A History of the Christian Church (Part 24) John of Damascus. A Voice of Truth in the Rise of Islam.

Welcome to The History of the Christian Church – Episode 24
John of Damascus: A Voice for Truth in the Rise of Islam

In today’s episode, we explore the remarkable life and enduring influence of John of Damascus, the last of the great early Church Fathers. Living in the heart of the Islamic world yet shaped by deep Christian conviction, John stood at a critical juncture in church history. Amidst imperial decrees and theological upheaval, he became a bold defender of Christian doctrine and a powerful voice for truth against the rise of Islam.

Best known for his defence of icons, John’s writings anchored Christian worship in the incarnation of Christ—proclaiming that the Word made flesh can and should be represented visually. Through his theological masterpiece, The Fountain of Knowledge, and his uncompromising witness under pressure, John of Damascus helped preserve and articulate the faith during a time of intense controversy.

Join us as we reflect on his life, legacy, and what his courageous stand means for us today.

📘 Episode Highlights

• John’s early life under Islamic rule and his formative education
• His transition from public service to monastic devotion
• The iconoclast controversy and John’s pivotal defense of sacred images
• A survey of his major works, including The Fountain of Knowledge
• His critique of Islam and role as a bridge between East and West
• Why his voice still matters in a world confused about truth and faith

Transcript

John of Damascus – A Voice for Truth in a Time of Confusion

 Transcript:

In a world where truth was often challenged and images of Christ were being destroyed by order of the state, God raised up a articulate man—John of Damascus. Though he lived more than a thousand years ago, his voice still echoes in the church today, particularly in the eastern and Orthodox traditions. John is often called the last of the great early Church Fathers, and for good reason. He stood at a crucial turning point in Christian history, and he used his time to defend the truth of the gospel in a time when it was under threat from both outside and within the Church.

John is best known for boldly defending the use of icons—images of Christ and the saints—not as some claim because he worshipped them, but because he believed they helped the Church stay rooted in the incarnation: the powerful truth that God became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). 

For John, the defense of Christian art was a defense of the gospel itself. He reminded the Church that Jesus was not a distant spirit, but the Word made visible, and therefore, we could represent Him in visible ways. His stance wasn’t popular with emperors, but he stood his ground. Like other before him, he lived out the conviction that “we must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

The Catholic Church would later gave John the title "Doctor of the Church" because of the depth and clarity of his writings, especially his reflections on the Trinity and the two natures of Christ—fully God and fully man. But John never claimed to be original. Instead, he saw his role as a faithful witness, summarizing centuries of Christian teaching and passing it on to the next generation, much like Paul told Timothy to do in 2 Timothy 2:2.

John's life began in Damascus, in a respected Christian family who had served both the Byzantine Empire and, later, the Muslim rulers who came after them. His father held a high position under the Umayyad Caliphate, and John could have easily followed in those footsteps, enjoying status and comfort. But God had other plans. At some point, John left the world of politics behind and entered the monastery of Mar Saba, near Jerusalem. There, he gave his life to prayer, worship, writing, and serving the Church. It’s believed he became a priest in 735, dedicating the rest of his life to defending the faith and building up believers.

Much of what we know about John comes from later biographies, some of which are filled with legend and exaggeration. But what truly matters—and what shines through even the murkiness of history—is the legacy of a man who loved Jesus, who battled for the truth as he saw it, and who was willing to stand up for both. In a world of shifting powers and uncertain loyalties, John of Damascus reminds us what it means to stay faithful to the unchanging truth of God.

John of Damascus – A Voice for Truth in a Time of Confusion

Biography.

John of Damascus was born and raised in the heart of Damascus during a time of great political and religious change. Though he lived under Islamic rule, his family remained faithfully Christian, part of a well-respected Arab Christian household. Christian tradition even holds that as a young man, John may have crossed paths with key figures in the early Islamic empire, including Yazid I, who would later become caliph, and the Christian poet al-Akhtal. Yet, despite the political currents swirling around him, John’s heart was formed not by these earthly powers but by the deep truths of the Christian faith.

His father, desiring that John grow in wisdom and stature before both God and men at the same time ensured that he received a broad education. We’re told he was instructed in both the writings of the Greeks and the teachings of the Muslims. This upbringing may have made him bilingual and equipped him to engage with the world around him—not to conform to it, but to challenge it with the truth of the gospel. 

