iPostthisweek

Table of Contents The Qur’an – Reasons Qur’an and Revelation Further Arguments from Scholars The three Abrahamic religions, namely: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have claims to three different yet analogical sacred books. For Judaism, it is the Torah; for Christianity, it is the Bible; and for Islam, it is the Qur’an. All three lay claims to the divine revelation of their holy books respectively. In this brief writing, the Islamic holy book, the Qur’an will be introduced and described as a spiritual guide to Muslims as well as the straightway to God ( al-Fatihah  1:6). In the course of this description, an emphasis on its claim to revelation will be examined, such as the reasons why the Qur’an was revealed and how it views revelation. The other two sacred books, namely: the Bible and Torah have no place in this piece of writing. The Qur’an – Reasons The Qur’an is the sacred scripture of the Islamic religion. The word “Qur’an” takes its formation from the Arabic root “ qara’a...

Table of Contents Trinitarianism – A Monotheistic Pattern Tawhid – A Monotheistic Pattern Trinitarianism and Tawhid in Contest Necessity and Contingency Arguments Conclusion The idea of Trinitarianism comes from the monotheistic Christian doctrine that views God as a Trinity of Persons – ‘God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit’. On the opposite spectrum, the idea of Tawhid  (that is, making one or claiming oneness)  follows from the monotheistic Islamic doctrine that defines God as ‘one’ and ‘undivided unity’ emphasizing that ‘there is no god but God’. Therefore, in this writing, we will try to examine the two religious doctrinal patterns about God. Our aim here is not to review all monotheistic religions. Here, we aim to concentrate on the two doctrines mentioned above and to review some of the arguments as well as critique some of the assumptions. Trinitarianism – A Monotheistic Pattern Christian doctrines and theologies focus on and develop from and around the...

Table of Contents Early Contacts between Christianity and Islam Monk Bahira The Migration to Axum Kingdom Christianity and Islam have always been two noxious bedfellows and yet always proclaim and wish peace on earth. It would not be a crass assumption to state that the two religions have over the centuries crossed paths and re-crossed paths many times. Crossing paths might have been in their ideologies, conflicts, doctrinal interpretations and even sharing some physical spaces. Therefore, in this brief writing, we will explore the early contacts between Christianity and Islam and see how they have influenced each other. Early Contacts between Christianity and Islam The early contacts between Christianity and Islam were not short of frames.  According to Kaufman et al., “frames are cognitive shortcuts that people use to help make sense of complex information.” They are means of interpreting our world and perhaps, the world of other people around us.  Such interpretations helpe...