Dialectic of Identity and Salvation in Abrahamic Scriptures (original) (raw)
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Hermeneutics of Salvation in Early Christianity and Islam
Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, 2024
The concept of salvation has been a significant topic in the Abrahamic tradition. It arose from the blending of historical experiences and prophetic creativity in the pre-Christian era. The Hebrew tradition's representatives dealt with the issue of what phase of sacred history they were in and the practical requirements that followed. In the apocalyptic conditions, where views on this issue converged, significant historical developments unfolded as a result of the conflict between the old and new within the tradition. The emergence of Christianity at the beginning of late antiquity and Islam towards the end of this period was influenced by the preservation of monotheistic faith in the face of critical circumstances and new conditions. These movements were founded partly on interpretations and expectations of salvation, while also giving rise to more advanced representations and formulations of understanding and engagement. In this way, the accumulated ideas related to salvation in the previous scriptures were interpreted diversely by later monotheists, while simultaneously relating them to each other. With the emergence of each new religion, more complex interpretations of salvation emerged based on varying historical and cultural contexts. The first generations of Christians and Muslims did not share a uniform understanding of the dimensions of salvation that emerged from the transformation of the tradition. Depending on their intellectual tendencies and social status, they held distinct perspectives on the concept of salvation. The confrontation of these views can be traced not only in historical reports from subsequent centuries but also in critical examinations of the text and the dating of the New Testament and the Qur’an. Throughout the evolution of the tradition, there has been an increasing amount of literature regarding salvation. However, the interpretation of salvation tends to fall into a recurring pattern consisting of three types: Institutionalism, Messianism, and Existentialism. Institutionalism and Messianism focus on the mythological and ritual aspects of salvation, while Existentialism emphasizes the personal and inner experience of salvation. This pattern can be seen in the arrangement of the Sadducee, Pharisaic, and Essene currents within ancient Judaism, as well as in the differences between the Pauline epistles, the evangelists, and the church fathers regarding the interpretation of the kingdom of God within early Christianity. This pattern can also be applied to explain the hermeneutical conflict among Muslims in the first century of Islam. By examining the reproducibility of this pattern, we can gain a better understanding of how the hermeneutics of salvation have shaped Christian and Islamic identity, doctrines, and rituals. This perspective may also suggest a model for understanding the emergence of new religions within Abrahamic monotheism.
Sharing Abraham? examines the widespread understanding of Abraham as a source of common ground for monotheistic faith communities, primarily between Christians and Muslims. Many approaches to Abrahamic dialogue do not grapple with the Abrahamic texts of the Tanakh, the New Testament and the Qur’an rigorously enough for theological comparison. I propose a model for comparing particular biblical and qur’anic narratives, along with their use by Christians and Muslims respectively, which builds on the integral relationship between narrative and worldview. The Christian worldview categories of Creation, Fall, Redemption and Consummation are juxtaposed with the Muslim categories of Tawhid (Oneness of God), Prophethood and Afterlife in three sets of pairs or polarities, providing a framework for comparing the stories. In the main body of the study I examine separately the Genesis Abraham narrative, the New Testament treatments of Abraham (compared with other Jewish Second Temple readings), the qur’anic Abraham stories, and finally the use of Abraham by Turkish Muslims through analysis of in-depth discussions with senior clerics in Istanbul. Sura by sura analysis of qur’anic Abraham material is presented in an appendix. These discreet studies prepare the way for comparing Christian and Muslim worldviews as expressed in their respective uses of Abraham. Using the central themes developed through the discrete studies and the polarities generated by the model, I offer a theological comparison of Abraham in Christian and Muslim worldviews as shown in their partially overlapping stories. Despite some common ground, the worldviews diverge deeply in each of the major polarities. Among the areas of significant dissonance are whether or not Abraham is portrayed as a discoverer of monotheism and vigorous opponent of idolatry, whether or not God appears within the story as the covenant-making protagonist, whether the divine provision for mankind is redemption through God's intervention or guidance through God's prophets, where and how this provision is ultimately granted for mankind and whether the focus of eschatology is the return of God or the return of the soul to God. Seen through the lenses of Abraham narratives, the two worldviews have little in common in terms of either plight or solution. Despite some limited overlap, Abraham stands in a different story of God’s relationship to humanity. This study contributes to the growing field of intertextual studies of the Bible and the Qur’an by comparing their respective Abrahamic narrative worldviews. Both the methodology and the results have implications for biblical and qur’anic interpretation and for comparative theology.
