IGWEBUIKE AND ABRAHAM‟S MODEL OF DIALOGUE IN GENESIS 13:5-9

Abstract

A cursory glance at history reveals the reoccurrence of religious conflicts and violence between Christians and Muslims, especially in the twenty first century. Islam and Christianity are sister religions and monotheistic in worship; yet, the ancient long rivalries as well as modern day conflicts have so accentuated differences as completely to obscure the shared monotheistic roots. Despite many common beliefs and values, throughout history, Muslim-Christians relations have often been overshadowed by misunderstanding as both struggles for power and for souls. Employing the Igwebuike method of research, this work has sought for a common denominator between the sister religions of Christianity and Islam as a uniting factor. It discovered that both religions revere the patriarch Abraham as their ancestor and father in faith. With this understanding, it proposed the Biblical Abraham as the patriarch for dialogue in view of his encounter with Lot in Gen.13:5-9 as an example for both Muslims and Christians. This research would emloy the Igwebuike wholistic method of research which emphasizes and searches for common grounds between two or more realities. This search for common ground is anchored on the Igwebuike philosophy of the interrelatedness and interconnectedness of reality. In this case, an attempt is made to discover a common ground for Christianity and Islam by exploring their belives and vaues.