Changes In Christianity

Changes In Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion that is based on the beliefs, teachings, and life of Jesus Christ of Nazareth (Johnson, 2008). The Christians believe that Jesus was the messiah who the old testament prophesied of as the savior. Christianity is a religion that is firmly based on rules and regulations, which are referred to as commandments from God, and they demand that a Christian should be ethical and morally upright. Whit time, religion has evolved, resulting in a change in the way things are done. The religion is guided by legal laws, which also change with time and different instances. The process of legal reform in Christianity is different from the Islam process since both religions operate differently.

In medieval times, Christianity was guided by the covenantal laws, also known as the laws of Moses, which he presented to the Jews. The early Christians were also governed by Canon laws, which were based on the ecclesiastical doctrine (Oxtoby, 1996). These laws were meant to control the code of conduct in Christians. With time a rift developed in the Christian religion where some members separated themselves from the group and reformed themselves during the schism of 1054. Some of the churches rejected the canon laws of the roman catholic and formed their own using the same concept of canon laws, which they felt like represented their ideologies.

The change of law in Christianity can be evidenced clearly in the marriage laws of the pre-modern and modern Christianity. The early Christians honored marriage and married according to the rules in the book of genesis where the marriage was between Adam and eve one man for one woman (Witte Jr, 1997). With time due to the influence of the Germanic people who practiced polygamy, the concept of marriage changed in Christianity. The reforms that happened in Christianity changed the way marriage was viewed in the old days into a new perspective where people no longer saw it as a sacrament.

In today’s world, marriage laws no longer follow the rules that were there in the olden days of one man and one woman as polygamous marriages have been evidenced. The law of marriage that only allowed it to be between a male and a female changed with time. This was due to modernization and influence from the pagans.  In the olden days, marriage was conducted in the church, but as we see today, marriage can be overseen by a religious leader, a government official who has the power to oversee the union or anyone else who has the authority from the couple.

 Changes In The Islamic Religion

Islam is the second-largest religion in the world after Christianity. Just as Christianity Islam is a monotheistic religion as Muslims also believe in one good who they call Allah. They believe that Mohamed was the messenger of God to his people, just as Christians believe that Jesus was the messiah. Strict laws guide the religion of Islam, but with time the laws and traditions of Islam have changed (Ayoub, 1996). The changes experienced in various sectors of society have resulted in the modern Islamic religion that we have in the contemporary world.

In the 7^th century, before the establishment of Islam, there existed a variety of marriages. Marriages consisted of marriage by agreement, marriage by mahr, inheritance, and marriage by capture. In the olden days, women had no power over marriage or divorce since the marriage was a type of a contract between the husband and the wife’s family (Ayoub, 1996). Women were viewed as a possession of the husband, but marriages were based on consent from both parties. Women were not allowed to remarry, and their opinion on marriage matters was not considered, but with time and modernization, that tradition changed.

With time the Islam religion faced reforms that were instigated by Muhammad, who reformed the procedures and the laws that guided marriage. For example, Mohamed forbids marriage through inheritance, and strict rules were written in the Quran, which posed a ban on such practices. The issue of monogamy was also reformed as a man was now allowed to marry at most four wives (Hallaq, 2009). The point of the bride’s price being paid to the bride’s father also went through reforms. The bride price remained a possession of the bride. The oppression of women was put to rest as the reforms soon gave the women the right to be heard and be treated with respect by their husbands, although the men still had more rights over their women.

Islam believes that marriage is not only for companionship but a way of preventing the individuals from indulging in immorality by giving the one person they can have sex with (Tucker, 2008). It is also viewed as a foundation for families, and according to Mohamed, marriage is regarded as half of one’s faith. In the olden days’ divorce in Islam was guided by the traditional laws known as the Sharia laws. The sharia laws did not consider the legal theory of conducting a divorce as the woman was not allowed to divorce the husband.  After the reforms, the law of marriage and divorce changed. In modern religion, women have been given the right to ask for a divorce as in the contemporary world. They have equal rights as per the state laws.

Conclusion

The two most prominent religions in the world have gone through many changes since their conception. The changes in the Christian and Islamic laws, mainly on marriage, came as a result of modernization, reforms by different leaders who taught the believers new things, and the interactions between believers and pagans. Most of these legal changes that occurred from the medieval Christian and Islam religion to the modern time religion were instigated by the formation of modern governments and the fight for human rights, which stated that all humans are equal.

References

Ayoub, M. (1996). The Islamic Tradition. In World Religions: Western Traditions. Oxford University Press

Hallaq, W. (2009). An Introduction To Islamic Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Helmholz, R. (2008).  Western Canon Law. In Christianity and Law. Cambridge University Press

Johnson, J. (2005). Marriage as Covenant In Early Protestant Thought: Its Development And Implications, In Covenant Marriage In Comparative Perspective. W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co.

Johnson, L. (2008). Law In Early Christianity. Chap.2 In Christianity And Law. Cambridge University Press

Oxtoby, W. (1996). The Christian Tradition. In World Religions: Western Traditions

Tucker, J. (2008). Women, Family, and Gender In Islamic Law. Themes In Islamic Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Witte Jr, J. (1997). Marriage As A Sacrament In Medieval Catholic Traditions. Sacrament To Contract: Marriage, Religion, And Law In The Western Traditions. Louisville, Ky: Westminster John Knox Press