Epilogue

The epilogue critiques this proposition by examining two of the ways in which Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have historically colored their adherents’ experiences: as individuals who may have an intimate connection to God; and as communities defined by their collective heritages. Historical circumstances have colored how members of the Abrahamic religions see one another; so, too, have the ways in which their traditions have constructed their identities. Ruminating on the perceived connections between the traditions that the concept of the “Abrahamic religions” implies, proponents of interfaith engagement have sometimes fastened on Abraham as a model of how his self-proclaimed descendants might treat each other more generously.

5. Medieval interactions (700–1500)

“Medieval interactions (700–1500)” considers the relationships among Jews, Christians, and Muslims between 700 and 1500 ce. Islam’s close association with the state influenced the development of its theology and law, the leading discipline for ordering Islamic societies and for framing Muslims’ interactions with Christians and Jews. The association of both Christianity and Islam with state power encouraged ideologies that could justify military action against the other, most notably the Crusades. Religious minorities—Jews and Christians in Muslim lands; Jews and Muslims in Christian territory—often lived restricted lives, yet Christian and especially Muslim practice sometimes allowed for toleration as well as extensive cultural and intellectual exchange, albeit without ceding political control.

7. Modern encounters (1500–2010)

“Modern encounters (1500–2010)” considers what happened after 1500 as Christianity became the preeminent religion in many of the world’s most powerful nations. This new power facilitated its global spread. After 1500, Christianity became the preeminent religion in many of the world’s most powerful nations, facilitating its global spread. The recovery of political sovereignty by Muslims in Asia and Africa following decolonization in the twentieth century resulted in reassertions of Islam’s foundational importance for their political cultures. Meanwhile, world Jewry reorganized itself primarily in Israel and the United States, the latter being a state that officially promoted no religion while proclaiming itself to be culturally Christian yet also committed to protecting religious liberty. As disagreements between Jews, Christians, and Muslims continued, some sought to improve relationships among them by launching global theological initiatives.

1. The Jewish matrix (1200 bce–70 ce)

“The Jewish matrix (1200 BCE–70 CE)” outlines the period from 1200 BCE to 70 CE, describing the importance of the Tanakh, which preserves and interprets the historical, cultural, and religious heritage of Israel and Judah. Ancient Israel’s discovery of the One God and the religion that developed around that awareness were deeply influenced by Israel’s political and cultural relationships with its neighbors. The texts that would constitute the Jewish sacred scriptures embed theological interpretations of this history. As the religion evolved, it was affected by Jews’ dispersion from their heartland, their engagement with Hellenism, and their implication in the eastern Mediterranean’s imperial conflicts. By the time of Jesus, Judaism had assumed multiple forms.

Preface

Abraham is a figure from antiquity; stories about the putative discoverer of the One God contain material that may date from the third millennium bce. His name entered Old English from Hebrew as early as the eleventh century ce, although the term “Abrahamic” did not appear in its original sense—“relating to, or characteristic of the biblical patriarch, Abraham”—until 1699. “Abrahamic” in this book means principally “belonging to the group of religions comprising Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which trace their origin to Abraham,” a twentieth-century usage. This definition updates the commonplace observation that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—the “Abrahamic religions”—are somehow closely related. Not everyone likes this expression or its categorical implications. Some scholars object that the term “Abrahamic” can mislead, especially insofar as it may exaggerate the three religions’ similarities and the likelihood that Jews, Christians, and Muslims can set their differences aside. Others regard the categorization itself as incoherent, given adherents’ fundamental divisions over matters such as what scriptures they consider canonical and how they understand God’s nature....

4. Islam

“Islam” looks at the origins of this religion. Islam arose in an area contested by empires and populated by diverse religious groups. Muhammad’s revelations, recorded in the Quran, drew loosely on Jewish and Christian ideas, but they pointedly situated him within the biblical prophetic tradition, and Muslims asserted that they had recovered the original religion of Abraham. At its inception, the umma (Muslim religious community) was also a political body, but the difficulties inherent in investing spiritual and civil headship in one person manifested themselves quickly. Clashes about who should guide the umma inflected Islamic religious identity—particularly its division into two major sects: Sunnis and Shiites.

6. Reform and Enlightenment (1500–1900)

“Reform and Enlightenment (1500–1900)” begins in the year 1500 as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam started to define themselves within spaces shaped by the global expansion of the, mostly Christian, European empires, growing skepticism of revealed religion, and the emergence of nation-states. Since 1500, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have defined themselves within spaces shaped by the global expansion of (Christian) European empires, growing skepticism of revealed religion, and the emergence of nation-states. These changes unsettled the familiar ways in which Jews, Christians, and Muslims understood their traditions, spurring reform and renewal. The Reformation divided the Western Church, further complicating Christian identity. The Enlightenment elevated reason and empirical evidence over revelation and received wisdom as the preeminent means for knowing the world, challenging religion’s stature. As European power and influence expanded, Muslims sought to preserve Islam’s fundamentals. The Jewish Enlightenment birthed a movement that challenged some of Judaism’s long-standing foundations.

3. Constructing Judaism and Christianity (70 ce–1054 ce)

“Constructing Judaism and Christianity (70 CE–1054 CE)” looks at how as Christians felt they now had to work to put form to their religion and its institutions, Jews were faced with the task of refashioning theirs. After the Temple’s destruction in 70 ce, Jews had to replace the observances and cult that had depended on its existence, investing legitimacy in new spaces, practices, leaders, and methods of textual interpretation. Christians were similarly trying to systematize their own scriptures, theology, and ecclesiastical organization. These identity constructions took shape as each group sought to distinguish itself from the others and their political fortunes shifted. Christianity’s elevation within the Roman Empire connected the faith to state power in ways that would inform the statement of its core theological premises, amplify divisions within the Church, and configure the course of Jewish–Christian relations.

2. Jews, Gentiles, and Christians (200 bce–200 ce)

“Jews, Gentiles, and Christians (200 BCE–200 CE)” describes the period from 200 bce to 200 ce, when Christianity arose within the context of Second Temple Judaism. Jesus of Nazareth may be best understood as an itinerant preacher within Jewish apocalyptic tradition, and Christianity as initially a Jewish sect. But it soon became something else, attracting Gentiles while absorbing influences from the peoples it encountered. This intercultural dynamic is revealed in the writings that became Christians’ holy texts—the New Testament—and in their efforts to simultaneously recruit and differentiate themselves from Jews, who “desire signs,” and “Greeks,” who “desire wisdom” (1 Cor. 1:22).