Evaluation of the information given by Ahmed Midhat Efendi about the Apostles


Thesis Type: Postgraduate

Institution Of The Thesis: Bursa Uludağ University, SOSYAL BİLİMLER ENSTİTÜSÜ, SOSYAL BİLİMLER ENSTİTÜSÜ, Turkey

Approval Date: 2019

Thesis Language: Turkish

Student: KÜBRA CENGİZ

Supervisor: Muhammet Tarakcı

Abstract:

Ahmed Midhat Efendi, who lived in the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century and became prominent with his works in various branches and fields, is a pioneer in the field of History of Religions. As a Muslim writer, his research and criticism of Christianity also attracts attention. One of the subjects that Ahmed Midhat dealt with in his works is the apostles and their biographies, which played an important role in the early Christian period. In our study, unlike previous studies, not only information about Ahmed Midhat and his work has been given, but also the content presented by Ahmed Midhat has been evaluated by comparing with Christian sources and current researches. In the first chapter of our study, which consists of an introduction and two chapters, the political, scientific and religious structure of the geography where Christianity emerged has been analyzed through information given by Ahmed Midhat and afterwards, this information has been compared with today’s sources. Sometimes, the sources used by Ahmed Midhat have been reached and the information has been confirmed. In the second chapter of the thesis, information and criticism points given by Ahmed Midhat about the apostles and their biographies have been presented, then the explanations of Christian sources and the opinions of today’s researchers have been given. The New viii Testament interpretations have been referred in the points of criticism and the opinions of the Christian commentators have been pointed out. Finally, a general evaluation of the subject has been made.