Intellect and Ethics in 9th-century Arab Christian Apology (original) (raw)
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A Comparative Study of Islamic and Christian Ethics in the Ṣaḫifa al-Sajjadiyya and the Gospels.docx
2019
The historical theological debates between Islam and Christianity have given rise to the idea that these two world religions are different from each other in every sense, including in their theoretical and practical ethics. The relationship between Christianity and colonialism from one side and the actions of some Islamic groups in the past few decades have only strengthened this idea to the extent that some Dutch Christian political parties have stated that hate and violence grow very well in Islam. This picture is alien to most Muslims who despite acknowledging theological differences feel themselves close and in many cases in agreement with Christians in most ethical issues. Therefore, leaving theological debates from one side and historical critical analysis of the texts from the other side aside, the ethical issues in early Christian and Islamic texts will be compared to verify the closeness or remoteness of a few ethical issues in the two religions. The theory which will be used is inspired from Schweiker. Schweiker explains that the recurring questions found in legacies of religions help to adduce the form or shape of ethics as multidimensional inquiry and that the historical knowledge of surface data allows the comparison of religions. In this contribution attempt will be made to examine the hypothesis that a common “space” can be found where Islamic and Christian historical ethical texts provide similar or close answers to some ethical questions and concerns through inductive method and textual analysis. Two literary legacies, the Gospels and the Ṣaḫifa al-Sajjdāiyya, will be compared to find answers to the main question of this contribution: which common ethical grounds can be found between the Gospels and the Ṣaḫifa al-Sajjādiyya?, and the sub-questions: 1. What is the relationship between ethics and multiculturalism? (Charles Taylor and Jurgen Habermas) 2. Which common ethical space can be found in the Gospels and in the Ṣaḫifa al-Sajjadiyya? (using the theory of Schweiker) 3.What does a common ethical space mean for a multicultural society? The study will create insight into the ethical world of two religions which have historically paid more attention to theological differences than to ethical similarities. The study is significant for multicultural societies in which Islamic and Christian ethics are set against each other. Moreover, few comparative ethical studies between the New Testament and Shiʿite texts have been carried out and this paper might be the threshold of similar works. The results of this study show that the new identity of the citizens of a multicultural society is created through dialogue with the aim to bridge ethical norms. Furthermore, the two texts show similarities concerning issues like devil, evil and temptation, rational religion, retaliation, illnesses, political ethics and unconditional love for neighbors. In this sense bridging is not necessary as the two ethical spaces overlap. Within this common space the two recognize each other and outside of its boundaries each follow their distinctive ethical norms and practices. Violence and hatred cannot grow better in any of the two ethical systems, though.
Islam and Christian Theologians
Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 2013
ISLAM AND CHRISTIAN THEOLOGIANS Once upon a time an itinerant grammarian came to a body of water and enlisted the services of a boatman to ferry him across. As they made their way, the grammarian asked the boatman, "Do you know the science of grammar?" The humble boatman thought for a moment and admitted somewhat dejectedly that he did not. Not much later, a growing storm began to imperil the small vessel. Said the boatman to the grammarian, "Do you know the science of swimming?" On the eve of the new millennium too much of our theological activity remains shockingly intramural. Instead of allowing an inherent energy to launch us into the larger reality of global religiosity, we insist on protecting our theology from the threat of contamination. If we continue to resist serious engagement with other theological traditions, and that of Islam in particular, our theology may prove as useful as grammar in a typhoon. But what would swimming look like in theological terms? In the words of Robert Neville, "One of the most important tasks of theology today is to develop strategies for determining how to enter into the meaning system of another tradition, not merely as a temporary member of that tradition, but in such a way as to see how they bear upon one another." 1 I propose to approach this vast subject by describing the "Three M's" of Muslim-Christian theological engagement: Models (or methods from the past); Method (or a model for future experimentation); and Motives. I. MODELS: FROM JOHN OF DAMASCUS TO KENNETH CRAGG Four historical models represent broadly how Christian theologians have accounted for the Church's relationship to Islamic thought. The four are the apologetical, the scholastic, the Christian-inclusivist, and the dialogical. The Apologetical Model: Defining Islam in Relation to Christianity The apologetical model we find well represented in the work of John of Damascus (ca. 655-750), whose family served the Umayyad caliph in the administration of the newly proclaimed Islamic capital of Damascus. Daniel Sahas observes that, "Studying John of Damascus as a real person, living and reasoning with his own people and with the Muslim settlers in his home city. .. discloses one of the most serious originators of the Muslim-Christian dialogue.