John did, in fact, show a keen understanding of the Quran, which he critiqued from a Christian standpoint, always exalting the Lord Jesus Christ as the only true revelation of God (John 14:6).

An important influence in his life was his teacher, a monk named Cosmas. Rescued from slavery by John’s father, Cosmas brought with him the riches of Christian learning from the West. He taught not only John, but also another boy who would become his lifelong friend, Cosmas of Maiuma. Together, these young men grew in wisdom, learning, and the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 1:7).

Although some believe John may have worked as a civil servant under the Caliph, what is certain is that he left that life behind to follow Christ more closely. Around the early 700s, John entered the monastery of Mar Saba near Jerusalem, devoting himself to a life of prayer, study, and service. He was ordained a priest and began writing works that would shape Christian theology for generations to come.

John’s most well-known stand came during the rise of iconoclasm—a movement that sought to destroy sacred images and forbid their veneration. In 726, the Byzantine Emperor Leo III issued a harsh decree against the use of icons. Even though John lived outside the Empire and under Muslim rule, he boldly wrote a powerful defense of the use of images in worship, proclaiming that Christ, who took on flesh, could be depicted in visible form to the glory of God (Colossians 1:15). 

His Apologetic Treatises Against Those Who Decry Holy Images made the issue understandable for everyday believers and encouraged many to remain faithful to the Incarnate Christ, not just in word, but in their worship.

According to tradition, the Emperor, furious at John’s boldness, forged letters implicating him in a plot against Damascus. The caliph, deceived, ordered John's right hand to be cut off. But it was later claimed that John turned to the Lord in prayer and cried out to God, asking for healing. 

Miraculously, it is claimed, his hand was restored—an event that if true would not surprisingly confirmed his calling in his mind and stirred up faith among those who heard about it. In thanksgiving, John had a silver hand fashioned and attached to the icon before which he had prayed. That image, known as the “Three-Handed Icon,” still exists today.

Though condemned by the iconoclastic Council of Hieria in 754, John’s faithfulness on this issue was not forgotten. And decades later, at the Second Council of Nicaea in 787, his teachings were vindicated and his name honored as a defender of the truth.

Whatever you views on icons is I still think we can reasonable say that John of Damascus reminds us that even when the powers of this world oppose the truth of the faith as we believe it, God is faithful to those who stand firm in Christ. His life calls us to speak truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), to honor the incarnate Lord in our worship, and to trust that even in suffering, God’s purposes will prevail.

List of works.

Besides his purely textual works, some of which I’ll talk about, John of Damascus also composed hymns, perfecting the canon, a structured hymn form used in Byzantine Rite liturgies.

Thoughts and Writings.

John of Damascus was a prolific writer whose theological contributions bridged the late Patristic period and laid foundations for the medieval Christian tradition, both in the East and the West. His works, deeply rooted in classical learning and orthodox theology, reflect his training in logic and rhetoric, his profound knowledge of Scripture, and his vigorous defense of the Church’s faith and practice.

His Defense of Holy Images.

John’s earliest and most politically charged writings emerged in response to the iconoclastic policies of the Byzantine Emperor Leo III. In his Three Apologetic Treatises Against Those Who Decry the use of images, written in the early 8th century, John forcefully defended the veneration of icons against the imperial prohibitions. These treatises marked the beginning of his public theological career and were remarkable not only for their passionate defense of tradition but also for their accessible style, aimed at educating both the clergy and the common faithful. 

With clarity and conviction, John argued that icons were not idols, but visible signs of invisible truths—tools for devotion, not objects of worship. His writings would later influence the decisions of the Second Council of Nicaea in 787, which affirmed the legitimacy of icon veneration.

The Fountain of Knowledge.

John’s most ambitious and enduring theological work is The Fountain of Knowledge—a vast synthesis of Christian doctrine, philosophical reasoning, and analysis of various Christian influenced heresies. Also known under titles such as The Fount of Wisdom or The Source of Knowledge, this work was among the first attempts at a systematic theology within Eastern Christianity. It was profoundly influential, becoming a core text in Greek Orthodox theology and eventually shaping the intellectual landscape of medieval Latin Christianity as well.

The Fountain is divided into three major parts:

1.      Philosophical Chapters:

Often referred to as “The Dialectic,” this opening section is a primer in logic and philosophical method, drawing heavily on Porphyry’s Neoplatonic thinking in relation to Aristotle. John used this material to ground the reader in the language and categories necessary for sound theological reasoning. By establishing logic as a tool in service of faith, he aligned himself with the tradition of Christian Platonism and prepared the way for later theological systems.

