Lasting Legacy of the Prophets: Theology of Prophecy in Dialogue; A Jewish-Christian-Muslim Encounter
A conference held by the International Center for Comparative Theology and Social Issues; Funded by DFG - 6-8 February 2023, KSI (Siegburg)
The conference, which aimed at offering a new portrayal of the prophets from an interreligious perspective and based on cutting edge research, contained thirteen speeches on the topic by Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scholars. The speakers discussed a number of topics, such as the relation between the prophet and the scripture in the Qur’an, the meaning of “prophecy” in second temple Judaism, the political functions of the prophets in the Hebrew Bible, the relation between wisdom and prophecy in Jewish literature. A number of presentations focused specifically on Abraham, Moses, Jonah, David, Malachi, and Mary. The reception of the prophets in medieval Syriac literature and a comparative theological reading of the findings of the conference provided significant insights. A plenary session focused on the meaning of the word “prophet” in Syriac Christian traditions, and its relation with the function of the “holy man” as well as the replacement of the prophets by the sages in Rabbinic literature. These portrayals helped ponder on the question “how does the Qur’an react to contemporary Patristic and Rabbinic understanding of prophethood?”. The keynote speech by Prof Daniel Boyarin, with the title “The Prophets, the Midrash, and the Messiah,” explored how messianic readings of certain prophetic passages in Judaism were in harmony with similar readings of the same passages in the Gospels. The conference was both a platform for interreligious dialogue in the framework of comparative theology, and a space for exchange on historical and literary scholarship.