DOCSLIB.ORG

“Abraham” Found in the Semitic Religions

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
“Abraham” Found in the Semitic Religions Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-3, Issue-10, 2017 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in Misconception Regarding the Concept of “Abraham” found in the Semitic Religions Rev. Fr. Jervacio Marceline Fernandes (Ph.D. Scholar, Goa University) Abstract: The term Misconception found in the The world Religions: Semitic Religions belief is the conjunction of three major religious beliefs that is Judaism, Christianity World religions can be broadly and Islam which are consider being the categorized into Semitic and non-Semitic religions. monotheistic in origin and the major religions of The term Semitic refers to the people who came the world. from the Middle East, their languages, religion and culture. Arabs and Jews are both Semitic, Since Judaism, Christianity and Islam have Christianity and Islam are also called Semitic expressed their origin related to Abraham; he is religions because they originated from this region considered to be the genesis of Semitic religious and they share the monotheistic belief. They are beliefs. Those in Semitic religions there are some also called Abrahamic religions, because for Jews common feature and customs, yet there is fallacy in Abraham was the first Jew, for the Christians belief. I take scriptural support to prove for my Abraham was the great ancestor of Jesus Christ, argument. May be my knowledge of the Torah, the and Islam also believes that Abraham was the first Holy Bible and the Quran may not sufficient thus Muslim. The Abrahamic religions are also called this article and my regimental views could be could the Prophetic religions because of their belief in the be developed, but I could embrace my daring view Divine guidance sent through prophets appointed on the topic and I am expressing my personal by God. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are major opinion on the same. religions of the world. They call Abraham as the father of their faith and this implies a kind of unity The Key words: Semitic, Abrahamic, Theophany, of brotherhood across the three faiths. Yet the three Talmud, Molech religions have different ways of interpreting the role of Abraham. Introduction: The Abrahamic sources: Abraham: Through the line of Isaac and Jacob Abraham is the ancestor of Hebrews and The scholars have recognized that the story of of the Arabs through Ishmael. The ancestors of Abraham is a work of a unity but it is a combines Israel are portrayed in the Bible as a nomadic or the work of many author. Julius Wellhausen pastoral life in the Pales. The traditional approach reorganized three independent sources of the to the patriarchal stories has led to the view that the Pentateuch: Josephus Flavius the Jewish historian tradition reflects a nomadic form of personal of Roman times has written for the gentile audience religion in which the god of the patriarchs is the demonstrated Abraham in an apologetically, states patron god of the clan. He was associated with a that: specific person such as Abraham who experiences a theophany (visible but not in material form) and “Abraham was the first to reason to divine promise land and offspring, also in the knowledge of God, creator of the universe, primitive Israelite religion references to sacred by his observations of the heavens. trees, stones and the setting up of numerous altars. Abraham was however, forced to leave There is frequent references to El in the patriarchal Babylonia because of religious stories reflect the encounter of the nomadic religion persecution (see also Judith 5:8). He took with the Canaanite religion of the land with its high with him the Babylonian sciences of god El, or the original identity of the ‘god of the astronomy and mathematics, which he fathers.’ taught to the Egyptians during his sojourn in their country, and this way the Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Page 461 Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-3, Issue-10, 2017 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in knowledge of such sciences eventually “The promise may rest on grace and be came to the Greeks.”1 guaranteed to all his descendants not only to the adherents of the law but also to Common origin: Abraham is shared as a point of those who share the faith of Abraham, for common origin by the three monotheistic religions he is the father of us all.”4 Paula of the world; their shared identity is connected to Frederickson says, “Christians are the single person. These Abrahamic religions are children of Abraham, but not from Isaac linked together through some kind of dogmatic and Jacob.”5 belief, for some writers the term implies an intimate unity, it is one and the same God who has Whereas we see through the Jews’ oral tradition authorized the Holy Bible and the Quran and the that is the ‘Talmud’, Abraham has been represented same eternal message is presented in both books. as an idol eliminator and monotheist Torah, the The three religions assume that there is only one same story recorded in a Jewish Midrash that is the God, who is the Creator of the universe, he is the rabbinic literature which contains early sovereign, omnipotent, omnipresent, Holy, Just and interpretation and the written Torah, which tells us righteous God. In this context Judaism, Christianity that Abraham’s father ‘Azar’ was the wooden idol and Islam worship the same God, the God of