Caesar, Palpatine put himself in a position of authority over the entire republic. Once in a position of a authority of the republic, both emperors followed through that their enemy executed.

Not long ago in a galaxy that isn’t far away at all, the current American government compared to the Roman Empire has some similarities. It is shocking to think that such a negative empire can parallel our current government. However, during the Roman Empire, they were a global power and force to be reckoned with. This immense power at the time led to Romans believing that they were superior to all other countries of their time. I would argue that the pride the Romans’ had in themselves is very similar to the pride American’s have today. As a nation, the United States has positioned itself as a global power exactly like Rome. Even so, the U.S. and Rome both dabbled in foreign affairs and foreign wars, for Rome there was the Punic Wars and the Macedonian Wars as for the U.S., there was WWI, WWII, the Korean War, and countless others. Overall, through their global power alone the United States and Rome can be parallel to one another.

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USNA v. Sun Tzu

Maxwell Shuman

In Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, he uses a repeating set of a fundamental five tenets to get across the best way to achieve victory in war. It seems that the overarching philosophy which Sun Tzu employ’s that the winner and the loser of a battle is predetermined and can be seen in the way which different campaigns make a plan and train for victory. While Sun Tzu goes into detail on the actual strategies of war and battle I think that the most applicable part to what we are taught at the naval academy falls under the umbrella of chapter one, “Making of Plans.” A large part of war and preparation here at the academy is that of basic leadership characteristics. In his first fundamental of the making of plans Sun Tzu talks of “The Way” and the overall idea that a group must be bought in and committed to a cause. This can be translated to life here at the academy as we are taught each and every day that if we do not work together to accomplish a goal, our efforts will fall to shambles on the ground. An example of this is the Herndon Monument climb at the end of plebe year. This event takes hundreds of plebes stacked on top of one another to complete and if even one decides that they do not want to help anymore, the entire pyramid could collapse upon itself.

In another respect some of Sun Tzu’s perspective is contradictory to that of the Naval Academy. Sun Tzu goes on to discuss the Way of war which he claims to be a way of deception. I think that when it comes to wartime strategy this could be useful against a common enemy, however here at USNA it is rare that deception or deceit would be accepted as a “good” strategy. Instead, the academy preaches honor and honesty as major tenets for future Navy and Marine Corps officers. I think that when it comes to the development and training of men and women in the military it is important to teach and preach the ideals of integrity so that they may not go back on this and cut corners in the future.

While Sun Tzu’s philosophy in The Art of War is highly touted and in some ways is very reflective of the strategies military’s today use, I think the Naval Academy does a good job adding on to his outlook to create for an officer who will lead sailors and marines effectively in today’s wars.

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Who needs the Naval Academy when we have the Art of War…?

The constant volley between war and peace has left many people wondering how to achieve success over an enemy. Sun Tzu understood that there was a strategy behind warfare and wrote down his observations in the Art of War. The beauty of his work is that his ancient strategies have held constant even in the evolving challenges of modern war. The unconventional tactics first recognized 1500 years ago amazingly still work today. At the Naval Academy, we are being trained to see vulnerabilities in order to achieve success for America as military officers. As we learn the techniques behind achieving reliable information, making good decisions, and becoming leaders who inspire others, the Art of War ironically mirrors the Naval Academy leadership preparation framework.
As we undergo only four years of learning at the Naval Academy, we are all stuck with an inevitability, knowledge is power in everything from academics to the hall leadership opportunities. Those with good information succeed. Tzu echoes this in the Art of War again and again; knowledge wins wars. “Unless you are kept informed of the enemy’s condition, and are ready to strike at the right moment. A war may drag on for years.” If you know your enemy you know what your goal is which allows you to plan against it. This takes place daily at the Naval Academy, from getting the information to select a good teacher to learn about what a study abroad program is looking for, that information allows you to achieve success. For many service selection communities, there is a lot of training required in order to compete well in screenings to achieve that service selection. Only by talking to people can you understand that you need to do lifts that improve muscular endurance/ stabilizer muscles and need to use a four-pronged attack to train for success. Information is a very effective way to plan against a particular goal at the Naval Academy and in ancient Chinese warfare 1500 years ago.
When Tzu wrote down his observations, email and constant communication and overflow we not just a thing of the future, they were imaginable. As we continue our journey throughout the Naval Academy, the information age isn’t just the online capacity it’s the assumptions of other people from face to face interactions and social media profiles for midshipmen peer ranking. As Tzu says, great leaders don’t just gather information, they actively exploit and manipulate the assumptions of the other side. While I don’t particularly like the idea of manipulating the opinion of others for personal gain, the system of the Naval Academy requires just that to succeed. Tzu emphasizes, “Hence when able to attack we must seem unable, when using our forces we must seem inactive.” This happens to be taught naturally at the academy when students need to demonstrate knowledge and mastery on academic material when they might not have that mastery on an exam. Maybe I am doing that technique right now to show the intricate dynamic in the Art of War philosophy when I’m just trying to go to bed, the world may never know, and if I did my job correctly according to Tzu you would never know. Did I fool you or
As the world of warfare becomes ever more complex, the Art of war remains a constant basic guide to follow, especially in our Naval Academy education.