The Abrahamic Faiths? Continuity and Discontinuity in Christian and Islamic Doctrine
Evangelical Quarterly, 2009
The term 'Abrahamic faiths' and its cognates, prominent in inter-faith and political conversations, has now entered, largely uncritically, into academic discourse. It is not clearly defined and is used by scholars in different and potentially misleading ways. Thus far the term has evaded theological critique; this paper is a contribution to towards just such a critique. The 'Abrahamic faiths' are Judaism, Christianity and Islam, but, this paper shall focus on Christianity and Islam. I propose to critique the term 'Abrahamic faiths' by evaluating three different 'levels of usage' employed by scholars of religion. This evaluation shall first involve examining Christian and Islamic theological continuity. Then, I shall investigate Christian and Islamic theological dissimilarity concerning four core Christian doctrines. My objective is to show that the continuity and discontinuity of Christian and Islamic doctrine requires careful consideration. I conclude with a study of the term 'Abrahamic faith' itself, noting its problematic nature. I conclude with some constructive reflections for inter-faith dialogue. A revised article based on an earlier article of the same title published with the Evangelical Quarterly. Made freely available with the permission from Paternoster Publishing, the publisher of Evangelical Quarterly. http://www.paternosterperiodicals.co.uk/evangelical-quarterly 2
Exploring the Abrahamic religions, 2020
Divided into three distinct parts, this essay principally states that the Abrahamic faiths, and particularly the Catholic Church, are theologically static, but undergoing constant pastoral and ecclesiastical change. To explore the validity of this statement, examples will be provided to cover the three aspects of the question. A critical examination will thoroughly explore, firstly, the revelations that play a fundamental role in the theology of the Abrahamic religions. By measuring the extent to which the Abrahamic faiths are dependent upon revelation for their continued existence, we will pinpoint whether these revelations are truly binding. This, followed by an exploration of the actions and policies of different denominations to keep revelations intact and then by an overview of the different types of revelations and revelatory sources, will solidly answer the first aspect of the question at hand. Secondly, we will explore whether the doctrinal developments of the Abrahamic faiths are alterable with examples from historical and contemporary events to support the proposed argument. Examining aspects particularly from within the Catholic Church and between different Christian denominations will allow for a clear conclusion on whether the doctrines of a particular church can be considered as unalterable or otherwise binding. Thirdly and finally, the theologies of each of the three major Abrahamic religions – Christianity, Judaism, and Islam – will be analysed in the context of modernity. This will be followed with examples of the difficulties that each has faced in the modern world with a view to identify whether their doctrines are firstly re-interpretable in a modern context, whether it is fair that they are interpreted in this way, and the resulting consequences for each of the religions if such reinterpretations are popular and successfully established.
THE ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS: PHILOSOPHY-THEOLOGY-MYSTICISM
This pdf file contains a proposed 2nd revised and corrected edition of my book Christianity and Islam: Essays on Ontology and Archetype, published in London by The Matheson Trust in 2010. (The Matheson Trust retains the copyright to the original 2010 edition). For this proposed revised edition I have chosen the new title The Abrahamic Religions: Philosophy—Theology — Mysticism.
The Concept of the ‘Elected’ People in the Abrahamic Religions
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2016
The Divine election is certainly one of the more profound and controversial doctrines of religions, in every Holy Scripture and beyond. It certainly helped many wandering people, ranging from a place to another, in slavery, poverty or ousted by other. Also, it helped maintain loyalty to traditions; it brings hope for poor and meek, it implies divine protection and helps overcome the most severe social handicaps. The conception of chosenness has at the same time negative appointment regarding the others, non-chosen, and so it leads to moral and eschatological debates and paradoxes. How the most known religions-Judaism, Christianity, and Islam-relate to this concept, and what is their interpretation of this profound concept, we will try to build on the relationship of pilgrim people, expelled and ousted. For the biblical interpretation of the concept, we will see it as a separation among others but also with a special call in relation with them. The Christian side of it aimed at the beginning against the ultra nationalistic view of chosenness as in Judaism, then it gained the same facet as Israel, within the concept of predestination. For the Islamic part, the concept borrowed some issues from both previous religions, but also set its vision and application of it. What are the differences and mostly the circumstances that led to such conceptions-we will see during this paper.
