JESUS AND MONOTHEISM, THE SIMILARITY AND RELATIONS BETWEEN EARLY JUDEO-CHRISTIAN CREDENCE AND ISLAM

Abstract

Nowadays, due to Apocrypha and the availability of other early writings, one may see many other stories of Christianity, which are so far from „canonical”. Especially, these stories are not new; already in the 2nd century C.E. (Years before the Nicaea Council), many religious groups pretended to be the real followers of Jesus. Using a variety of sources, the debate is also how political reasons influenced the development of Christianity in late antique. It is essential to determine if the influence of the early Christian movement implies the same belief system of Islam or if it is only possible to identify some common isolated theological ideas applying to both religions. The first proposal is that the Qur’an supports the monotheistic view of early Christians and observance of the Jewish laws. The second notion is that the historical Jesus is considered the Prophet of God by some of the early Christian factions and this coincides with Islamic theology. The third thesis is that in most parts, Islam recognizes the thought behind Early Christian credence especially the Ebionites and the followers of James the Just. Concluding the findings, a future parallel can be found in the linkage between early Christian movements and their supporters and Islamic teachings in the present age. This should lead to mutually beneficial dialogue and understanding between Islamic Ummah and Corpus Christianum.