During the beginnings of the early middle ages, after the fall of the Roman World, there was an assortment of problems for both the Christian and Muslim religious sects. While there were other important issues at hand for the two religions, no problem faired them worse than the inheritance of the Greco-Roman World. Whether it should be kept or discarded was the most problematic question to be discussed (Perry, p.171).
It was argued for and against by both the Christians and Muslim. It was argued that the cultural inheritance would be beneficial for learning; for both logical processing and for reasoning. But with this came an issue of trust. Could the Christians and the Muslims trust that this knowledge would not corrupt their people and cause them to turn against their beliefs?
Joined in this argument were two different types of people, and both religions had them. You had the religious intellectuals who were well educated, and they “defended the pagan works,” (Perry, p.171). You also had those who thought this learning would lead to corruption and chaos among the two religions.
Christianity, in the end, “preserved the intellectual tradition of Greece,” and the views of the Christian intellectuals were overwhelmingly supported, but the Greco-Roman teachings on philosophical matters went through a series of transformations, in order to keep in accordance with the Christian faith (Perry, p.171).
Islam, in some cases, took similar actions as Christianity did, in preserving its people’s faith and understanding in regard to their own belief system. However, Islam also took different direction in involving Greco-Roman culture, as well as combining these practices with the aestheticism of l...
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...ilosophy could turn away Christians and give them blasphemous thoughts against God, that the reasoning could create heresies among the Christian population who learned such knowledge.
Tertullian would have responded to Charlemagne’s conversions with open arms if there were not any compromises with pagan beliefs and practices. But the problem is that there were many different accommodations made when the Anglo-Saxons and the Germanic tribes were converted (Perry, p.209). He wouldn’t have reject Charlemagne’s pursuit of spreading Christianity, but he wouldn’t have been supporter of embracing pagan rituals in any form. He also would have been against Charlemagne’s fondness of classical learning. He would insisted that Charlemagne reject such nonsense, because he felt that this reasoning and logical dogma could corrupt a person’s very soul (Perry, p.172).
From the first to the sixteenth centuries, merchants and trade played a prominent and influential role in society. Christianity and Islam in their origins had divergent attitudes toward increasingly important trade, but their viewpoints developed over time until 1500. Christianity first had a negative opinion of merchants, while Muslims saw them in a more positive light. Although they were different in this way, they shared some resemblance in that they both agreed that merchants should be virtuous and equitable in their transactions. In order to better comprehend how the outlook of Christians and Muslims transformed over time, one must first examine how they perceived merchants at their origins.
The religious wars of the 16th Century caused intense strife throughout Europe, economic hardships, personal and emotional questioning of belief. Through the pain of many rose rays of hope from artists and intellectuals to help guide them through their uncertainty (455).
Inglis, John. “Islamic Medieval Philosophy.” ASI 111. Sears Recital Hall, University of Dayton. 15 October 2002.
Charles Krauthammer was the author of Let’s Have No More Monkey Trials that was in TIME. This article gives the statement that to teach science and religion together would be a wrong choice because doing so “undermines” both subjects (Krauthammer 40). For example, liking ice cream and sour candy because they are both delicious might be why a person eats them....