Star Wars: The Empire is Roman

The mind of George Lucas is a brilliant one, but he sure didn’t completely make up the underlying story of his Star Wars films. Being a huge Star Wars fan as a kid, I have seen many similarities between the films and the history of different civilizations that I have learned about in class. Sure, from the Prequels to the end of the original saga, the story is set up to follow the lives of a young Jedi Anakin Skywalker who later goes down the rabbit hole, converts to the dark side and becomes a powerful Sith lord, and has a son Luke Skywalker who eventually becomes a Jedi himself and saves the galaxy from his father’s rule, but it story of the two political systems that collide and eventually give in to the other, that most closely represents history and what gets me thinking, George Lucas stole the idea of a Republic and an Empire from the Romans.

The prequel films served a purpose of not only introducing the eventual Darth Vader in Anakin Skywalker, but also showcasing the Republic that governs over the galaxy. This Republic in many ways resembles the Roman Republic which began around 509 B.C.E. There were a couple scenes in particular that most closely represented the Roman Republic. In the third prequel, “Revenge of the Sith”, there is a scene where there is a council meeting in a large auditorium filled with government officials and representatives from different parts of the galaxy. This closely represents the council meetings that would take place in Rome with officials elected by the people of Rome. The other scene or really plot twist in Revenge of the Sith that caught my attention was when Chancellor Palpatine reveals his true plan of taking over the Republic for the Sith and establishing an empire to rule the galaxy. Sounds a lot like Julius Caesar to me. Like Palpatine, Julius Caesar was already an established figure in the Roman Republic, but Caesar wanted more and more power and territory eventually establishing the Roman Empire.

In original trilogy, the “Empire” closely resembles the Roman Empire as they enforce their rule across the galaxy much like how Rome had a dominant rule over a large part of the civilized world at the time. This rule by the empire is eventually ended by the “Rebels” (aka. Barbarians and everyone else who wanted a taste of Roman blood).

The next time you watch the SciFi classic, take a moment to look at it as if the “Republic” and the “Empire” were the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. It’ll be clear that George Lucas isn’t as clever as you might think.

-Jacob Ramos

Word Count: 446

USNA Leadership Can Dunk on Sun Tzu

Sun Tzu’s Art of War, focuses on how to win conflicts with the enemy. The Naval Academy has a different focus, how to be a good leader. However, Sun Tzu admits that one of the 5 constant factors of war is The Commander and his/her leadership. Sun Tzu believes that all that truly matters to leadership is intelligence. Ability to plan well, deceive the enemy, and use the environment to their advantage. Sun Tzu spends little time discussing the relationship between leadership and the soldiers. USNA tries to imbue its students with values and principles which it believes to be valuable in leadership. The Naval Academy focuses less on how to win wars, but more on how to better develop and maintain relationships within a unit. Essentially, Sun Tzu believes that leadership is not the most important factor in winning a conflict, while the Naval Academy believes that leadership is the only factor.

Sun Tzu’s entire treatise laid out in The Art of War, talks about discipline, knowledge of the enemy, deception, etc., but spend very little time talking about leadership. This means that Sun Tzu sees leadership as either not critical to the success in armed conflict or as not needing development. This is because of the basis upon which The Art of War was crafted: Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism. Confucianism defines the 5 major relationships: ruler to subject, father to son, husband to wife, elder to younger, and friend to friend. This means that according to Sun Tzu, leadership was already defined and did need to be talked about in The Art of War. Essentially, if Confucian teachings are followed, leadership will be good enough to ensure the success of all grand strategy imposed by the state.

USNA has a much different philosophy on warfighting. They believe that there is no rulebook to leadership. Confucianism is not the end all be all to good leadership and one needs to spend more time and thought in developing leadership skills. Essentially, without good leadership, no task can be accomplished. This means that leadership is central to accomplish a grand strategy or winning an armed conflict. For this reason, USNA spends much more time defining the components to good leadership: morality, ethics, values, professionalism, etc.

I believe that USNA’s philosophy on warfighting is most effective. Sun Tzu lays out principles of tactics and warfighting, all of which is taught to military officials regardless. What USNA focuses on is good leadership, which is critical to any action a leader wishes to take.

Sun-Tzu, and Samuel B. Griffith. 1964. The art of war. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

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