maker. He used to send Abraham and his brothers Abraham and Abraham has been the main origin to sell the carved idols in the market which were and the starting point of the Abrahamic/Semitic used by the buyer as the object of worship. As a religions. young boy Abraham once trashed his father’s idols and he told his father a particular idol had crush Abraham in the Torah: and subdue the rest. To this his father replied, the idol was just a statue and how can it destroy the other idols? Thus it is very clear that Abraham’s Genesis is the first book of Torah and also of the father was not an idol worshipper, and the Holy Bible, in both the scriptures Abraham has contention is that his father’s idols were not gods at been demonstrated as the promised and the all, but it was trade. In the Holy Bible we don’t covenantal Abraham who is the father of many have any legend in connection to this, it only nations and the first patriarch, the father of Israel ambiguously portrays Abraham as opposed to idol and grandfather of Jacob who is the symbol of worship, and we have only the significance in God’s benevolence towards the chosen people of Genesis 18:19 that Abraham agreed with God’s law God, the Israelis. which rejects idol worship. The book of Genesis states that: Difference in Judaism and Christianity: St. Paul, who said that Abraham could be justified by faith, says: “For I have chosen him that he may “That is why his faith was reckoned to charge his children and his household after 2 him as righteousness.” him to keep the way of the Lord by doing And the Genesis says: righteousness and justice; so that the Lord “And he believed the Lord; and he may bring to Abraham what he has 3 reckoned it to him as righteousness.” promised him.”6 Thus Paul represents Abraham as the opposite to Judaism, and Gentile Christian liberated from the Thus it is clear that the Lord, who has chosen rabbinical imposed rules. Abraham to demonstrate for generations to come how to live a right and just life, as a covenantal For the Jews Abraham’s fatherhood is relationship. Abraham actually lived out this through literal descent, but for the Christians they mission in a righteous way, whereas the first time are the children of Abraham by faith. Thus St. Paul we see the theme of rejection of idolatry in the says: Book of Genesis, is when Abraham’s grandson Jacob tells his family and all who were with him, 1 The Encyclopedia of Religion, 1987. Volume I, 4 Ibid, Roman 4:16 “Aboriginal Religions” pg. 16 5 2 The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version, http://www.newenglishreview.org/Mark_Durie/The Romans 4:22, (Bangalore: Collins for _Abrahamic_Fallacy/ Theological Publications in India, 1988) 145- 6 The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version, 146. Genesis 18: 18-19, (Bangalore: Collins for 3 Ibid, Genesis 15:6, pg. Theological Publications in India, 1988) pg.14. Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Page 462 Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol-3, Issue-10, 2017 ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, provided the animal for sacrifice, significantly and purify yourselves and change your garments.”7 points to the different identity of the Israelites The Prophet Joshua states that Abraham was called In the book of prophet Jeremiah 19: out from an idol worshipping family and he made a 4-5 and Ezekiel 16: 20-21we see that the Hebrews break with his practice, but in the book of Joshua it practiced child sacrifice at particular period, and is not explicitly shown that Abraham stepped down this practice was continued among the Israelites idol worship, in fact there is no reference to idol right from the time of Babylonian exile and worship in the Abrahamic chronology, whereas therefore the Psalmist says: Joshua said to all the people: “They poured innocent blood, the blood “Your fathers lived of old beyond the Eu- of their sons and daughters, whom they phra’tes, Terah, the father of Abraham and sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the of Nahor; and they served other gods.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Koran and Freedom of Thought Dominique Avon, Abdellatif Idrissi
    The Koran and Freedom of Thought Dominique Avon, Abdellatif Idrissi To cite this version: Dominique Avon, Abdellatif Idrissi. The Koran and Freedom of Thought. Books and Ideas (www.booksandideas.net), 2008. halshs-01631224 HAL Id: halshs-01631224 https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-01631224 Submitted on 8 Nov 2017 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. The Koran and Freedom of Thought Dominique AVON and Abdellatif IDRISSI There was an age when people had the right to criticise the entourage of the prophet, when religious controversy was carried out with a great freedom of tone, and when Islamic scholars glorified atheism. Today, all the many debates relating to Islam present one single dilemma: the abandonment of faith or fundamentalism. In this article, a linguist and a historian relate how the two “givens” of Islam – the integrity of Mohammed’s entourage and the inimitability of the Koran – gradually became established over time. To them, Islam should be reconciled with the science of texts and freedom of thought. As an article title, “Plurality in Islam” could well surprise the reader. Published during the summer of 2006 and written by Jamâl al-Bannâ1, the article gave rise to no controversy at all, illustrating the difficulties of questioning the most common of commonplaces.
