The Bible In Arab Christianity

This collection illustrates the place of the Bible in Arab Christianity as a source of authority and information about Christian experiences under early Islam, and the importance attached to upholding its authenticity in the face of Muslim criticisms.

Arab Christians and the Qurʾan from the Origins of Islam to the Medieval Period is a collection of essays edited by Mark Beaumont on the use and interpretation of the Qur’an by Christians writing in Arabic from the eighth to the thirteenth century.

From the first centuries of Islam to well into the Middle Ages, Jews and Christians produced hundreds of manuscripts containing portions of the Bible in Arabic. Until recently, however, these translations remained largely neglected by Biblical scholars and historians. In telling the story of the Bible in Arabic, this book casts light on a crucial transition in the cultural and religious life of Jews and Christians in Arabic-speaking lands. In pre-Islamic times, Jewish and Christian scriptures circulated orally in the Arabic-speaking milieu. After the rise of Islam--and the Qur'an's appearance as a scripture in its own right--Jews and Christians translated the Hebrew Bible and the Greek New Testament into Arabic for their own use and as a response to the Qur'an's retelling of Biblical narratives. From the ninth century onward, a steady stream of Jewish and Christian translations of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament crossed communal borders to influence the Islamic world. The Bible in Arabic offers a new frame of reference for the pivotal place of Arabic Bible translations in the religious and cultural interactions between Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

Arabic was among the first languages in which the Gospel was preached. The Book of Acts mentions Arabs as being present at the first Pentecost in Jerusalem, where they heard the Christian message in their native tongue. Christian literature in Arabic is at least 1,300 years old, the oldest surviving texts dating from the 8th century. Pre-modern Arab Christian literature embraces such diverse genres as Arabic translations of the Bible and the Church Fathers, biblical commentaries, lives of the saints, theological and polemical treatises, devotional poetry, philosophy, medicine, and history. Yet in the Western historiography of Christianity, the Arab Christian Middle East is treated only peripherally, if at all. The first of its kind, this anthology makes accessible in English representative selections from major Arab Christian works written between the eighth and eigtheenth centuries. The translations are idiomatic while preserving the character of the original. The popular assumption is that in the wake of the Islamic conquests, Christianity abandoned the Middle East to flourish elsewhere, leaving its original heartland devoid of an indigenous Christian presence. Until now, several of these important texts have remained unpublished or unavailable in English. Translated by leading scholars, these texts represent the major genres of Orthodox literature in Arabic. Noble and Treiger provide an introduction that helps form a comprehensive history of Christians within the Muslim world. The collection marks an important contribution to the history of medieval Christianity and the history of the medieval Near East.

Is it possible for Christians and Muslims to engage in meaningful dialogue, in genuine and truthful debate? Do we dare to put our faith on trial? To listen to each other in the best possible way, and to give the reason for the hope that we have, with gentleness and respect, as we are commanded? The two faiths hold much in common, tracing their roots back to a common ancestor. And yet they have always held to something of a ghetto mentality. Mutual ignorance is the price paid for trouble-free co-existence, and for some, perhaps, the price for survival. Prejudice and misunderstanding leads to confrontational debate, where one side tries to ridicule, attack and defeat the other. Political correctness and tolerance simply leads to superficial agreement. Chawkat Moucarry believes that there is a better way. Ever since he surprised the religious Education teacher by asking if he could attend the Islamic class at high school, he has been wholeheartedly committed to genuine Christian Muslim dialogue. His prayer is that this book will help us to gain a better understanding of each other's faith, as well as our own, and above all a better understanding of the founder of that faith.

This collection illustrates the place of the Bible in Arab Christianity as a source of authority and information about Christian experiences under early Islam, and the importance attached to upholding its authenticity in the face of Muslim criticisms.

Centuries before the existence of the Islamic faith, there were Arabs who could be described as Christian. And there has been a Christian Arabism, an Arab Christianity, since Muhammad's day. Arab Christianity has survived Muslin dominance, and this enlightening book takes an in-depth look at its survival.

Jesus and the Incarnation Reflections of Christians from Islamic Contexts In the dialogues of Christians with Muslims nothing is more fundamental than the Cross, the Incarnation and the Resurrection of Jesus. An open and honest conversation on these is a necessity as Christians all over the world meet with Muslims on a daily basis. Building on the volume on the Cross, published in 2009, this book contains voices of Christians living in various 'Islamic contexts' and reflecting on the Incarnation of Jesus. The aim of these reflections is constructive and the hope is that the papers weaved around the notion of 'the Word' will not only promote dialogue among Christians on the roles of the Person and the Book but, also, create a positive environment for their conversations with Muslim neighbors.