An Analysis of Salvation from the Perspective of Christianity and Islam
Alʹ-Farabi, 2021
This article intends to investigate this issue objectively and honestly without bias from the comparative viewpoint between Islam and Christianity. The methodology of the article is to have a comparative analysis of the concept of salvation in both Islam and Christianity by presenting the similarities and differences. This article utilises passages from the Qur'an and the Gospel as primary sources, which will be complemented with journal articles as a secondary source. The first section looks at the terminology of 'salvation' within Islam and Christianity from the viewpoints of sin, repentance and forgiveness, as salvation in both Christianity and Islam means saving from the consequences of sin, and in both religions this involves repentance by humans and forgiveness by God. The second part of this article will examine how Muslims and Christians view Jesus in relation to salvation. This is tied to salvation because the death and resurrection of Jesus is how Christians believe salvation has been accomplished. The final section of this article analyses the God doctrine of Christianity and the God concept of Islam from the comparative perspective with regards to the topic of salvation. This comparative analysis will be important in highlighting the similarities between the two Abrahamic faiths, and that such commonalities can be used as a basis for respect and peaceful coexistence between Christians and Muslims.
Abraham's Legacy: Togetherness of Christian and Islamic Faith
Jurnal Theologia, 2022
This article is a studio about Abraham, known as the ancestor obtained by Isaac and Ishmael. His offspring are already widespread. With all the inheritance given to them, get Abraham to start life in a different land and with different blessings. Here is the crucial point. The difference seems to have proved the fact that as a result of Abraham coming from fellowship and brotherhood remain intertwined and maintained, because these two things are also Abraham's legacy. Through literature studies, some data about Abraham are described in a narrative manner with the aim of being based on Abraham's inheritance, namely blessings, descent and land implemented correctly and proportionally. What is presented in this review article on two dimensions of inheritance: spiritual and community. Spiritual, from a biblical perspective, speaks of a promise, while the community is more towards the vision of sociology and managerial pluralism.
Reviews in religion and theology, 2019
The aim of this rich and complex interdisciplinary handbook is 'to contribute to the emergence and development of the comparative study of the Abrahamic religions' (p. xiii). The editors of the volume, Adam Silverstein from Bar Ilan University and Guy Stroumsa and Moshe Blidstein (general editor), both from Hebrew University in Jerusalem, have collected authoritative studies both critical and supportive on the very concept of the Abrahamic religions focusing on a variety of topics dealing comparatively with Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: 'Underpinning is the assumption that there is something to be gained from studying these religious traditions together' (p. xiii). The assumptions are that there is a common set of questions about God and his world what brings both, on the hand, the Abrahamic religions together and, on the other hand, distinguishes them from each other as to their answers to these questions. For the editors, the point of comparative study of the Abrahamic religions is 'to illuminate our understanding of each individual religion by situating it appropriately in its spiritual, social, and historic context(s)' (p. xv). It is not too early to say that this eager goal is achieved: thirty-two contributions engage in the subject from different angles, focusing, firstly, on the histories, examinations, and criticisms of the very concept of the Abrahamic religions, and moving, secondly, to the historic perspective on the interactions between Jewish, Christian, and Islamic communities. The third part explores issues central to the practice and thought of all three religions, such as the value of scripture and its interpretations throughout history, while the fourth turns to issues of religious thought and philosophy, particularly discussing the great thinkers of the Abrahamic religions in the Middle Ages. Part Five focuses on comparisons and interactions in the realm of praxis and ethics, and the concluding Part Six comprises three epilogues compiled by authoritative theologians from the viewpoint of each of the religions, namely, Peter Ochs, David Ford, and Tariq Ramadan. There are a number of underlying themes discussed and a variety of problems tackled throughout the book. Many contributions in the first chapters of the handbook discuss, though from different angles, the key problems of the authenticity of Abraham, the Abrahamic religion(s) or
JHS_Interpreting Scripture in Judaism Christianity and Islam Review.pdf
Journal of Hebrew Scriptures, 2017
Journal of Hebrew Scriptures - Volume 17 (2017) - Review of: Cohen, Mordechai Z. and Adele Berlin, eds., Interpreting Scriptures in Judaism, Christianity and Islam: Overlapping Inquiries (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016). Pp. xvi + 381. Hardcover. US $120.00. ISBN 978-1-107-06568-0.