“Abrahamic religions” has gained currency in scholarly and ecumenical circles as a way to refer to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Carol Bakhos steps back from the convention to ask: What is Abrahamic about these three faiths? She challenges references to Judaism and Islam as sibling religions and warns against uncritical adoption of the term.
Abraham, whom the apostle Paul calls the "father of us all" (Rom 4:16), was a central figure in Judaism from the outset and came to be important in Christianity and Islam. The Abraham tradition is an issueof narrative and counter-narrative, memory and counter-memory. Moreover, Abraham's family is brought in as a network of meaning to express opposition, antithesis or common ground within and between different religious movements. The contributions to this volume discuss the presentation and reception of Abraham's family in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The topics cover Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, Second Temple writings, New Testament, Rabbinic literature, Greek, Latin and Syriac church fathers, as well as Jewish medieval interpretation and a twelfth-century Arabic travel report of a pilgrimage to Mecca.
The exciting story of Abraham, the father of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, is told in fascinating detail. True-to-life conversations make the story come alive for middle school kids, and information boxes for more advanced readers delve into ancient culture. Part of the Family Bible Story series
Chronicling nearly two thousand years of history, this panoramic saga follows the destiny of Abraham, a Jewish scribe, and his descendants from the burning of Jerusalem under the Romans to the 1943 battle of the Warsaw ghetto.
The term “Abrahamic religions” has gained considerable currency in both scholarly and ecumenical circles as a way of referring to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In The Family of Abraham, Carol Bakhos steps back from this convention to ask a frequently overlooked question: What, in fact, is Abrahamic about these three faiths? Exploring diverse stories and interpretations relating to the portrayal of Abraham, she reveals how he is venerated in these different scriptural traditions and how scriptural narratives have been pressed into service for nonreligious purposes. Grounding her study in a close examination of ancient Jewish textual practices, primarily midrash, as well as medieval Muslim Stories of the Prophets and the writings of the early Church Fathers, Bakhos demonstrates that ancient and early-medieval readers often embellished the image of Abraham and his family—Sarah, Hagar, Ishmael, and Isaac. Her analysis dismantles pernicious misrepresentations of Abraham’s firstborn son, Ishmael, and provocatively challenges contemporary references to Judaism and Islam as sibling religions. As Bakhos points out, an uncritical adoption of the term “Abrahamic religions” not only blinds us to the diverse interpretations and traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam but also artificially separates these faiths from their historical contexts. In correcting mistaken assumptions about the narrative and theological significance of Abraham, The Family of Abraham sheds new light on key figures of three world religions.
From God's surprising call to Abraham to leave home and family to God's enigmatic commands that he evict one son and sacrifice another, Genesis 12-25 is one of the most dramatic stories of the Old Testament. In an inviting style that showcases his literary discernment, theological sophistication, and passion for the biblical text, Terence E. Fretheim guides readers through the intricacies of the plot. Abraham, called "the father of a multitude" (Gen 17:5), lives up to his name as the patriarch of three major religious traditions. Fretheim examines Abraham's family and assesses the significant roles it plays across Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In addition, Fretheim contributes to the increasingly important interreligious dialogue surrounding Abraham by examining the continuing conversation among Muslims, Christians, and Jews about the place of Hagar and Ishmael in Abraham's family. Relating biblical narrative to theological concerns, Fretheim wrestles with such controversial concepts as God's selection of an elect people, the gift of land and other promises, the role of women and outsiders, the character of God, and the suffering of innocents. Throughout the text, Fretheim frames the narrative as rooted in the trials of family and faith that define Abraham as the father of three religions.
The amazing four-thousand-year-old story of Abraham from a fresh and intriguing interfaith perspective that joins together the scripture and traditions of five religions! The author combines scripture/sacred text from the five Abrahamic Faiths - Christianity, Judaism, Islam, the Babi Faith and the Bahai Faith - and combineshistorical data and archaeological evidence and identifies content that falls within the category of probably and possibly.
The exodus—the story of God leading his chosen people out of slavery in Egypt—stands as a pivotal event in the Old Testament. But if you listen closely, you will hear echoes of this story of redemption all throughout God's Word. Using music as a metaphor, the authors point us to the recurring theme of the exodus throughout the entire symphony of Scripture, shedding light on the Bible's unified message of salvation and restoration that is at the heart of God's plan for the world.
The Estranged Family of Abraham's God J. Grathmore Stratus III The topic of Arab-Israeli and Christian relations often invokes strong emotions and frequent hostility. It entails extremely sensitive subject matter and cuts deep to the essence of religious beliefs, loyalties, and sometimes mortal commitments. Anyone who follows international media realizes that every family on Earth is, or somehow might be, either directly or indirectly affected by a situation that is ever expanding from the Middle East. If visiting from another planet, it might appear as though Earth was inhabited by one very large dysfunctioning family. Unlike others who have addressed this issue, J. Grathmore Stratus III does not imply what anyone should believe or what to conclude. Looking through the lens of the family microscope, J. Grathmore Stratus III provides a fresh new perspective to viewing international relations. This study presents considerations that seem to be overlooked by many authors attempting to analyze ancient rivalries that continue to shape the history of mankind. In the process, readers and listeners gain insight into their own family matters, along with hope for reconciliation.
