Did Islam begin as a heretical Christian sect ?

Submitted by Thomas Hennigan (United States), Nov 29, 2016 at 10:27

Some scholars hold that the Christian influences on Islam are greater than the Jewish ones. St. John Damascene (died 750 A.D), who was born in Damascus and whose father was in charge of the Caliph's finances, states that it began as a Christian heresy. He also shows that he had a certain knowledge of at least part of the Quran, although it may be that the Quran was not yet put together in his day. Recent scholsar also point out that heretical Christian sects which didn't accept the doctrine of the Trinity were present in Arabia and perhaps established themselves there due to persecution by the Byzantine Empire.

Such could have been Arians, Nestorians and even before these ebionites, who were judeo-christians who did accept that Jesus was the Messiah but not his divinity. Probably both opinions have a lot going for them and in any case, it seems clear that Islam was cooked up for political reasons.

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