2.      Concerning Heresies.

This section is a continuation and expansion of earlier biographical works. In it John catalogued 100 heresies, the first 80 drawn largely from Epiphanius, and the remaining 20 reflecting newer controversies—especially those concerning Christological debates of the fifth to eighth centuries. The final entry, Chapter 101, is a lengthy and polemical treatment of what he termed “the Heresy of the Ishmaelites,” a direct and controversial critique of Islam. Here, John portrays Muhammad as a false prophet and characterizes the Qur’an as a distortion of Christian truth. This chapter became one of the earliest Christian theological refutations of Islam and significantly influenced later Christian attitudes toward the new faith emerging from Arabia.

3.      An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith.

This concluding section of the Fountain offers a comprehensive and ordered summary of Christian belief. Drawing extensively on the Cappadocian Fathers—Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa—John synthesized their teachings with Aristotelian terminology and Antiochene clarity. He treated doctrines of God, creation, the Incarnation, the sacraments, and end times teaching, providing the Eastern Church with its first systematic theological textbook. When translated into Latin and other Eastern languages, this work became a theological bridge between Eastern patristic tradition and Western scholasticism. It served as a model for theologians such as Peter Lombard and Thomas Aquinas, who followed John’s method of integrating reason with revelation.

In all these writings, John of Damascus emerged as both a preserver of tradition and an innovative thinker. His works demonstrate a theological mind shaped by the Church Fathers, sharpened by classical education, and emboldened by a context of political and religious upheaval. By harmonizing faith and reason, doctrine and devotion, he secured his place as the last of the Greek Fathers and a father to many who came after.

Since Christ has two natures, we are told that they also had two natural wills and two natural energies. But since his two natures have one hypostasis, we hold that it is one and the same person who wills and energies naturally in both natures… and moreover that He wills and energies without separation, but a united whole. For He wills and energies in either form in close communion with the others. For things that have the same essence also have the same will and energy, while things that are different in essence are different in will and energy.

(Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Chapter 3:14.)

Such comments have some value in clarifying our understanding of Jesus Christ and eliminating wrong ideas about Him. However, there is a danger in that this sort of discussion can be done in isolation from the figure of Jesus presented to us in the Gospels and become abstract and irrelevant. Indeed, the charge has been made by some that practically the whole of Byzantine religion could have been built without the historical Christ of the Gospels. Whilst this is without doubt a simplistic exaggeration, it does point to the dangers inherent in such intricate inquiries. John was also involved in the controversy over icons and images. He opposed those iconoclasts. (destroyers of images), and was eventually anathematized at the Iconoclast Council of Herrera in 754, but his views later prevailed at the Council of Nicea in 787.

His Views on Islam.

As I said before John of Damascus is among the earliest Christian theologians to engage critically with Islam, and his treatment of it appears in the final chapter (Chapter 101) of his work Concerning Heresy, where he identifies it as the "Heresy of the Ishmaelites." We can’t reasonable leave this examination of his writing and thinking without addressing in more detail what exactly he sauid.

At the time he was writing he was doing so from within a Christian community living under Islamic rule, John composed what is arguably the first systematic Christian refutation of Islam. His critique is marked by a combination of theological argument, persuasive rhetoric, and what he presents as direct engagement with Muslim believers and their sacred texts.

John portrays Islam as a derivative and deceptive heresy arising out of Christianity rather than a new religion. He claims that the Arabs, once worshippers of Aphrodite, were misled by Muhammad because of his outward displays of piety. He alleges that Muhammad had had access to some Jewish and Christian Scriptures and may have been influenced by an Arian monk—a suggestion that frames Islam not as a revelation, but as a deviating offshoot of Christian thinking. This theory, though somewhat speculative, would become influential in later medieval Christian assessments of Islamic origins.

Demonstrating some familiarity with the contents of the Quran, John challenges its claims directly. He rightly criticizes the Quranic portrayal of Mary as the sister of Moses and Aaron, and also highlights other chronological and genealogical inconsistencies from a biblical Christian standpoint. He also disputes the Quran’s direst denial of the crucifixion, arguing against the Islamic claim that Jesus was not crucified but was instead taken up into heaven.

