Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

420 Pages·2015·4.96 MB·English

VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT

Abraham in Narrative Worldviews:
Doing Comparative Theology through Christian-Muslim Dialogue in Turkey

ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT
ter verkrijging van de graad Doctor aan
de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam,
op gezag van de rector magnificus
prof.dr. F.A. van der Duyn Schouten,
in het openbaar te verdedigen
ten overstaan van de promotiecommissie
van de Faculteit der Godgeleerdheid
op donderdag 28 mei, 2015 om 11.45 uur
in de aula van de universiteit,
De Boelelaan 1105

door
George Farquhar Vance Bristow Jr
geboren te Pennsylvania, Verenigde Staten
promotoren: prof.dr. J.A. Kirk
prof.dr. P.A. van Doorn-Harder
copromotor: dr. I.J. Glaser

This dissertation research was completed in co-operation
with the International Baptist Theological Study Centre,
a collaborative partner of the Faculty of Theology at VU Amsterdam.
ABSTRACT
Entitled Abraham in Narrative Worldviews: Doing Comparative Theology through
Christian-Muslim Dialogue in Turkey, this study has implications for the fields of
contextual missiology, interfaith comparative theology and biblical interpretation in
Islamic contexts. Many approaches to Abrahamic dialogue do not grapple with the
Abrahamic texts of Genesis and the Qur’an in enough detail for meaningful comparison.
In this thesis I introduce and utilize a model for comparing particular Biblical and
Qur’anic narratives, along with their use by Christians and Muslims respectively. This
approach builds on the tight connection between narrative and worldview to enable
theological comparison of these distinct but related worldviews. The Biblical/Christian
worldview categories of Creation, Fall, Redemption and Consummation are juxtaposed
with Qur’anic/Muslim categories of Tawhid (Oneness of God), Prophethood and Afterlife
in three sets of polarities in order to catalyse deeper comparison. In the main body of the
study I examine separately the Genesis Abraham narrative, the New Testament treatments
of Abraham, the Qur’anic Abraham stories, and finally the use of Abraham by Turkish
Muslims through analysis of field research interviews. This prepares the way for
comparing Christian and Muslim worldviews as expressed in their respective uses of
Abraham. Using the central themes developed through the discrete studies and the
polarities generated by my narrative-worldview model, I undertake a theological
comparison of Abraham in Christian and Muslim worldview. This yields evidence that
despite some common ground, the worldviews diverge deeply in each of the major
polarities. The beginning of the story, with God as the sovereign creator of all things, and
humanity entrusted with a particular set of responsibilities as God’s special creation, and
the end of the story, with resurrection, judgment and heaven and hell, have significant
common elements when looked at broadly. But the rest of the story, making up almost the
entire sweep of the Biblical narrative, is vastly different. Looking through the lens of
Abraham narratives, the two worldviews have little in common in terms of either plight or
solution. Despite some limited overlap Abraham stands in a different story of God’s
relationship to humanity.

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Abraham in Narritieve Wereldbeelden: Vergelijkende theologie door middel van
de Christelijke-Moslim dialoog in de Turkse context.

