Ammar al-Basri ( ar, عمار البصري, ') was a 9th-century
East Syriac
The East Syriac Rite or East Syrian Rite, also called the Edessan Rite, Assyrian Rite, Persian Rite, Chaldean Rite, Nestorian Rite, Babylonian Rite or Syro-Oriental Rite, is an Eastern Christian liturgical rite that employs the Divine Liturgy ...
theologian
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...
and
apologist
Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and ...
. Ammar's work is considered the first systematic Christian theology in
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...
.
Not much is known about his life except that he was a native of
Basra
Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...
.
Works
Several books two of them survived:
* ''The book of proof'' (، '), which deals with the
incarnation
Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinit ...
in a popular albeit creative and vigorous language.
* ''The book of questions and answers'' (, '), is more systematic and in treats in four sections questions regarding the
existence of God
The existence of God (or more generally, the existence of deities) is a subject of debate in theology, philosophy of religion and popular culture. A wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of God or deities can be categorize ...
, the Incarnation, the four Gospels and other topics.
See also
*
Abu Raita al-Takriti Abu Raita al-Takriti ( ar, حبيب ابن خدمة أبو رائطة التكريتي, '), was a 9th-century Syriac Orthodox theologian and apologist.
Biography
Little is known about Abu Raita's life, and although some sources portray him as a b ...
*
Theodore Abu-Qurrah Theodore Abū Qurrah ( gr, Θεόδωρος Ἀβουκάρας, Theodoros Aboukaras; ar, تواضروس أبو قرة, Tawadrūs Abū Qurrah; c. 750, – c. 825) was a 9th-century Melkites, Melkite bishop and theologian who lived in the early Isla ...
Notes
References
*
Christian apologists
9th-century philosophers
9th-century Christian clergy
People from Basra
Members of the Assyrian Church of the East
Iraqi Christians
845 deaths
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