Abrahamic Faiths
WR155, Abrahamic Faiths, Methodist Theological School in Ohio, Fall 2009
Dr. Paul D. Numrich
COURSE DESCRIPTION: A broad examination of the commonalities, differences, and complex interrelationships of the three major world religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—that trace their lineages in significant ways back to Abraham. Historical, doctrinal, scriptural, institutional, socio-political, and other issues will be discussed in global and American contexts.
OBJECTIVES:
1. To introduce the comparative study of religions generally and the comparative study of the major Abrahamic faiths specifically.
2. To gain an understanding of the complexities of historical and contemporary relations among the Abrahamic faiths, including locally.
3. To consider a variety of Christian perspectives on Judaism and Islam (and, by implication, other religions).
4. To include consideration of other religions in the Christian theological agenda.
5. To develop one’s own perspective on other religions in preparation for faithful participation in interreligious encounters and informed religious leadership.
6. To enhance the scholarly enterprise of the Theological Consortium of Greater Columbus.
RATIONALE: This course recognizes the growing importance of understanding the major Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). More than a buzzword, the phrase has begun to replace “Judeo-Christian heritage” in designating key religious influences and relationships in contemporary America. Locally, a significant new Muslim presence has begun to redefine Jewish-Christian relations, while continuing tensions in the Middle East involve adherents of all three faiths. “Who are the children of Abraham?” asks Muslim scholar Mahmoud Ayoub. “This question is not an academic curiosity but a defining issue of our historical, theological, and, since the rise of modern Zionism and Arab nationalism, political relations. It has been both the cause of conflict and the basis of interfaith dialogue among the followers of the three Abrahamic faith traditions.”[1]
READINGS:
Ali, Abdullah Yusuf. The Meaning of the Holy Qur’an. Beltsville: Amana, 2004
Badawi, Jamal. “Muhammad in the Bible.” Online posting. 25 August 2009
Berger, David. “Reflections on Conversion and Proselytizing in Judaism and Christianity.” Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations 3.1 (2008): CP1-7
CMAJ Bioethics for Clinicians Series
Enslin, Morton S. “Bible: Religious Impact: In Christianity.” Encyclopaedia Judaica. 2nd ed. 2007
Feminist Sexual Ethics Project
Hosansky, Norman, and Mazhar Jalil, eds. Muslims and Jews: Building a Hopeful Future. Columbus: The Islamic Foundation of Central Ohio, in association with Congregation Tifereth Israel, 2003
Judaism 101. Ed. Tracey R. Rich. 2008. 28 August 2009
Kateregga, Badru D., and David W. Shenk. A Muslim and a Christian in Dialogue. Scottdale: Herald, 1997
Numrich, Paul D. “The Faith Next Door: American Christians and Their New Religious Neighbors.” New York: Oxford University Press, 2009
Poston, Larry A. “Da’wa in the West.” The Muslims of America, ed. Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad. New York: Oxford UP, 1991. 125-135
Religion and Ethics Newsweekly
Siddiqi, Muzammil H. “Jesus in the Qur’an: Some Similarities and Differences with the New Testament.” Muslims and Christians, Muslims and Jews: A Common Past, a Hopeful Future, ed. Marilyn Robinson Waldman. Columbus: The Islamic Foundation of Central Ohio, in association with The Catholic Diocese of Columbus and Congregation Tifereth Israel, 1992. 35-46
"Understanding the Three Abrahamic Faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam"[1] Mahmoud M. Ayoub, “Abraham and His Children: A Muslim Perspective,” Heirs of Abraham: The Future of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian Relations, ed. Bradford E. Hinze and Irfan A. Omar (Maryknoll: Orbis, 2005) 97.