The 'Christological Dimension': Christology as an Interpretive Lens for 7th Century Religious Developments

Abstract

The Arab Conquest in the 7th Century is considered to be one of the great global transitions, dismantling old Empires and redrawing fresh boundaries: politically, socially and theologically. The burgeoning religion of Islam that went arm-in-arm with the military conquests impacted the regional expressions of Christianity and Judaism, as well as paganism. Modern scholarship has created numerous narratives to explain the dimensions of religious and political development during this dramatic epoch, but one narrative remains under-developed and unrecognized, that of Christology. For centuries, debates and discussions have focused on refining Christological definition; this was a situation that was still ongoing in the mid-7th century at the time of the Arab Conquest and would continue long after. The extent to which the Christological debates of the pre-Islamic world were recognized within Islam is still an area that has received less scholarly attention than it deserves. This thesis demonstrates the centrality of Christology in 7th Century theology and its importance in understanding the religious shifts that resulted from the Arab Conquest.