ISLAMIC-CHRISTIAN DIALOGUE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THEOLOGY: JOHN OF DAMASCUS AS A MODEL

Abstract

John of Damascus is considered one of the most important theologians who supported the importance of reason in theological thought, and not just reliance on the texts of the Bible. He considered that what exists in the mind exists in reality, and in this he relies on the principle of cause, and this principle depends on proving the existence of a thing from the existence of existents, but when Al-Dimashqi proved the existence of God, he did not rely on it to prove his existence through the existence of existents, considering that God is a cause, not a cause of other than Him, nor from all existing things because He is the source of existence for all of them. Al-Dimashqi also introduced Greek philosophy into interpretations of the Christian faith, through which he created concepts specific to theology, and philosophy became for him a means and tool for interpreting theological issues in the Christian faith. As for Islam, a large number of Muslim thinkers were influenced by theology. What is called “theology” appeared in Islamic thought. This influence was increased by the entry of many non-Arab nations and peoples into Islam after the major Islamic conquests in the East and West. Therefore, the intellectual links between Muslim theologians and Christian theologians began from the first eras of the emergence of theology, and one of the most prominent manifestations of these links was the emergence of doctrinal discussions and debates between the two parties on the one hand, and each party’s acquaintance with the intellectual production of the other on the other hand, and for this reason every theology and divinity influenced and were influenced by each other.