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Comment by cdogl | Hacker News Reader

Islam incorporates Jesus, Moses and Abraham. The continuity is direct, both historically and theologically. The histories of Christianity and Islam are wrapped up in one another. After all, the Arab conquests took what europe called the “near east”, which had previously been Hellenized and Romanized. Whatever perceived gulf lies between Islam and Christendom politically, I don’t think the history bears it out.

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> The continuity is direct, both historically and theologically.

Theological continuity would mean that Islam accepts and extends, ie that Jesus is the anticipated Messiah subsequently crucified and risen, not to mention accepting Jesus as the son of God and final prophet.

I have yet to find any Islamic faction that holds that to be true :)

I think you're setting an unreasonably high bar.

Christianity has a high degree of continuity with Judaism, but rejects important aspects of Jewish theology, such as Kosher and Sabbath-keeping. So while Christianity accepts large amounts of Jewish theology, and extends new ideas, it doesn't universally accept everything that came before it.

Similarly, Islam accepts large amounts of Christian theology (and indeed reintroduces some Jewish practice) and brings new beliefs with it, but doesn't bring every tenet along.

Admittedly Jesus' divinity is a very big part of Christianity to reject; but then, the idea of the trinity would be an equally big pill to swallow for a Jew ("hear, O Israel: the LORD your God is one").

First Christians were Jews which kept the Sabbath and didn't eat unclean meat (even Jesus kept the Sabbath). Then later Christians changed many practices and diverged from the first teachings. During Reformation attempts were made to come back to original Christianity. Seventh-day Adventists for example keep the Sabbath holy and don't eat unclean meat - just like Jesus did! And there are also some other, smaller denominations which also keep the Sabbath holy - like Seventh-Day Baptists.

Islam contains the concept of abrogation, which loosely means that the God of Abraham can change how he explains things. Just like the authors of the Bible, Mohammed makes multiple contradicting proclamations, and the latest one is what his God thinks is a better explanation now. Accordingly, any contradiction with the Bible is also simply their God updating his past explanations.

https://nyuscholars.nyu.edu/files/42476117/Abrogated_Rulings...

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