Theology

Within the North Africa and West Asia region, scholarly reflection on systematic theology has been especially concentrated in the countries of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine/Israel, and Egypt. Middle Eastern Christianity theology is often driven by inter-religious and political realities, especially the societal dominance of Islam and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Christians have been developing theological responses of Islam for fourteen centuries, including views of Islam as a Christian heresy, a form of Jewish Christianity, an Abrahamic religion that fulfils God’s promises to Ishmael, a religion that affirms Christianity when properly exegeted, and an independently legitimate religion. Most inter-religious theological dialogue between Christianity and Islam focuses on clarifying misconceptions of the other religion’s beliefs rather than collaborative seeking of truth. Some Christian theologians embrace a shared Arab cultural heritage with Muslims, and others view themselves as having a distinct Eastern or pre-Islamic cultural identity. The Arab-Israeli conflict has sparked reflection on the proper interpretation of the Old Testament by Christians, Palestinian liberation theology, and critique of Christian Zionism.