Christianity, Judaism and Islam - the Children of Abraham - constitute the spiritual foundations of Western civilization. They affect the interactions of entire nations and individuals, though their history is often understood as one of conflict and controversy. The present volume documents past encounters and confrontations, though it also shows that the history of the three faiths is not merely one of conflict but also one of co-existence and dialogue. The rich shared theological traditions of the Abrahamic religions provide positive encouragement to present-day meetings between their followers. The book contains 16 contributions by scholars from various fields of religious studies. It should appeal to everyone interested in interreligious encounters.

Table of Contents:
NTRODUCTION Antti Laato and Pekka Lindqvist PART ONE INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE—THEORETICAL VIEWPOINTS THE REALM OF THE BETWEEN Ruth Illman BASIC OF THEOLOGY OF RELIGION Hans-Olof Kvist PART TWO BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION AND ITS IMPACTS RIGHT TO LIFE AND JEWISH-CHRISTIAN ETHICS IN THE ROMAN WORLD: A CASE STUDY OF THE FIGHTING MEN AND THE UNHAPPY BIRTH Erkki Koskenniemi “BROTHER ESAU?” ESAU IN RABBINIC MIDRASH Gerhard Langer PART THREE ENCOUNTERS AND CONFRONTATIONS BETWEEN THE CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM IN LATE ANTIQUITY JUSTIN MARTYR ENCOUNTERS JUDAISM Antti Laato RABBINIC LITERATURE AND CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES Jacob Neusner RABBINIC REACTIONS TO THE CHRISTIANIZATION OF ROMAN PALESTINE. A SURVEY OF RECENT RESEARCH Gunter Stemberger LESS ANTAGONISTIC NUANCES IN THE EARLY JEWISH ATTITUDE TOWARDS CHRISTIANITY Pekka Lindqvist PART FOUR ENCOUNTERS AND CONFRONTATIONS BETWEEN THE CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM IN THE MIDDLE AGE THE OPEN AND CLOSED IN EARLY MUSLIM SOCIETY David Thomas PALACE OF HISHAM AND 8TH CENTURY ICONOCLASM Mikko Louhivuori THE TRANSMISSION OF LATE ANTIQUE CULTURE INTO ISLAMIC CULTURE Jaakko Hameen-Anttila THE CONNECTION BETWEEN MUSLIMS AND JEWS IN THE FIELD OF SCIENCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES Mariano Gomez Aranda ON THE INFUSION OF PHILOSOPHICAL IDEAS INTO THE MEDIEVAL JEWISH CULTURE Hannu Toyryla MYSTICAL ENCOUNTERS: JEWISH, CHRISTIAN AND MUSLIM MYSTICS IN 13TH-14TH CENTURY SPAIN Felicia Waldman PART FIVE CULTURAL ENCOUNTERS BETWEEN CHILDEN OF ABRAHAM IN MODERN TIMES MISSION AMONG JEWS AND MUSLIMS IN MAHABAD. STRATEGIES OF THE GERMAN ORIENT MISSION IN IRAN Martin Tamcke ABRAHAM: CONFLICTING INTERPRETATION AND SYMBOL OF PEACEFUL COOPERATION Pim Valkenberg