Synopsis
Renowned French scholar Roger Arnaldez is the author of more than a dozen books on the Islamic and Jewish thinkers Ibn Hazm and Philo. Throughout Arnaldez's career he has focused on the fields of Islamic philosophy and theology; however, more recently he has turned to comparative considerations like those discussed in Three Messengers for One God. This book, which contains Arnaldez's unique reflections on a comparative reading of the three Abrahamic faith traditions, has been widely read in France since its publication in 1983 and has not been translated into English until now. In this text Arnaldez approaches the three monotheisms from the vantage point of the believer and the necessary specificity of faith. While such an approach inevitably produces irreducible dogmatic differences, the traditions themselves suggest a point of convergence. Arnaldez demonstrates that each tradition mandates, in its own way and according to its own history, that believers interiorize their faith. They thereby proclaim that the faith of the authentic believer is rooted within what is called the "heart." Those Jews, Christians, and Muslims who have most radically pursued this inner life are the mystics, and their writings reveal an understanding of the heart that transcends differences of dogma without abolishing these differences. Through a comparative study of the language used by the mystics, Arnaldez delineates points of convergence and difference among the three Abrahamic traditions and suggests that together they promote an original religious humanism whose articulation coincided with and influenced the development of Western civilization. This English edition of Three Messengers for One God will interest teachers and students who specialize in Islamic, Jewish, and Christian studies, as well as those who study comparative religion or scripture. It will also engage readers who enjoy challenging studies in spirituality.