    [Show full text]
  • Complete Dissertation
    VU Research Portal Abraham in Narrative Worldviews: Doing Comparative Theology through Christian- Muslim Dialogue in Turkey Bristow, G.F.V. 2015 document version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication in VU Research Portal citation for published version (APA) Bristow, G. F. V. (2015). Abraham in Narrative Worldviews: Doing Comparative Theology through Christian- Muslim Dialogue in Turkey. General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. E-mail address: [email protected] Download date: 03. Oct. 2021 VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT Abraham in Narrative Worldviews: Doing Comparative Theology through Christian-Muslim Dialogue in Turkey ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad Doctor aan de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, op gezag van de rector magnificus prof.dr. F.A. van der Duyn Schouten, in het openbaar te verdedigen ten overstaan van de promotiecommissie van de Faculteit der Godgeleerdheid op donderdag 28 mei, 2015 om 11.45 uur in de aula van de universiteit, De Boelelaan 1105 door George Farquhar Vance Bristow Jr geboren te Pennsylvania, Verenigde Staten promotoren: prof.dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Les Mariages Islamo-Chrétiens Au Liban
    LES MARIAGES ISLAMO-CHRÉTIENS AU LIBAN : UNE ÉTUDE EMPIRIQUE ET THÉORIQUE TANNOUS Marie-Rose Thèse soumise à la Faculté de théologie de l’Université Saint-Paul dans le cadre des exigences du programme de Doctorat en théologie Ottawa, Canada Le 31 juillet 2014 © TANNOUS Marie-Rose, Ottawa, Canada, 2014 1 INTRODUCTION GÉNÉRALE ............................................................................................ 9 La passion comme source d’inspiration ................................................................................. 9 Énoncé du problème ............................................................................................................. 10 État de la question ................................................................................................................ 12 Hypothèse de recherche ........................................................................................................ 14 Méthodologie ........................................................................................................................ 14 A. La description des cas .................................................................................................15 B. Les étapes suivies dans notre analyse de cas ..............................................................19 PARTIE I .............................................................................................................................. 26 Chapitre I .............................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Significance of Prophet Abraham in World Scriptures of Hebrew, Christian, Muslim and Hindu Religions
    Significance of Prophet Abraham in World Scriptures of Hebrew, Christian, Muslim and Hindu Religions The reader is forewarned that certain parts of this article may be considered as slightly graphic, as those parts explain for clarity, the actual ritualistic practices within paganism, regarding human sacrifice. These are almost unbelievable historical facts of common practice, which happened many thousands of years ago. Many times when any topic under discussion concerns Prophet Abraham, most people immediately relate Prophet Abraham to that incident, when he almost sacrificed his first-born son. Rarely do people analyse the absolute greatness of this prophet, as the Father of Humanity. This article goes deeper in appreciating that Prophet Abraham was the first prophet who pioneered the modern day concept of One God; and to do this he walked out on his sire1 after destroying all the idols, save one the chief idol and placed the axe next to the chief idol; Prophet Abraham wilfully left the chief idol intact to bear witness and to explain who destroyed the colony of idols in the pagan temple. His sire (who was also head priest over the idols)2 told Prophet Abraham not to be stupid, because the chief idol was a man-made, lifeless and powerless cold statue, sculptured out of stone; and that the idol could not see, hear, speak, feel or taste or have the powers of discretion to bear witness. Of course, Prophet Abraham told his sire not to worship such useless, powerless and defenceless idols. Thereafter he fought many skirmishes with so many of the idol worshiping communities, and he was also banished from his town of usual residence.
