In just a few short years Muslim armies conquered what we call today the Middle East defeating the powerful Byzantine and Persian empires. This was in part a military conquest but the majority of the population were Christian with significant… Read More ›
History
How Islam saved the Jews
The following is an article published in the Jewish Chronicle (24 May 2012) – original link – based upon a lecture (see here) given as SOAS on 14 May 2012. By David J Wasserstein, Professor of Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt University…. Read More ›
Islamic civilization is a force for good in this world.
Islam was destined to create a civilization which stretched from one end of the globe to the other. Already during the early Muslim caliphates, first the Arabs, then the Persians and later the Turks set about to create classical Islamic… Read More ›
On this day in 1912 – British Library in London
On this day in 1912 Edward Wilmot Blyden, a pioneer of Pan-Africanist ideas, passed away. View one of Blydon’s major works, in which he argues the positive effects of Islam in West Africa at our #BLwestafrica exhibition.
Those chaotic, unorganized and backward people
Córdoba was the grandest city of Islamic Civilization in Spain. Indeed this city was the main threshold behind the European Renaissance. Many non-Muslims find it hard to believe [James White?] that there was a time in the Middle Ages when… Read More ›
Does Tom Wright Believe Jesus Is God?
February 4, 2016 by Kermit Zarley I am sometimes asked, “Does Tom (N.T.) Wright believe Jesus is God?” Or I am told that he does not. I’m also asked the same question about Jimmy (J.D.G.) Dunn. Wright and Dunn are… Read More ›
Quilliam’s objective: ‘lets stop people wanting to live under sharia’
Jonathan Russell is Quilliam’s Head of Policy. Today I read a disturbing message of his on Twitter. In the context of the sentencing of Tareena Shakil for membership of ‘Islamic State’ he suggested the following strategies to ‘debunk’ its appeal:… Read More ›
White/Christian/European/American terrorism
Here’s an important map showing the sacred land of Natives/Indigenous people and how it was stolen over the course of 500 years. This is genocide. It’s terrorism, and White/Christian/European/American terrorism at that. So when #OregonUnderAttack terrorists bang on about “taking their… Read More ›
Christian Beliefs and the Infrastructure of the Holocaust
With International Holocaust Remembrance Day quickly approaching, it is time to reassess the ancient accusations against the Jews that formed the basis for the Shoah’s infrastructure. Christianity introduced two extreme criminal concepts into the history of ideas: that the Jews were… Read More ›
Dr Hugh Kennedy speaking about the origin of Islam
An Interview with Dr Hugh Kennedy, Professor of Arabic History at SOAS, negating Tom Holland’s views on the authenticity of Islam and speaking about the origin of Islam.
Jonathan McLatchie: Did Jesus Allow Disciples to Worship him
An impressive video featuring erudite contributions by two Muslims who have an excellent grasp of the subject. However, I think everyone featured in the video is correct, to a greater or lesser extent. Jonathan is surely correct (in my view)… Read More ›
Just had these delivered (from Amazon Prime)
This book is looks extremely juicy. Edited with an introduction by top Oxford scholar Yahya Michot it defends Ibn Taymiyya against unjust accusations of extremism. It could hardly be more topical. I had to get this of course. I’m used to… Read More ›
JESUS MISSION
“Jesus is a Jew teaching Judaism to other Jews..”
(Reza Aslan)
Were the Disciples Martyred for Believing in the Resurrection?
Just published on The Bart Ehrman Blog. Ehrman debunks some unsubstantiated claims routinely made by evangelists. Over the past few years I’ve wondered how many of the disciples of Jesus came to believe that he had been raised from the dead…. Read More ›
Ehrman-Bass Debate: Did the Historical Jesus Claim to be Divine?
Dr Bart D. Ehrman met Dr Justin W. Bass on September 18th, 2015 in Collin College Preston Ridge Conference Center Frisco, TX Auditorium. Did Jesus really claim to be God? In an age of social media, skepticism and doubt, the… Read More ›
Christmas’s Pagan Copyright
Those who think “Christ-mass” season are time for Jesus (p) the Christ. Think twice. Pagan customs centering round the January calends gravitated to Christmas. Tiele (Yule and Christmas, London, 1899) has collected many interesting examples. The strenæ (eacute;trennes) of the Roman… Read More ›
The world’s oldest university
Did you know the oldest existing, and continually operating educational institution in the world is the University of Karueein which was founded by a Muslim woman Fatima al-Fihri in 859 AD in Fez, Morocco (according to UNESCO and Guinness World Records).
If Jesus Never Called Himself God, How Did He Become One?
A fascinating and scholarly discussion asking (and answering convincingly!) how a Jewish prophet became the Second Person of the Trinity.
History of English – in just ten hilarious minutes
Learn about the influence of Shakespeare and the King James Bible on the English Language. Fascinating!
A Syrian migrant’s child
A Tweet reminds the world: Steve Jobs was a Syrian migrant’s child. David Galbraith, a Geneva, Switzerland-based tech entrepreneur and designer, tweeted an iconic black-and-white photo of Steve Jobs with the words: “A Syrian migrants’ child.” The Apple founder’s biological… Read More ›
All-American Sheikh
Religious scholar Hamza Yusuf discusses the arc of Islamic civilization, the causes of Middle East conflict, and running the first Muslim liberal arts college in the United States. By Scott MacLeod © 2015 The Cairo Review of Global Affairs. As… Read More ›
The Raids of the Meccan Caravans
Dr Khalid Blankinship, an Islamic historian and professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pa, answers a question about the raids on the Meccan Caravans and the reason Muslims engaged in warfare. Question: If Islam is a religion of peace, why… Read More ›
Early Christian diversity – further reflections by Brian Mp
reblogged from Nazam’s facebook page By trying to understand the Pauline school scriptures (the whole N.T), you really are shooting yourself in the foot. We’re talking about the same scriptures which have two letters by Peter, both of which are… Read More ›
Is Paul at Odds with Matthew? By Bart Ehrman
Just published on Christianity in Antiquity (CIA): The Bart Ehrman Blog In yesterday’s post I indicated that I really very much wish that we could have some of the writings produced by Paul’s opponents in Galatia. They believed that… Read More ›
Would St. Thomas More blog?
I still haven’t made up my mind whether I shall publish it all. Some people are so humorless, so uncharitable, and so absurdly wrong-headed, that one would probably do far better to relax and enjoy life than worry oneself to… Read More ›
(Psst do you want to know a secret about Britain?)
then we went round plundering and subjugating the Colonies to make Britain ‘Great’
England! Remember your noble past!
Lest we forget.
Textual Criticism Syllabus
A mouth-watering new post on Professor Bart Ehrman’s webpage. I wish I was doing this course 😦 Course Description This class focuses on one of the foundational disciplines of biblical studies. New Testament textual criticism has experienced a significant resurgence… Read More ›
Blogging Theology 