Christian Ethics: A Review from The Perspective of Al-Faruqi

Fathiyyatunnur Idrisi

doi:10.33102/jfatwa.vol27no2.433

Abstract

This article reviews the writing of Ismail Al-Faruqi entitled “Christian Ethics: A Historical and Systematic Analysis of Its Dominant Ideas.” It thoroughly evaluates the origins of Judeo-Christian’s relationship and its relation with Islam. The method used is library-based research and deductive method of analyzing. This evaluation is crucial because there were distorted historical facts and certain misunderstandings in the idea of ethics and self-transformation and to the extent, Al-Faruqi introduced a new name to the Christians today which is Christianism and he also introduced a new approach to the study of religions i.e., Epochè. The distortions should be analyzed to avoid any confusion of the real and not real teachings of Jesus. Hence, this paper will identify the existing distortions and examine it with the original concept derived from the Islamic perspective which eventually harmonizes the ultimate reason of God sending down all His messengers to the earth.

Highlights

In this book entitled “Christian Ethics: A Historical and Systematic Analysis of Its Dominant Ideas.”, he expounded the idea into three major sections: Introduction, Part One: What is the Ethics of Jesus? and Part Two: The Christianist Transvaluation
BRIEF ANALYSIS The book can be considered to cover almost every aspect of Christianity even though the title of the book focuses on ethics
The ethics here cover the personality of the Jews and Jesus himself

Summary

Introduction

Al-Faruqi elaborated on the method that he used which is Epochè or religio-cultural disengagement, overarching principles or higher principles that consist of Meta religion, the MuslimChristian Dialogue, and the shortcomings of the Christian Comparative Discipline. In the section two of the book which is the Part one: What is the ethic of Jesus? In the last section of the book, Al-Faruqi concluded that the religion of Christianity exists nowadays is ‘heresy’.

Results

Conclusion