John further presents himself as one of a group of like-minded Christians who conversed with Muslims about their faith. He records asking them what witnesses could attest to Muhammad’s receipt of the Quran, drawing a contrast with the biblical accounts of divine revelation given in the presence of many, such as Moses at Sinai. He also questions the prophetic validation of Muhammad’s mission, asking for biblical foretelling’s of his coming akin to the Old Testament anticipations of Christ. 

According to John, Muslims responded that Muhammad received the Quran in his sleep—a claim he retorts with biting irony: “You’re spinning my dreams.”

In these exchanges, John also reports Muslim accusations of idolatry against Christians, particularly regarding the veneration of the Cross and the worship of Christ. In reply, John charges Muslims with hypocrisy, alleging that the black stone in Mecca is in fact a relic of pagan worship—specifically, the head of a statue of Aphrodite. He argues that Muslims, by confessing that Jesus is the “Word of God” and a “Spirit from Him,” are unwittingly affirming a theological truth they otherwise deny. 

Using a form of philosophical reasoning influenced by earlier patristic theology, John maintains that if the Word and Spirit are truly from God, and inseparable from His being, then they must also be divine.

His writings also offer a devasting moral critique of Muhammad and Islamic practice. John accuses Muhammad of adultery and criticizes Islam’s acceptance of polygamy. He also dismisses parts of the Quran as purely mythological, including the narratives of the “She-Camel of God” and the “incorruptible table” given to Jesus as prime examples of this error.

While later scholarship has challenged the tone of John’s representation of Islam, his account played a formative role in shaping Christian understanding of the religion. Translated into Latin and widely circulated in both Eastern and Western Christendom for centuries, his portrayal of Muhammad as a false prophet and Islam as a dangerous heresy deeply influenced subsequent Hristian theological writings about Islam for centuries.

Other works

·         Against the Nestorians

·         Dialogue against the Manichees

·         Elementary Introduction into Dogmas

·         Letter on the Thrice-Holy Hymn

·         On Right Thinking

·         On the Faith, (Against the Nestorians)

·         On the Two Wills in Christ. (Against the Monothelites)

·         Even a volume on on Dragons and Ghosts.

Conclusion: Faithfulness in a Foreign Land – The Legacy of John of Damascus

As we come to the end of this journey through the life and thought of John of Damascus, we are left with a compelling picture of a man who stood firm for the truth of Christ in the heart of a culture not his own. Living under Islamic rule in the 8th century, John bore faithful witness to the gospel, defending the core doctrines of the Christian faith with courage, intellect, and deep devotion. He was a man of paradoxes—a high-ranking official in a Muslim court and yet a fierce defender of Trinitarian orthodoxy: A monk secluded in a monastery, and yet one of the most outward focused influential theological voices of his day.

From an evangelical perspective, there is much to admire—and also to critique. John's unwavering commitment to the divinity of Christ, his exalted view of Scripture, and his defense of the incarnation against all heresies, align him with the heartbeat of biblical Christianity. He reminds us that doctrine matters—not as an abstract exercise. As a foundation for worship and discipleship his insistence that the Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14) is the cornerstone of our hope.

Yet, we must also recognize that John operated within the theological and devotional frameworks of his time. His veneration of icons—however carefully nuanced—sits uneasily with the biblical call to worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24), free from any mediation but Christ alone (1 Timothy 2:5). His willingness to draw theological inferences from philosophy and tradition must be weighed against the sufficiency and authority of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16–17). Even so, his heart was clearly set on exalting Christ and preserving the truth of the gospel in an age of confusion and compromise.

But perhaps most striking is John’s example of faithfulness in a pluralistic world. He did not retreat. He did not assimilate. He engaged yes, he read the Quran, he conversed with Muslims, he posed hard questions, and most importantly, he reasoned from the Scriptures. He was, in many ways just the type of Christian talked about in 1 Peter 3:15. A Christian—always ready to give an answer to anyone who asked about the hope that was in him, and to do so with gentleness and respect.

John of Damascus shows us what it looks like to be rooted in Christ while reaching out with the truth. He teaches us that theology is not just for the academy but for everyday life and for the battle. For standing firm when the pressure to conform is great. He reminds us that even in times of decline or cultural displacement, the light of the Christian faith can endure and shine brightly through one faithful voice.

So, take heart. The same Spirit who strengthened John in Damascus strengthens you today. The same truth he defended is the truth we proclaim. Let us not shrink back. Let us think deeply, live boldly, and speak clearly as John himself did….