The parting of the ways: how Christianity separated from Judaism
Jesus and his disciples were Jews. How did their movement become a separate religion? From Acts and Paul to the two wars with Rome…
Journal
Explainers and essays on the history, scripture and thought of the Abrahamic traditions. Browse every topic.
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What language did Abraham speak?
Akkadian, Aramaic, Hebrew or Arabic? The world of Abraham, the Jewish and Muslim traditions about his language, and the Qur’anic principle that joins them.
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Ḥirāʾ and Qubāʾ: where the revelation and the first mosque began
Where the revelation began and where the first mosque was built: the cave of Ḥirāʾ above Makkah and the mosque of Qubāʾ at Madinah,…
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The stations of the Hajj: Minā, ʿArafāt and Muzdalifah
From Makkah to Minā, ʿArafāt and Muzdalifah and back: the stations of the Hajj, day by day, and the call to Abraham that every…
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Hagia Sophia: cathedral, mosque, museum and mosque again
Cathedral for nine centuries, the first mosque of the Ottoman state, a museum, and a mosque again: the history of Hagia Sophia and the…
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The five great sees of the early church
How Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem came to head the church of the Roman empire, and what became of the arrangement after the…
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Nicaea, 325: the council, the creed and the church beneath the lake
Archaeologists at Iznik have found the earlier church beneath the lakeside basilica. What the Council of Nicaea decided there, how it ranked the great…
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The Abrahamic family tree and what the traditions share
Who descends from whom, and what the traditions hold in common: the family of Abraham and the beliefs Judaism, Christianity and Islam share, in…
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The Sabians in classical Muslim scholarship
Three classical Muslim scholars on the Sabians, and why al-Shahrastani read Abraham’s argument with the stars as a case against them.
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Whales: Giants of the Ocean
Whales: Giants of the Ocean Whales are among the largest and most remarkable animals on Earth. These marine mammals live in oceans around the…
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Apostasy in the Abrahamic traditions
Rabbinic law, Christian empire, classical Islamic jurisprudence and modern reconsideration: how each tradition has treated those who leave.
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Paul and Peter: two missions in the early church
Paul’s own letters describe a real conflict with Peter at Antioch. A later letter, in Peter’s name, makes peace.