Reynolds assumes a certain level of knowledge in his readers, but he presents an interesting study.
Christian influences on the birth of Islam.
Historian Reynolds provides a sedate look into the Christian milieu of Arabia at the time of Muhammad. Though his work is densely researched and replete with academic sources, it still manages to be brief and straightforward. Reynolds explores the question of just how much influence Christianity had on Muhammad and on the formation of the Qur’an. He argues that the Christian connection is deeper and more influential than many have previously understood. Earlier scholars believed that Muhammad was exposed only to a heretical form of Christianity, but Reynolds argues this was not the case. Instead, he believes that orthodox Christianity had a strong presence in Arabia and heavily influenced the Qur’an, which is “in substance, both in its form and its content, related to the Bible and biblical traditions.” An obvious and key connection to Christianity is, of course, the presence of Jesus as a prophet within the Qur’an. In Reynolds’ view, Jesus “acts as a spokesman for the Qur’an’s theology.” Yet while Jesus is voicing a new theological viewpoint, the Qur’an also appropriates a variety of New Testament sayings and phrases, while changing their context. All of this displays the depth of influence that Christian teaching and scripture had on the Qur’an. Similarly, pre-Islamic Arabic inscriptions have shown a strong monotheistic influence prior to Muhammad. The Qur’anic text itself bears further witness to the presence of Christians in the midst of the earliest Muslims. “Christianity is nowhere and everywhere in the Qur’an,” according to Reynolds. In other words, he concludes, the Qur’an can be seen as a response to Christianity in a theological sense. Readers would do well to compare this work with The Islamic Jesus by Mustafa Akyol (2017).
Reynolds assumes a certain level of knowledge in his readers, but he presents an interesting study.Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9780300281750
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Yale Univ.
Review Posted Online: July 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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