    [Show full text]
  • Transcendence of God
    TRANSCENDENCE OF GOD A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT AND THE QUR’AN BY STEPHEN MYONGSU KIM A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE PHILOSOPHIAE DOCTOR (PhD) IN BIBLICAL AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES IN THE FACULTY OF HUMANITIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA SUPERVISOR: PROF. DJ HUMAN CO-SUPERVISOR: PROF. PGJ MEIRING JUNE 2009 © University of Pretoria DEDICATION To my love, Miae our children Yein, Stephen, and David and the Peacemakers around the world. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I thank God for the opportunity and privilege to study the subject of divinity. Without acknowledging God’s grace, this study would be futile. I would like to thank my family for their outstanding tolerance of my late studies which takes away our family time. Without their support and kind endurance, I could not have completed this prolonged task. I am grateful to the staffs of University of Pretoria who have provided all the essential process of official matter. Without their kind help, my studies would have been difficult. Many thanks go to my fellow teachers in the Nairobi International School of Theology. I thank David and Sarah O’Brien for their painstaking proofreading of my thesis. Furthermore, I appreciate Dr Wayne Johnson and Dr Paul Mumo for their suggestions in my early stage of thesis writing. I also thank my students with whom I discussed and developed many insights of God’s relationship with mankind during the Hebrew Exegesis lectures. I also remember my former teachers from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, especially from the OT Department who have shaped my academic stand and inspired to pursue the subject of this thesis.
    [Show full text]
  • Pour La Paix Civile Au Liban Une Vie Pour Le Liban Youakim Moubarac, Un Homme D'exception1 Georges Corm2 Un Savant Engagé
    Pour la paix civile au Liban Une vie pour le Liban Youakim Moubarac, un homme d’exception1 Georges Corm2 Un savant engagé dans l’histoire Les hommes de ma génération qui ont eu la chance de se trouver aux côtés de Youakim Moubarac dans sa quête incessante de paix, de dialogue et de concorde entre les Libanais ont joui d’un privilège exceptionnel, à la mesure de la personnalité hors du commun qui était la sienne. Au demeurant, la vigueur intellectuelle de cet ecclésiastique, homme de très haute culture, mais pourtant si modeste et si proche de tous ses amis laïcs, l’avait amené à développer une vision du monde aux horizons élargis. Le Liban, à l’origine de ses racines profondes, était pour lui un lieu privilégié d’où il fallait organiser le dialogue, la paix, le bon sens entre un monde arabe, majoritairement musulman, et l’Europe à l’avant-garde de la modernité politique. Dans cette Europe, la France et la culture française étaient pour lui un espace, bien plus, une demeure physique et intellectuelle, qu’il affectionna toute sa vie. Saint-Sulpice, Saint-Roch, l’Abbaye de Jouarre, l’Université catholique de Louvain en Belgique, mais aussi la Sorbonne, furent ses lieux d’élection en terre européenne. Il y devint cette personnalité riche et complexe, tout à la fois un prodigieux savant maronite, continuateur d’une tradition inaugurée par l’ouverture du collège maronite de Rome en 1584 et qui donna au Liban et à l’Europe des hommes éminents, ouverts sur l’Église universelle et tous ses courants; un francophile inlassable, même lorsque les
    [Show full text]
  • No 'Civil War' This Time Georges Corm Israel As a "Jewish State,"
    Lebanon: No 'Civil War' This Time Georges Corm Israel as a "Jewish state," to quote the title of the book by Theodor Herzl who founded the Zionist Movement in 1897, was in trouble from the start. It came up against a tradition of religious pluralism in the Middle East that had held for more than 1,000 years, embracing Christian members of the Eastern Church and Muslims (Sunni, Druze, Shia and Alawite). In Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt, all the religious communities, including the Jewish communities, lived in close juxtaposition (1). Any proposal to establish a state exclusively for Jews in this pluralist environment was bound to encounter strong resistance. The Christians in Palestine, Lebanon and Syria were first to sound the alarm on the Arab side. Early in the 20th century they realised the threat that such a state would represent: in it, a community swollen by an influx of people from outside the region (Ashkenazi Jews fleeing persecution in Russia and eastern Europe) would hold a monopoly on power. Eastern Christians saw that the Zionist project, supported by the European colonial powers, would inevitably be perceived as a crusade and as such would damage centuries of good relations between Christians and Muslims in the Middle East. If the project were successful, some members of the local Christian communities might seek to establish a Christian state, on the principle that they had just as much right to do so as Jews from outside the region. The Jewish settlers were inclined to regard the Christian minorities in the Middle East as potential allies, even before the state of Israel was established.
