Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: Difference between revisions
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== The Myth of Muslim Toleration == | |||
; [http://www.stonegateinstitute.org/2757/golden-age-of-islam "The Golden Age of Islam--A Second Look."] | |||
: Expanding upon Jane Gerber's thesis about the "garish" myth of a "Golden Age," the late Richard Fletcher (in his Moorish Spain) offered a fair assessment of interfaith relationships in Muslim Spain and his view of additional contemporary currents responsible for obfuscating that history: | |||
:: The witness of those who lived through the horrors of the Berber conquest, of the Andalusian fitnah [ordeal] in the early eleventh century, of the Almoravid invasion — to mention only a few disruptive episodes — must give it [i.e.: the roseate view of Muslim Spain] the lie. | |||
:: The simple and verifiable historical truth is that Moorish Spain was more often a land of turmoil than it was of tranquility. … Tolerance? Ask the Jews of Granada who were massacred in 1066, or the Christians who were deported by the Almoravids to Morocco in 1126 (like the Moriscos five centuries later). … In the second half of the twentieth century a new agent of obfuscation makes its appearance: the guilt of the liberal conscience, which sees the evils of colonialism — assumed rather than demonstrated — foreshadowed in the Christian conquest of al-Andalus and the persecution of the Moriscos (but not, oddly, in the Moorish conquest and colonization). Stir the mix well and issue it free to credulous academics and media persons throughout the Western world. Then pour it generously over the truth … in the cultural conditions that prevail in the West today, the past has to be marketed, and to be successfully marketed, it has to be attractively packaged. Medieval Spain in a state of nature lacks wide appeal. Self-indulgent fantasies of glamour … do wonders for sharpening its image. But Moorish Spain was not a tolerant and enlightened society even in its most cultivated epoch. | |||
== Handouts == | == Handouts == | ||
Revision as of 01:44, 18 January 2012
These three religions are called "Western Religions," even though they arose in the area now known as the Middle East. The Middle East is west of the Far East, which is home to the "Eastern Religions" (Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism, etc.).
They are more accurately called "Abrahamic religions" because all three religions claim to be the true heirs of God's covenant with Abraham.
Sibling Rivalry among the Children of Abraham
The Jewish Claim on the Covenant
The Jews are blood-descendants of Abraham. They are the literal and biological fulfillment of God's covenant with Abraham.
| BC | event | issue |
|---|---|---|
| ~1700 | Covenant with Abraham | God promised Abraham children and land. |
| 1010 | Covenant with David | God promised David his Kingdom would last "forever." |
| 922 | Breakup of Kingdom of Israel into Northern Kingdom (Israel) and Southern Kingdom (Judah) | The United Kingdom of twelve tribes lasted less than one century. |
| 722 | Destruction of Northern Kingdom (Israel) by Assyrians. | The ten tribes in the Northern Kingdom have disappeared from history. The Judahites (Jews) are all that remain of the twelve tribes. |
| 586 | Babylonian Captivity of Southern Kingdom (Judah) | The Jews have not had a Messiah (man anointed to be King) since then. |
The Christian Claim on the Covenant
The Muslim Claim on the Covenant
Ishmael was Abraham's first-born son. By right of being first-born, he should have succeeded Abraham as the patriarch.
| mother | son |
|---|---|
| Hagar | Ishmael |
| Sarah | Isaac |
| Keturah |
|
The Myth of Muslim Toleration
- Expanding upon Jane Gerber's thesis about the "garish" myth of a "Golden Age," the late Richard Fletcher (in his Moorish Spain) offered a fair assessment of interfaith relationships in Muslim Spain and his view of additional contemporary currents responsible for obfuscating that history:
- The witness of those who lived through the horrors of the Berber conquest, of the Andalusian fitnah [ordeal] in the early eleventh century, of the Almoravid invasion — to mention only a few disruptive episodes — must give it [i.e.: the roseate view of Muslim Spain] the lie.
- The simple and verifiable historical truth is that Moorish Spain was more often a land of turmoil than it was of tranquility. … Tolerance? Ask the Jews of Granada who were massacred in 1066, or the Christians who were deported by the Almoravids to Morocco in 1126 (like the Moriscos five centuries later). … In the second half of the twentieth century a new agent of obfuscation makes its appearance: the guilt of the liberal conscience, which sees the evils of colonialism — assumed rather than demonstrated — foreshadowed in the Christian conquest of al-Andalus and the persecution of the Moriscos (but not, oddly, in the Moorish conquest and colonization). Stir the mix well and issue it free to credulous academics and media persons throughout the Western world. Then pour it generously over the truth … in the cultural conditions that prevail in the West today, the past has to be marketed, and to be successfully marketed, it has to be attractively packaged. Medieval Spain in a state of nature lacks wide appeal. Self-indulgent fantasies of glamour … do wonders for sharpening its image. But Moorish Spain was not a tolerant and enlightened society even in its most cultivated epoch.