SAMENVATTING
Dit onderzoek heeft implicaties voor de volgende terreinen: contextuele missiologie,
interreligieuze vergelijkende theologie en Bijbelse interpretatie in een Moslim context.
Vele benaderingen van de dialoog m.b.t. Abraham behandelen de teksten over Abraham
in Genesis en de Koran in te weinig detail om een zinvolle vergelijking te kunnen maken.
In dit onderzoek introduceer en gebruik ik een model voor het vergelijken van zowel de
verhalen in de Bijbel en de Koran als ook het gebruik van deze verhalen door Christenen
en Moslims. Op deze wijze wordt het mogelijk om theologisch vergelijkende observaties
te maken van de verschillende, maar verwante, wereldbeelden. De Christelijke concepten:
Schepping, Val, Redding en Eindtijd worden vergeleken met de Moslim concepten:
Tawhid (Eenheid van God), Profeet en het leven na de dood. Door deze concepten naast
elkaar te zetten wordt het mogelijk om vergelijkende observaties te maken. De kern van
het onderzoek bestaat uit een analyse van achtereenvolgend: het verhaal van Abraham
zoals beschreven in Genesis, de verwijzingen naar Abraham in het Nieuwe Testament, de
verhalen over Abraham in de Koran en een veld onderzoek d.m.v. interviews, waarin
gekeken wordt hoe de figuur van Abraham wordt gebruikt door Turkse Moslims. Dit als
voorbereiding op een vergelijking van Christelijke en Moslim wereldbeelden, zoals deze
tot uitdrukking komen in hun gebruik van Abraham. Gebruikmakend van de centrale
themas die naar voren komen uit de genoemde specifieke onderzoeken, tezamen met de
resultaten die voortvloeien uit het toepassen van mijn narratatieve vergelijkingsmodel, zal
ik een gefundeerde theologische vergelijking maken van de Christelijke en Moslim
wereldbeelden m.b.t. Abraham. Dit leidt tot data die aantonen dat ondanks de
verwantschap de wereldbeelden essentiele verschillen tonen in elk van de onderzochte
thema’s. Het begin van beide verhalen, met God als soevereine schepper van het heelal,
en de mens als God's uitverkozen schepsel die speciale verantwoordelijkheden krijgt
toebedeeld, vertoont in brede lijnen sterke overeenkomsten. Hetzelfde geldt voor het
einde van het verhaal waar opstanding, oordeel, hemel en hel worden genoemd. Maar het
verhaal er tussen in, bijna het gehele Bijbelse verhaal, vertoont grote verschillen met dat
van de Koran. Gezien door de lens van de Abraham verhalen hebben de twee
wereldbeelden weinig overeenkomsten wat betreft het menselijk dilemma en de
oplossingen daarvoor. Hoewel er enige overeenkomsten zijn, concluderen we dat de rol
die Abraham in Bijbel en Koran speelt niet dezelfde is en de relatie tussen God en
mensheid op twee verschillende manieren weergeeft. .
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ÖZET
Anlatısal Dünya Görüşlerinde İbrahim: Türkiye'de Hristiyan Müslüman Diyaloğu
Yoluyla Karşılaştırmalı Teoloji Yapmak adını taşıyan bu çalışma, bağlamsal misyoloji,
dinler arası karşılaştırmalı teoloji ve İslami bağlamlarda Kutsal Kitap yorum bilimi için
bir önem taşımaktadır. Birçok İbrahimi diyalog yaklaşımında (Kutsal Kitaptaki) Yaratılış
ve Kur’an metinleri yeteri kadar detaylı bir şekilde incelenmediği için anlamlı
karşılaştırmalar yapılamıyordu. Bu tezde Kutsal Kitap’a ve Kur’an’a ait belirgin anlatılar
ve onların Hristiyanlar ve Müslümanlar tarafından kullanımını karşılaştırmak için yeni bir
yaklaşım önerip uyguluyorum. Bu model, farklı olmasına rağmen birbiriyle bağlantılı
olan dünya görüşlerinin teolojik karşılaştırmasını sağlar. Hristiyan dünya görüşü
kategorileri olan Yaratılış, Düşüş, Kurtuluş ve Tamamlanış ile Müslümanlığın Tevhit,
Peygamberlik ve Ahiret dünya görüşü kategorileri arasında derin karşılaştırmayı
kolaylaştıran üç kutup grubu yan yana getirilir. Çalışmanın ana kısmında sırayla
Yaratılış’taki İbrahim anlatısı, Yeni Antlaşma’nın İbrahim’i kullanımları, Kuran’daki
İbrahim kıssaları, ve ilçe vaizleriyle yapılan görüşmeler sonucunda Türkiye’deki
Müslümanların İbrahim’i kullanımını inceliyorum. Bu bölümler İbrahim’i
kullanımlarında açıklanan Hristiyan ve Müslüman dünya görüşlerini doğrudan
karşılaştırmak için bir yol hazırlar. Bu çalışmalar sonucu geliştirilen merkezi temalar ve
önerdiğim anlatı-dünya görüşü modeli aracılığıyla üretilen kutup noktalarını kullanarak,
Hıristiyan ve Müslüman dünya görüşündeki İbrahim üzerine teolojik bir karşılaştırma
yapılmaktadır. Bu dünya görüşleri birbirleriyle ortak alanlar barındırmalarına rağmen her
bir kutup grubunda birbirinden derin bir şekilde ayrılır. Genel olarak bakıldığında
Tanrı’nın her şeyin egemen yaratıcısı olduğu ve bir takım sorumlulukların insanlığa
yüklendiği başlangıç öyküleri ve kıyamet, yargı ve cennet-cehennemin yer aldığı son
olaylara dair anlatılar ortak noktalar olarak görünür. Ama öykünün geri kalan kısmında,
ki bu Kutsal Kitap’taki anlatının neredeyse tümünü kapsar, bu iki dünya görüşü
birbirinden çok farklılıklar gösterir. İbrahim anlatıları merceği ile incelendiğinde ister
sorun ister çözüm açısından bu iki dünya görüşünün ortak alanı azdır. Sınırlı örtüşmeye
rağmen İbrahim, Tanrı ile insanlık arasındaki ilişkinin iki farklı hikâyesinde yer alır.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................... i
SAMENVATTING .............................................................................................................ii
ÖZET ................................................................................................................................. iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................... iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ vi
ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................................... viii
Chapter 1 – Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Thesis, objectives and methodology ...................................................................... 2
1.2 Contextual missiology, comparative theology, Biblical and Qur’anic
interpretation. ............................................................................................................... 4
1.3 Preview of chapters .............................................................................................. 15
1.4 Possible benefits................................................................................................... 18
PART ONE: ABRAHAMIC DIALOGUE AND WORLDVIEW DISSONANCE .......... 21
Chapter 2 – Interfaith and interscriptural Abrahamic dialogue ......................................... 21
2.1 Interfaith Abrahamic dialogue ............................................................................. 21
2.2 Interscriptural Abrahamic dialogue. .................................................................... 35
2.3 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 46
Chapter 3 – A model for Christian-Muslim narrative and worldview comparison ........... 47
3.1 Narrative and Worldview ..................................................................................... 47
3.2 Limitations of a worldview approach .................................................................. 51
3.3 Christian and Muslim worldviews ....................................................................... 55
3.4 Worldview Polarities comparison ........................................................................ 71
3.5 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 101
Appendix 3.1 Biblical story-summary passages ...................................................... 102
Appendix 3.2 Prophets named in the Qur’an ........................................................... 103
PART TWO: UNDERSTANDING ABRAHAM ........................................................... 105
Chapter 4 – Understanding the Genesis Abraham narrative ............................................ 106
4.1 Abraham in the Hebrew Scriptures outside the main narrative ......................... 106
4.2 Presuppositions regarding Biblical narrative ..................................................... 108
4.3 The Abraham narrative (Genesis 11:27–25:11) ................................................. 110
4.4 Link with the following narrative ...................................................................... 141
4.5 Summary of primary themes .............................................................................. 143
4.6 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 147
Chapter 5 – New Testament use of Abraham .................................................................. 149
5.1 NT use of the OT – preliminary comments ....................................................... 149
5.2 NT use of Abraham ............................................................................................ 155
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5.3 NT use of Abraham compared with Second Temple Jewish use of Abraham ... 181
5.4 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 197
Appendix 5.1 – NT Passages referring to Abraham by name .................................. 199
Appendix 5.2 – Selective list of Jewish and Qur’anic Abraham material ............... 200
Appendix 5.3 – The Book of JUBILEES on Abraham. ........................................... 203
Chapter 6 – Understanding Abraham in the Qur’an ........................................................ 207
6.1 Qur’anic Abraham stories .................................................................................. 208
6.2 Surah-by-surah survey of Qur’anic Abraham material ...................................... 216
6.3 Summary of Qur’anic Abraham motifs ............................................................. 253
6.4 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 255
Chapter 7 – Turkish Muslim use of Abraham ................................................................. 257
7.1 A brief survey of Turkish Islam ......................................................................... 258
7.2 Methodology of research ................................................................................... 265
7.3 First interviews – Learning about Abraham from Turkish Muslims ................. 266
7.4 Second interviews – Confirming results and discussing Abraham .................... 274
7.5 Correlation of Abraham motifs from the Qur’an and Turkish Islam ................. 283
7.6 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 285
Appendix 7.1 Interviewee information .................................................................... 286
Appendix 7.2 First interview survey questions and detailed results analysis .......... 287
Appendix 7.3 Interviewee references to para-Qur’anic stories and details.............. 298
Appendix 7.4 Interaction with Ahmet Baydar, author of İbrahimî Okuyuş ............. 299
PART THREE: COMPARING CHRISTIAN AND MUSLIM USE OF THE
ABRAHAM NARRATIVES ................................................................................... 309
Chapter 8 – Comparing Abraham in Christian-Muslim worldview polarities ................ 309
8.1 Preliminary comments ....................................................................................... 310
8.2 Comparing Abraham stories in Christian and Muslim worldviews ................... 312
8.3 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 353
Appendix 8.1 Summary of Abraham in Christian and Muslim worldviews ............ 354
Chapter 9 – Concluding reflections on Abraham in Narrative Worldviews .................... 355
9.1 Areas of worldview dissonance in Abraham ..................................................... 357
9.2 Implications of this study ................................................................................... 359
9.3 Suggestions for future work ............................................................................... 366
9.4 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 367
Bibliography .................................................................................................................... 369

