Trialogue
The term trialogue designates a ‘trilateral dialogue’ between Judaism, Christianity and Islam which goes beyond both bilateral dialogues – Jewish–Christian, Muslim–Christian and Jewish–Muslim – and a general dedication to multi-religious encounter. The foundation of this trialogue is monotheism: Judaism, Christianity and Islam share belief in one God, and all three regard Abraham as the ancestor of their faith.
Despite the challenge to search for a common language and potential symbiosis, there are huge doctrinal and psychological barriers to trialogue within all three monotheistic religions. Collective memories prevent uninhibited dialogue: for example, most Jews think of Christianity in terms of suffering and persecution; while Muslims have not forgotten the Crusades, and see in Western aspirations for world hegemony the old crusader mentality in a new guise. All three religions have wide experience in polemics and apologetics, but not in real dialogue, for which addressing one’s own theological agenda is an essential preparation.
For Jews the traditional assumption that Judaism constituted the only fully authentic expression of divine revelation had been modified by the 3rd century CE to accord the status of ger toshav (‘resident alien’) to individuals who abandoned idolatry, a recognition formalised in the Noachide Laws. In Jewish philosophy there were several attempts – for example by Sa‘adia Gaon (882–942), developed by Judah ha-Levi and Maimonides – to find ‘theological space’ for the other: Islam and Christianity were ‘in error’, but could be accommodated as part of the divine design to bring the nations gradually to God. A further step was made by the Yemenite philosopher Netanel ibn Fayyumi (d. c.1164), who asserts the authenticity of the prophecy of Muhammad, as revealed in the Qur’an, and at least the possibility that there are additional authentic revelations: ‘He sends a prophet to every people according to their language.’
In Christian circles anti-Judaism has not yet been banished entirely from church and theology, and Islamophobia is a widespreadphenomenon. Of the three monotheistic religions it is Christianity which has most consistently excluded others from ultimate salvation. Jews may regard Muslims and Christians as ‘sons of Noah’; Muslims may regard Jews and Christians as ‘people of the book’. For many centuries, however, Christians have adhered to Cyprian’s tenet extra ecclesiam nulla salus (‘no salvation outside the Church’). To find space for the other, attempts have been made in recent years to develop a more dynamic covenant theology, and to emphasise a theology of the Holy Spirit – a conviction that Abraham’s promise has been directed to all peoples by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost – which might accommodate the theological question whether Muhammad can be seen as a special envoy of God. Some theologians, for example, regard it as a special work of the Holy Spirit that the Name of the God of the Bible has been brought to the lips of the Arabic and many other peoples by means of the prophet Muhammad.
Trialogue does not mean looking for a harmonising common denominator: the core beliefs of Judaism, Christianity and Islam cannot be harmonised. The place that Torah holds for Jews is for Christians held by Jesus Christ and for Muslims by the Qur’an as the infallible and literal revelation of Allah through Muhammad, the seal of all the prophets before him. Although there are some promising new approaches, where dialogue partners are looking at the fruitfulness of theological differences between religions, the emphasis within the trialogue has thus tended to be on ethics rather than on theology. Indeed, Jewish–Christian–Muslim trialogue remains limited. An example is the long-established annual study conference, held in Bendorf in Germany, in which Jews, Christians and Muslims participate. In Israel the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israeland the Israel Interfaith Committeeare active in the field of trialogue. Simon Schoon
The term trialogue designates a ‘trilateral dialogue’ between Judaism, Christianity and Islam which goes beyond both bilateral dialogues – Jewish–Christian, Muslim–Christian and Jewish–Muslim – and a general dedication to multi-religious encounter. The foundation of this trialogue is monotheism: Judaism, Christianity and Islam share belief in one God, and all three regard Abraham as the ancestor of their faith.
Despite the challenge to search for a common language and potential symbiosis, there are huge doctrinal and psychological barriers to trialogue within all three monotheistic religions. Collective memories prevent uninhibited dialogue: for example, most Jews think of Christianity in terms of suffering and persecution; while Muslims have not forgotten the Crusades, and see in Western aspirations for world hegemony the old crusader mentality in a new guise. All three religions have wide experience in polemics and apologetics, but not in real dialogue, for which addressing one’s own theological agenda is an essential preparation.
For Jews the traditional assumption that Judaism constituted the only fully authentic expression of divine revelation had been modified by the 3rd century CE to accord the status of ger toshav (‘resident alien’) to individuals who abandoned idolatry, a recognition formalised in the Noachide Laws. In Jewish philosophy there were several attempts – for example by Sa‘adia Gaon (882–942), developed by Judah ha-Levi and Maimonides – to find ‘theological space’ for the other: Islam and Christianity were ‘in error’, but could be accommodated as part of the divine design to bring the nations gradually to God. A further step was made by the Yemenite philosopher Netanel ibn Fayyumi (d. c.1164), who asserts the authenticity of the prophecy of Muhammad, as revealed in the Qur’an, and at least the possibility that there are additional authentic revelations: ‘He sends a prophet to every people according to their language.’
In Christian circles anti-Judaism has not yet been banished entirely from church and theology, and Islamophobia is a widespreadphenomenon. Of the three monotheistic religions it is Christianity which has most consistently excluded others from ultimate salvation. Jews may regard Muslims and Christians as ‘sons of Noah’; Muslims may regard Jews and Christians as ‘people of the book’. For many centuries, however, Christians have adhered to Cyprian’s tenet extra ecclesiam nulla salus (‘no salvation outside the Church’). To find space for the other, attempts have been made in recent years to develop a more dynamic covenant theology, and to emphasise a theology of the Holy Spirit – a conviction that Abraham’s promise has been directed to all peoples by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost – which might accommodate the theological question whether Muhammad can be seen as a special envoy of God. Some theologians, for example, regard it as a special work of the Holy Spirit that the Name of the God of the Bible has been brought to the lips of the Arabic and many other peoples by means of the prophet Muhammad.
Trialogue does not mean looking for a harmonising common denominator: the core beliefs of Judaism, Christianity and Islam cannot be harmonised. The place that Torah holds for Jews is for Christians held by Jesus Christ and for Muslims by the Qur’an as the infallible and literal revelation of Allah through Muhammad, the seal of all the prophets before him. Although there are some promising new approaches, where dialogue partners are looking at the fruitfulness of theological differences between religions, the emphasis within the trialogue has thus tended to be on ethics rather than on theology. Indeed, Jewish–Christian–Muslim trialogue remains limited. An example is the long-established annual study conference, held in Bendorf in Germany, in which Jews, Christians and Muslims participate. In Israel the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israeland the Israel Interfaith Committeeare active in the field of trialogue. Simon Schoon