Beyond Prooftexting (2): The Use Of The Bible In Some Early Arabic Christian Apologies

This chapter introduces the text at the center of the inquiry, the anonymous Melkite apology found in Sinai Arabic MS 154 and entitled by its first editor On the Triune Nature of God. After that, it gives some illustrations of the range of uses of scripture found in this text. In a final section, the chapter focuses on the early Melkite literature's use of the ancient Christian literary genre of testimonia, that is, of collections of Old Testament 'prophesies' of or 'witnesses' to the life of Christ and to Christian doctrines and practices. These Old Testament texts are often referred to as 'proof-texts', but this chapter argues that, in our literature, they function in ways that move far 'beyond prooftexting'.Keywords: Christ; Christian doctrines; Christian literary genre; God; Old Testament texts; scripture; testimonia