An Assessment of the Transformation of Contemporary Arab Believers from a Muslim Background through an Arab Christian Defense of the Trinity from Early Islamic Periods
[Thesis]
Firmino das Chagas, Jeferson
Maalouf, Tony
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
2019
262 p.
Ph.D.
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
2019
God is at work among Muslims including Arab Muslims in the Arab World and in Arab Muslim communities across the world. The truth is that Arab Muslims are converting to Christ in an unprecedented way, but sadly, among these Arab Believers from Muslim Background [Arab BMB] are a significant number that show no growth in their Christian faith so that they even end up back in the religion of Islam. The dissertation argues that the lack of an Arab contextual discipleship affects the process of biblical transformation among Arab BMBs and consequently interferes in the retransmission of the biblical message among Arab Muslims. This dissertation investigates contextual approaches as a significant component in the transformation of Arab BMBs. These approaches will be primarily delineated from the Trinitarian Theology developed by Medieval Arab Christian theologians in their interactions with Muslims during the periods of Umayyad and Abbasid and evaluated in light of the Chalcedonian Creed and selected passages in the gospel of John. The first chapter introduces a prologue describing briefly the concept of transformation developed by Andrew Walls and some struggles faced by Arab BMBs in the Journey of following Jesus Christ. The second chapter present essential definitions in the field of World Christian Studies, characteristics of the culture and the church in the global South including the Arab World, and essential elements for constructing a relevant discipleship in the local context. The third chapter describes characteristics in the life of Arab BMBs, the main factor that led them to Christ and the obstacles they encounter in growing in Christ. The fourth chapter investigates the Trinitarian theological writings on the Trinitarian theology of Arab theologians during the Christian-Muslim interactions in the Umayyad and Abbasid periods. Intentionally, the dissertation selected Arab Christian Theologians who defended the Chalcedon creed. The Arabs John of Damascus, Timothy I, an unknown Arab theologian, who wrote the treatise "On the Triune nature of God, and Theodore Abu Qurrah. In general, the Arab Christian medieval theologians dialogued among Muslims on topics such as the divinity of Jesus, the incarnation, and Christianity as the true religion. Lastly, chapter five, integrates factors for contextualizing theology with the result of the investigation of the early Arab Christian Trinitarian theology, and with the study of the Trinity through the high Christology in selected passages in the gospel of John. The result presents potential contextual contributions for Arab BMBs knowing and experiencing the triune God. The conclusion proposes a dialogue between the Arab BMB church and the global church.