    [Show full text]
  • Revista De Análisis Y Pensamiento Sobre El Mundo Árabe E Islámico Contemporáneo
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación Número 12. Nueva época 2.º semestre de 2015 Número 12. Nueva época 2.º semestre de 2015 RevistaAWRAQ de análisis y pensamiento sobre el mundo árabe e islámico contemporáneo AWRAQRevista de análisis y pensamiento sobre el mundo árabe e Número 12. Nueva época islámico contemporáneo semestre de 2015 º 2. Revista de análisis y pensamiento e islámico contemporáneo el mundo árabe sobre Los sumarios y artículos (en castellano y en las lenguas originales) están disponibles en: www.awraq.es ISSN 0214-834X PVP: 15 € AWRAQRevista de análisis y pensamiento sobre el mundo árabe e islámico contemporáneo AWRAQRevista de análisis y pensamiento sobre el mundo árabe e islámico contemporáneo Boletín de suscripción DIRECCIÓN Eduardo López Busquets, director general de Casa Árabe CONSEJO DE REDACCIÓN Enviar a: Karim Hauser Awraq. Casa Árabe. c/ Samuel de los Santos Gener nº 9. 14003 Córdoba. Correo elec- Elena González trónico: [email protected] Nuria Medina Olivia Orozco Javier Rosón DIRECCIÓN DE ENVÍO DE LA REVISTA Nombre y apellidos: SECRETARÍA DE AWRAQ Institución o empresa (si procede): [email protected] CIF/NIF: Dirección completa: WEB Y SUSCRIPCIÓN Teléfono: Correo electrónico: www.awraq.es Modalidad de suscripción España Extranjero EDITORES Casa Árabe. c/ Alcalá, 62. 28009 Madrid (España) www.casaarabe.es 1 año (2 números) 30 € 40 € Nota: los autores son los únicos responsables de las opiniones expresadas en sus respectivos 2 años (4 números) 60 € 80 € artículos. 3 años (6 números) 90 € 120 € Número suelto (indicar n.º: ) 15 € 20 € La parte central de este número de Awraq es una selección de las ponencias presentadas en las jornadas Oriente y el mundo árabe.
    [Show full text]
  • Walter Marzilli
    THE BIBLE IN THE MARONITE CHURCH by Fr. Ayoub CHAHWAN, lmo Prof. of Holy Scriptures University of the Holy Spirit- Kaslik 1- THE TRANSLATED VERSIONS USED BY MARONITES The Maronites have used, at least until the era we know about, the Syriac and Arabic versions of the Bible. It is agreed that, during the very first centuries of Christianity, its adepts in the Middle East were bilinguals; Greek and Syriac were the languages used. In ancient times, the Greek language was certainly known by the monks of the monastery of Saint Maron, and we presume that they also used the Greek version of the Bible, but we do not have documents proving it; the only manuscript that reached us from the monastery’s library is a Syriac one, enclosing the work of John of Apamea1. The most widespread version used by Maronites is the Syriac one, known under the name of Peshitta, which we also found in their liturgical texts. Numerous Maronite manuscripts are considered 1- Manuscript of the British Museum Add. 17169, copied in the year 580; see, Jean GRIBOMONT, « Documents sur les origines de l’Église Maronite », Parole de l‟Orient 5 (1974) 95-132; here 103-106. Mélanges offerts à Antranik GRANIAN 122 witnesses of the Peshitta, among them the manuscript of a Psalter copied in 1318 in the monastery of Qozhaya2. The Maronite Patriarchs from 1154 until 1522 used The Rabbula‟s Evangeliarion created in 586, which was based on the Peshitta3. Since Syriac was the liturgical language used by Maronites, the version of the Holy Scriptures adopted was the Syriac one.
    [Show full text]
  • The Matheson Trust Symbolism of Islamic Prayer Dr. Rodney Blackhirst
    The Matheson Trust Symbolism of Islamic Prayer Dr. Rodney Blackhirst In some respects salat or the canonical Islamic prayer ritual is the most important of the five essential observances called the Five Pillars of Islam, for it is the only one to which the believer is required to adhere every day. The Testimony of Faith is the most essential of these pillars in absolute terms - without it one is simply not a Muslim -, but Testimony is only required once in a lifetime, as is the Pilgrimage to Mecca and in the case of the Pilgrimage it is only if circumstances permit. The Fast of Ramadan and the Poor Tax are annual requirements, and for these there are exceptions. The prayer, however, is daily and there are no exceptions except the allowances made for menstruating women. In the practical life of the Muslim, therefore, the salat is the greatest burden of the Law. The Koran, strictly speaking, only petitions believers to practice "regular prayer" (most often, "keep regular prayer and pay the poor tax") but in the codifications of Islamic Law this settled into five canonical times per day: at first light, at noon, midnoon, after sunset and at night. Not only is this cycle a personal discipline and a means by which the believer punctuates the day with worship, it also has a symbolic significance that illuminates the deepest roots of the Islamic faith. So to do the prescribed bodily postures and movements of the prayer ritual which are themselves cyclic in nature - salat is measured in terms of cycles or rakas - and are part of the same symbolism.
