Studies in Theology and Religion,11 Polemics, as “the art or practice of disputation or controversy”, is a living issue in matters of religion, and is a major object of research for scholars in religious studies and theology. The second international conference of the Leiden Institute for the Study of Religions (LISOR), held at Leiden in April 2000, was devoted to the subject of Religious Polemics in Context, aiming at a further exploration of the notion of religious polemics, together with the unfolding of a wide variety of case-studies from various religious traditions. The volume contains most of the papers read at the conference, and offers contributions on general issues (e.g., by M. Dascal), as well as on particular topics in the fields of history of religion (e.g., Islam), ancient Israel and early Christianity, the history of Christianity, and the social sciences of religion. An annotated bibliography is added to this collection, which may stimulate a further study of the topic.

The Religious Polemics of the Muslims of Late Medieval Christian Iberia examines the corpus of polemical literature against the Christians and the Jews of the protected Muslims (Mudejars). Commonly portrayed as communities in cultural and religious decay, Mònica Colominas convincingly proves that the discourses against the Christians and the Jews in Mudejar treatises provided authoritative frameworks of Islamic normativity which helped to legitimize the residence of their communities in the Christian territories. Colominas argues that, while the primary aim of the polemics was to refute the views of their religious opponents, Mudejar treatises were also a tool used to advance Islamic knowledge and to strengthen the government and social cohesion of their communities.

In Muslim-Christian Polemics across the Mediterranean Diego R. Sarrió Cucarella provides an exposition and analysis of Shihāb al-Dīn al-Qarāfī’s (d. 684/1285) Splendid Replies to Insolent Questions (al-Ajwiba al-fākhira ‘an al-as’ila al-fājira). Written in response to an apology for Christianity by the Melkite Bishop of Sidon, Paul of Antioch, the Splendid Replies is among the most extensive and most important medieval Muslim refutations of Christianity, and the primary significance of this study is to provide detailed access to its argumentation and intellectual context for the first time in a western language. Moreover, the Introduction and Conclusion creatively situate the work within the challenges of modern-day Christian-Muslim dialogue.

Preliminary material /Hans M. Barstad -- Chapter One: Introduction /Hans M. Barstad -- Chapter Two: \'Filius Ac Pater Eius Ierunt Ad Puellam\'. A Study in Am 2, 7B-8 /Hans M. Barstad -- Chapter Three: The Prophet as Missionary. Studies in Am 4, 1-13 /Hans M. Barstad -- Chapter Four: Religious Polemics in Amos 5 /Hans M. Barstad -- Chapter Five: AM 6, 4-6. The Mrzḥ Institution /Hans M. Barstad -- Chapter Six: The Deities of AM 8, 14 /Hans M. Barstad -- Bibliography /Hans M. Barstad -- Addenda /Hans M. Barstad -- Author Index /Hans M. Barstad -- Scripture References /Hans M. Barstad -- Subject Index /Hans M. Barstad.

In its historical development from late antiquity to the present, western esotericism has repeatedly been the issue of polemical discourse. This volume engages the polemical structures that underlie both the identities within and the controversy about esoteric currents in European history. From Jewish and Christian kabbalah through heretical discourse and interconfessional polemics in early modernity to the legitimization of esoteric identity in modern culture, the 12 chapters, accompanied by an editors’ introduction, provide a cornucopia of relevant cases that are interpreted in a framework of polemical discourse and ‘Othering’. This volume sheds new light on the ultimately polemical structure of western esotericism and thus opens new vistas for further research into esoteric discourse.

Religious Polemics and Encounters in Late Antiquity: Boundaries, Conversions, and Persuasion explores the intricate identity formation and negotiations of early encounters of the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). It explores the ever-pressing challenges arising from polemical inter-religious encounters by analyzing the dynamics of apologetic debate, the negotiation and formation of boundaries of belonging, and the argumentative thrust for persuasion and conversion, as well as the outcomes of these various encounters, including the articulation of novel ideas. The Late Antique authors studied in the present volume represent a variety of voices from North Africa, passing through Rome, to Palestine. Together, these voices of the past offer invaluable insight to shape the present times, in hope for a better future.

Much has been written on apologetics of the Old Testament canon and historicity, investigating the Old Testament as an object of apologetics. However, this study is the first comprehensive investigation focusing on apologetics within the Old Testament—i.e., the Old Testament theological foundations of the discipline of Christian apologetics— investigating apologetics as an object of the Old Testament. Taking seriously the biblical texts at its outset, the study presents a biblically based scheme of five types of apologetic strategy: narrative apologetics, prophetic apologetics, wisdom apologetics, “citatory” apologetics as antithetic proclamation, and exemplary apologetics. It focuses on the many explicit confrontations in dialogues, disputes, quotes, and responses, in both prose and poetical form, which are accompanied by an indirect dispute, taking substantial space within the historical parts of the Hebrew Bible. These theological themes are derived from the Old Testament itself, not adapted from the New Testament. This book serves to fill the gap of a proper biblical-theological foundation of the academic field of apologetics. It is a new challenge for all apologists who wish to take seriously the biblical theological foundation of their discipline. With its sole focus on the Hebrew Bible, this study speaks to Jewish scholars as well. It enriches the current discussion on Jewish apologetics, its beginnings and first developments.

In Casting Down the Host of Heaven Cat Quine analyses the ambiguous nature of the Host and explores the role of ritual in the polemic against their worship. Although commonly assumed to be YHWH’s divine army, the book reveals their non-military and fluid nature. Quine demonstrates that it was the fluidity of the Host and their roles in the divine realm that permitted the creation of wide-ranging polemic against their worship. Her analysis shows that this polemic was expressed in ritual terms which persuaded its audiences, both ancient and modern, of its legitimacy and authority.

The volume contributes to the knowledge of the Samaritan history, culture and linguistics. Specialists of various fields of research bring a new look on the topics related to the Samaritans and the Hebrew and Arabic written sources, to the Samaritan history in the Roman-Byzantine period as well as to the contemporary issues of the Samaritan community.

Theological Issues in Christian-Muslim Dialogue addresses the main theological topics of discussion that appear in Christian-Muslim engagement. Many of these topics originate in the medieval period and the earliest encounters between Christians and Muslims. Even so, the topics persist in contemporary contexts of dialogue and engagement. Christians and Muslims still discuss whether or not God should be understood as strictly one or as a Trinity-in-Unity, and debates over the nature of revelation or prophethood remain. Theological reflection, therefore, must continue to be brought to bear on these topics in light of their history and in view of their applicability to growing contexts of inter-religious engagement. Theological Issues in Christian-Muslim Dialogue is a comprehensive theological sourcebook for students learning about Christian-Muslim relations and practitioners engaged in Christian-Muslim dialogue.