Skip to main content

As Christianity spread, it acquired certain members from well-educated circles of the Hellenistic world; they sometimes became bishops. They produced two sorts of works, theological and apologetic, the latter being works aimed at defending the faith by using reason to refute arguments against the veracity of Christianity. These authors are known as the Church Fathers, and study of them is called patristics. Notable early fathers include Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Al-Nizamiyya of Baghdad ( Arabic : المدرسة النظامية ‎), one of the first nezamiyehs , [1] was established in 1065. In July 1091, Nizam al-Mulk appointed the 33-year-old Al-Ghazali as a professor of the school. [2] Offering free education, [3] it has been described as the " largest university of the Medieval world ". [4] Ibn Tumart , founder of the Berber Almohad dynasty , reputedly attended the school and studied under al-Ghazali. [5] Nizam al-Mulk 's son-in-law Mughatil ibn Bakri was also employed by the school. In 1096, when al-Ghazali left the nezamiyeh, it housed 3000 students. [6] In 1116, Muhammad al-Shahrastani taught at the nezamiyeh. [7] In the 1170s, statesman Beha Ud-Din taught at the nezamiyeh, before he moved on to teach in Mosul . 
 Bīrūnī is one of the most important Muslim authorities on the history of religion. [63] Al-Biruni was a pioneer in the study of comparative religion. He studied Zoroastrianism , Judaism , Hinduism , Christianity , Buddhism , Islam , and other religions. He assumed the superiority of Islam: "We have here given an account of these things in order that the reader may learn by the comparative treatment of the subject how much superior the institutions of Islam are, and how more plainly this contrast brings out all customs and usages, differing from those of Islam, in their essential foulness." However he was happy on occasion to express admiration for other cultures, and quoted directly from other religions' sacred texts when reaching his conclusions. [64] He strived to understand them on their own terms rather than trying to prove them wrong. His underlying concept was that all cultures are at least distant relatives of all other cultures because they are all h...
Long considered a lost civilization due to the lack of indigenous written records, academic and archaeological developments since the mid-20th century have revealed the Phoenicians to be a complex and influential civilization. [17] Their best known legacy is the world's oldest verified alphabet , which they transmitted across the Mediterranean world. [18] [19] The Phoenician alphabet formed the basis of the Greek alphabet , which in turn was adopted for the Latin script , the world's dominant writing system . The Phoenicians are also credited with innovations in shipbuilding, navigation, industry, agriculture, and government. Their international trade network is believed to have fostered the economic, political, and cultural foundations of Western civilization. [20]