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In this work as in every area of our life and service together I am deeply indebted to
my wonderful wife Donna for her love, friendship and support. Not only has she
encouraged me in this long labour and read substantial portions of the work, making
helpful comments but she has endeavoured to keep me balanced and to lighten me up!
My children and their spouses also cheered me on, especially my daughter-in-law
Danielle who tackled the difficult proofreading of some lengthy chapter drafts when they
were still quite rough.
I am grateful to the faculty and staff of the International Baptist Theological
Seminary in Prague, now the International Baptist Theological Study Centre Amsterdam
for their determination to see us through the PhD process during some difficult years of
institutional transition. I will not easily forget the wonderful, challenging weeks at the
beautiful Prague campus during the annual Research Students and Faculty Colloquia and
the stimulating conversations over meals and coffee. From the day I wrote to IBTS for
information until today Parush Parushev has been an unfailing encouragement and
insightful guide on the research road, and helped me to see the importance of narrative for
this research on Abraham in the early days. My thanks also to Keith Jones and Norbert
Csenyi for much administrative help and to librarian Zdenko Sirka who consistently
provided scanned material and guided me in finding online resources. Thanks to Peter
and Katharina Penner and Rollin Grams for their encouragement to pursue this topic in
early days. Thanks to Jim Purves, Tim and Ivana Noble who challenged me with tough
questions during colloquium, to Hannes Wiher who discussed missiological perspectives
related to my work, and to Lydie Kucova and Marion Carson who read and made very
helpful comments on my chapters on the Genesis Abraham narrative and the New
Testament use of Abraham respectively. Thanks to my friend and colleague in Istanbul,
Daniel Brown, who encouraged me in this work and read carefully through a lengthy
chapter introducing my worldview polarities model, raising significant issues for me to
think about from his expertise in Islamic studies.
In particular I am deeply grateful to my expert supervisors Andrew Kirk and Ida
Glaser, not only for patiently helping me to shape my work through incisive comments
and tough questions to strengthen my argument, but for extending warm fellowship and
encouragement throughout. Many thanks also to my VU supervisor Nelly van Doorn-
Harder, who took on my nearly-finished research project during our transfer from the
University of Wales and moved the work to completion.
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I am grateful to Stewards Ministries and numerous friends and churches that
provided financial support without which this dissertation would not have been possible.
Likewise the warm fellowship and support of my beloved Turkish brothers and sisters in
the Beşiktaş Protestant Church where my family and I worship has been a source of cheer
and blessing for many years.
Thanks also to my Hasat colleagues in Istanbul with whom I’ve had the privilege of
serving Turkish churches for many years. What a great team! Thank you to Pieter, Tim,
Elizabeth, Kayra, David, Joseph and Justin who urged me on at various points and prayed
for me. Special thanks to Yolanda who uncomplainingly undertook the difficult task of
transcribing my lengthy Turkish interviews along with all the other work she carries in
helping make this team a family.