    [Show full text]
  • Chrétiens Au Proche-Orient
    Archives de sciences sociales des religions 171 | 2015 Chrétiens au Proche-Orient Édition électronique URL : http://journals.openedition.org/assr/27005 DOI : 10.4000/assr.27005 ISSN : 1777-5825 Éditeur Éditions de l’EHESS Édition imprimée Date de publication : 1 septembre 2015 ISBN : 9-782713224706 ISSN : 0335-5985 Référence électronique Archives de sciences sociales des religions, 171 | 2015, « Chrétiens au Proche-Orient » [En ligne], mis en ligne le 01 septembre 2017, consulté le 29 septembre 2020. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/ assr/27005 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/assr.27005 Ce document a été généré automatiquement le 29 septembre 2020. © Archives de sciences sociales des religions 1 Les « chrétiens d’Orient » sont aujourd’hui au premier plan, dramatique, de l’actualité internationale. Leur histoire donne aussi lieu, depuis quelques années, à des recherches nouvelles, attentives à l’inscription de ces « communautés chrétiennes » dans leurs contextes. La sortie de l’ère postcoloniale et les crises des États-nations au Proche- Orient ont conféré une légitimité inédite à une approche des sociétés sous l’angle de leurs minorités, partant d’une nouvelle compréhension des notions de « frontières », confessionnelles ou ethniques, et des interactions entre « majorité » et « minorités ». Les contributions du présent dossier portent sur l’Égypte, la Syrie, la Jordanie et la Turquie. Ces études envisagent les chrétiens non pas comme des minoritaires victimes des aléas politiques, mais comme des acteurs participant à la vie politique, intellectuelle et culturelle de leurs sociétés. Elles éclairent les fonctionnements internes des communautés chrétiennes et de leurs institutions qui, loin de s’être fossilisées dans des traditions immuables, aménagent constamment leur rapport à l’histoire et aux langues constitutives de leur identité.
    [Show full text]
  • 269 Louis Massignon, the Melkite Church and Islam
    ARAM, 20 (2008) 269-297. doi: 10.2143/ARAM.20.0.2033133A. O'MAHONY 269 LOUIS MASSIGNON, THE MELKITE CHURCH AND ISLAM ANTHONY O’MAHONY (Heythrop College, University of London) LOUIS MASSIGNON: ASPECTS OF HIS LIFE AND THOUGHT Louis Massignon (1883-1962) saw the relationship between Christianity and Islam through the lens of the tragic figure of the mystic al-Hallâj (857- 922).1 Al-Hallâj, who was ‘martyred’ in Baghdad for heresy, represented for Massignon a direct parallel to the suffering of Jesus on the cross.2 As Christi- anity had suffering and compassion as its foundation, so too, according to Massignon, did Islam. Indeed, he regarded suffering as fundamental to Semitic and Jewish tradition: “This brings us to a fundamental problem of Semitic, and particularly Jewish psychology, in its most ‘Kirkegaardian’ aspect: there is a hidden but divine good in suffering, and this is the mystery of anguish, the foundation of human nature”3 Massignon’s mystical Catholicism belonged to the core and essence of his being, and it informed his entire understanding of Islam. It was ‘commitment’ to the other outside his own Christian faith which made Massignon such a powerful witness. The Dominican scholar Jean-Pierre de Menasce OP states, “If the attitude of Christians towards Muslims and Is- lam (and consequentially towards all the great religions) has changed in the last forty-years, through objective understanding, through gripping the highest and most central values, through a complete respect for people and institu- tions, and all this as a result of Christian intensity and not despite it, this is a great extent owed to Louis Massignon”.4 Indeed, the explicit recasting of 1 Herbert Mason, ‘Louis Massignon et al-Hallâj’, Presence de Louis Massignon.
    [Show full text]