...all, W. The Sources of Islam. Edinburgh, Scotland: T & T Clark Sivan, Emmanuel. Radical Islam: Medieval Theology and Modern Politics. Enlarged Edition. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2001 Spencer, H. Islam and the Gospel of God: A Comparison of the Central Doctrines of Christianity and Islam, Prepared for the Use of Christian Workers Among Muslims. Delhi, India: S.P.C.K., 1998 Stott, John R. & Coote, Robert, editors. Down to Earth: Studies in Christianity and Culture. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2000 Sweetman, J. Windrow. Islam and Christian Theology. Part II Volume II. London: Lutterworth Press, 1999 Vander Werff, Lyle L. Christian Missions to Muslims. S. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2002 Zwemer, Samuel M. Heirs of the Prophets: An Account of the Clergy and Priests of Islam, the Personnel of the Mosque and 'Holy Men'. Chicago: Moody Press, 2002
The first part of this paper will explore the mystery-religions, the reasons behind their popularity, and the Hellenistic world in which they grew that began with Alexander the Great. Next, their characteristics and connections first with Judaism and later with Christianity will be more deeply discussed. In the second part it will be shown that the mystery-religions helped to clear the pathway for the Christianization of the Greco-Roman world by men such as Paul the Apostle. Finally, the Emperor Constantine’s role in this story will be mentioned, during whose reign the mystery-religions declined and Christianity became the major religion of Europe and the near east. The paper will conclude with a brief speculation about the significance of these ideas to modern Christianity.
Throughout history it is evident that many religions have been tried, tested, and, for some, radically changed. Many religions have gone through periods of time in which the way they were run or enforced underwent changes in practice and leadership. In many cases disagreements and differing outlooks among members of certain religions were to blame for these changes. Christianity and Islam are two examples of religions that have experienced changes over the course of their existence. While these religions seem to have little in common at first glance, both have strikingly similar pasts that consist of radical splits due to disagreements among members of the Christian and Islamic churches, resulting in new branches within each religion.
Today, faith is the cornerstone of all major religious knowledge claims because there is no definitive way of...
Islam culture in a way that was not seen in JudeoChristian ones. ( Murray 91). The
Islam has a deep history, beginning with ideas originating before Muhammad and spanning to the present day. Before Islam, the Bedouin people’s faith contained a belief in supreme beings alongside animism. They also put a large emphasis on ancestor worship (Swartz 15). Some groups...
The Much common ground is shared in attempt to provide approaches to finding answers to some of the deepest questions of life. I will discuss these significant similarities focusing on human dignity, identity, difference, and guardianship. “Islam is similar to Christianity in respect to human dignity and identity in that both acknowledge creation and that God is the creator of heaven and earth”. The aspect of both subscribes to the role of prophets who were venerated in both Islam and Christianity. Due to this fact, they both are traced to the times of Abraham (Ipgrave and Marshall 14-77). The goal of each faiths’ ethos is to love God by way of obeying His commandments on guidance from their respective Holy Books. They both do broadly consist of individuals that owe their allegiance to a metaphysical deity. Owing to the fact that the two are considered Abrahamic religions. They do both captures in the strictest sense the aspect of guardianship in respect to both having belief in only one God. A belief is impliedly preaching the existence of heaven and hell. Goes on to affirm the existence of the belief of the second coming of the Savior, which affirms the faiths’ ethos towards the attainment of the religions’ goals. Aimed at promoting and achieving a holistic understanding of religion, as the flexibility to accommodate diverse backgrounds of its adherents that is always prone to abuse. Christianity and Islam’s
The Middle Ages saw a period in time that was deeply rooted in Christianity. Almost every aspect of life was monitered and ruled by the Church. This period in time also saw the emergence of men beginning to question whether the existence of God can be proved by faith , reason, or as Thomas Aquinas insists, by both faith and reason. There were differing opinions of this matter in both scholarly and religious circles. Faith is what all believers must have within them, it is a crucial part of man’s relationship with God. On the other hand, reason is a part of science and some believed that matters of The Divine should not be subjected to reason; there should not be a justification for God.
Jaoudi, Maria. Christian and Islamic spirituality: sharing a journey. Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, 1993. Print.
Dirks, Jerald. The Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam : similarities & contrasts. Beltsville, Md.: Amana Publications, 2004.
When first looking at the relationship between philosophy and religion, I found it easier to explain the differences rather than the similarities. I began this paper the same way I do others. This generally involves a profound amount of research on the topic at hand. However, in contrast to the other papers I have done, the definitions of philosophy and religion only raised more questions for me. It was fascinating how the explanations differed dramatically from author to author.