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ABBREVIATIONS
AFS Asian Folklore Studies
AJISS American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences
ANE Ancient Near East
AÜİFD Atatürk Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi (Ataturk U. Theology
Faculty Journal)
BBR Bulletin for Biblical Research
BibInt Biblical Interpretation
BJQH Al-Bayan Journal of Al-Quran and al-Hadith
BJUI British Journal of Urology International
BSac Bibliotheca Sacra
BYULR Brigham Young University Law Review
CP Culture & Psychology
CSR Christian Scholar's Review
CSSH Comparative Studies in Society and History
CurTM Currents in Theology and Mission
CTJ Calvin Theological Journal
CTM Concordia Theological Monthly
DTIB Dictionary of Theological Interpretation of the Bible
EJTS European Journal of Turkish Studies
EvQ Evangelical Quarterly
FP Faith and Philosophy
FÜSBD Firat Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi (Euphrates U. Journal of Social
Science)
HBT Horizons in Biblical Theology
HTR Harvard Theological Review
HUCA Hebrew Union College Annual
HvTSt Hervormde teologiese studies
ICMR Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations
ID Intellectual Discourse
IJFM International Journal of Frontier Missions
IJHSS International Journal of Humanities and Social Science
IJPT International Journal of Public Theology
ILS Islamic Law and Society
Int Interpretation : A Journal of Bible and Theology
IRM International Review of Mission
İSAM İslam Araştırmaları Merkezi (Centre for Islamic Studies)
İÜİFD İstanbul Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi (U. Istanbul Theology
Faculty Journal)
JALit Journal of Arabic Literature
JAOS Journal of the American Oriental Society
JBL Journal of Biblical Literature
JBQ Jewish Bible Quarterly
JBR Journal of Bible and Religion
JEBS Journal of European Baptist Studies
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