Christian Ethics: A Review from The Perspective of Al-Faruqi
Journal of Fatwa Management and Research, 2022
This article reviews the writing of Ismail Al-Faruqi entitled “Christian Ethics: A Historical and Systematic Analysis of Its Dominant Ideas.” It thoroughly evaluates the origins of Judeo-Christian’s relationship and its relation with Islam. The method used is library-based research and deductive method of analyzing. This evaluation is crucial because there were distorted historical facts and certain misunderstandings in the idea of ethics and self-transformation and to the extent, Al-Faruqi introduced a new name to the Christians today which is Christianism and he also introduced a new approach to the study of religions i.e., Epochè. The distortions should be analyzed to avoid any confusion of the real and not real teachings of Jesus. Hence, this paper will identify the existing distortions and examine it with the original concept derived from the Islamic perspective which eventually harmonizes the ultimate reason of God sending down all His messengers to the earth.
Medieval Philosophical Discourse and Muslim-Christian Dialogue
American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, 1996
As pluralistic societies in the West become the nonn and the "global village" becomes a reality, ecumenical dialogues gain prominence. Ecumenical dialogues, which, like many other discussions, first began among scholars as an exclusively academic activity, now take place in churches, corrununities, and other sociopolitical organizations. In the United States, in particular, attempts are being made to introduce educa tional curricula that are sensitive to the culture and religious orientations of minorities. The very feasibility of a Christian-Muslim dialogue should be called into question. Can the Islamic world enter into a dialogue with the secular West? Any dialogue or discourse requires a corrunon language, a shared worldview, and some basic agreement on some of the fundamental axioms around which a worldview is formed. I fear that the Islamic world and the West no longer have such a common language. In the present discussion, I will offer an analysis and interpretation of Muslim-Christian dialogue that calls for a reflection on the readiness of Muslims to have a meaningful dialogue with the West. I argue that the nec essary condition for a meaningful dialogue between traditional Islam and the secular West does not exist and, therefore, that any attempt to do so at this time either will not succeed or will become a superficial survey of what we have in common, such as the Ten Commandments. To elucidate, I will first offer a model of a successful dialogue between Muslims and Christians based on the medieval philosophical dialogue between Muslim and Chris tian philosophers. I will then apply the conclusions drawn from this model to contemporary attempts at such ecumenical dialogues. Any student of medieval philosophy can observe two distinct periods in the history of medieval philosophy, defined here as early and later, each of which has distinct characteristics. The early period belongs to th e Church fathers who laid the groundwork for Christian philosophical and theological frameworks. Early Christian philosophical writings of such figures as Augustine, Boethius, John Scotus, St. Anselm, Peter Abaillard, and others were responses to specific questions of an intellectual nature.
This essay attempts at examining whether Theodore Abu Qurrah’s apologetic thought present before us a Christian mutakallim who argues from religious scriptures in defense of Christian faith, or it rather depicts a Christian mutakallim who defends his religious belief primarily on the basis of reason. This inquiry is made in conversation with Sidney Griffith’s publications on this subject. In his reading of Theodore Abu Qurrah’s maymars, Griffith seems to be shifting from an early interpretation of Theodore as a follower of ‘arguing from reason’ into a more recent interpretation of him as an exemplary follower of ‘arguing from scriptures’ rule, instead. This essay endeavors to shed lights on central claims and views in Theodore Abu Qurrah’s literature and thought that would disclose which rule of argument is more genuinely definitive of his approach: ‘arguing from reason’, or ‘arguing from scriptures’.
2021
While it is difficult to reconcile the violent and peaceful interpretations of Islam, there are beliefs held by nearly all Muslims that Christians can evaluate as we strive to reach them with wisdom and love. The first section of this paper will present a summary of Islamic beliefs, practices and early history. The second section will evaluate important Islamic presuppositions and examine the reasons that form the basis of Muslim beliefs. The final section will present biblical Christianity as a more reasonable worldview considering the available evidence.