Islam And Christian Theology

Theologians have had to increasingly engage with beliefs and practises outside of their own traditions. The resultant "theology of religions" is, however, often formulated in isolation from the religions they are describing. This book provides a comparison of the development of theology of religions in Western Christianity and its application in anIslamic context. It also shows the parallels between some specific forms of theology of religions, i.e. exclusivism, inclusivism or pluralism, in both Islamic and Christian traditions. The arguments of Christian and Muslim theologians, including the specific contributions of Rowan Williams and Jerusha Lamptey, are examined in order to reveal the interconnections and contradictions of their pluralist, exclusivist and inclusivist approaches. This provides a rounded picture of Christian-Muslim understanding of religious others and prepares the ground for a stronger and more sophisticated Islamic theology of religions. This is vital reading for those studying theology of religions, comparative theology and interfaith relations.

This updated edition by one of the world's leading apologists presents a systematic, positive case for Christianity that reflects the latest work in the contemporary hard sciences and humanities. Brilliant and accessible.

In light of the widespread public perception of incompatibility between Islam and Christianity, this book provides a much-needed straightforward comparison of these two great faith traditions from a broad theological perspective. Award-winning scholar John Renard illuminates the similarities as well as the differences between Islam and Christianity through a clear exploration of four major dimensions—historical, creedal, institutional, and ethical and spiritual. Throughout, the book features comparisons between concrete elements such as creedal statements, prayer texts, and writings from major theologians and mystics. It also includes a glossary of technical theological terms. For western readers in particular, this balanced, authoritative work overturns some common stereotypes about Islam, especially those that have emerged in the decade since September 11, 2001.

How can Christians committed to the classical Christian tradition address the issues raised by contemporary Islam? Before a much-needed dialogue between Christians and Muslims is established, Christians need to ask themselves how their Scriptures and traditions might come to bear on such a dialogue. Do the divisions among Catholic and Evangelical Christians fracture the classical Christian tradition in ways that undercut Christian-Muslim dialogue before it has even begun? Or could the classical tradition provide invaluable resources for resolving divisions between Catholic and Evangelical Christians in ways that would prepare them for meaningful conversation with Muslim brothers and sisters? And what does it have to teach us about what Christians can and must learn from Muslims about their own traditions? The scholarly essays compiled in Christian Theology and Islam consider these and further questions, offering valuable insight for concerned Christians and academics in the fields of theology and religion.

Explores how Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other biblical characters are presented in the Qur'an to help Christians better understand Islam.

This book seeks to give form to a theology that hyphenates two traditions that have not only been in constant conflict during most of their historical encounters but are also presented as opposite blocks in the threatening ‘clash of civilizations’ at the beginning of the third millennium: Islam and Christianity. Based on experiences of dialogue between the three Abrahamic faiths, this book analyzes historical and contemporary processes of interreligious dialogue between Christians and Muslims in order to arrive at a concept of dialogue as ‘mutual emulation.’ It shows how, in their theologies of religious others, Judaism, Christianity and Islam have based their images of others on their self-images. This characteristic makes traditional theologies of religion quite unsuitable for interreligious dialogue. Consequently, the author of this book develops a model in which comparative theology and interreligious dialogue are connected by studying – as a Christian theologian – the theological and spiritual sources of his Muslim dialogue partners. These exercises in comparative Muslim-Christian theology comprise both the medieval (Aquinas, al-Ghazali, Rumi) and the modern periods (Said Nursi, Fethullah Gülen, Tariq Ramadan). An interlude on Teresa of Avila’s poem Nada te turbe shows how Christians may recover important insights from their own tradition by reading these Muslim theological and spiritual sources.