Abraham

Book Review
Feiler, Bruce. Abraham. A journey to the heart of the three faiths. William Morrow. 2002
B.F.-New York Times bestselling author. Journalist.
Comment. Henry.
Bruce has given us an interesting, comparative assessment of the significance of Abraham as the progenitor of three monotheistic faiths, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. His conclusions would probably be topics of vigorous debate in many circles but his observations are certainly genuine and very informative. Abraham is not only a crucial character of history but is a key to genuine ecumenicalism of our times and the peaceful co-existence of the three faiths attributed to his legacy.
The home of Abraham is claimed as a holy place by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It is not a place of peace. According to legend, and there are many legends, Abraham’s origin is mythical. “He has no past. He has no personality.” (18) Abraham’s wanderings began with a specific call, described in all three religions. Jews and Muslims consider the Call important. Christians view it as a defining act of Abraham’s life.
Ishmael is viewed as Abraham’s first born (especially by Muslims). Isaac’s story comes across quite differently in non-Christian literature and interpretations. The binding of Isaac is a significant spiritual act for both Isaac and Abraham in all three faiths.
The codification of Jewish laws was crucial to the preservation of the Jewish faith. The status of Abraham was now established through recorded history. Some rabbis wrote, “Abraham was the reason God created the world”. (125) With codification came interpretation and its challenges. Jewish interpretations were identified as “rabbinic midrash”. (139)
A discussion about Christianity begins with an interview with bishop Theophanes the Head of the Greek Orthodox Church. It focuses on Paul and Abraham the great example of faith. The bishop maintains that Paul “completely reinterprets the Hebrew Bible” creating an Abraham “for his own purposes”. (143)
From its inception Christianity has been considered contentious by those of the Hebrew faith. Abraham is both the source of this contention and also the solution to this rift according to Reverend Ms. Heldt, a German Lutheran minister who heads the Ecumenical Theological Research Fraternity in Jerusalem.
The discussion on Islam comes primarily out of an interview with Sheikh Yusef Abu Seina the imam of El-Aksa Mosque in Jerusalem. “Muslims see the Koran as the unfiltered word of God” (165) written by man. Abraham is also the starting point for Islam. Early on a rift developed between Islam and both Judaism and Christianity over the importance of Allah, Mohammed and Mecca. In the Muslim tradition, Abraham built the Kaba, the geographic centre of Islam.
The legacy of Abraham is profound. It impacts all who are God-fearing who “still need the comfort of something greater than themselves, still hold on to some gleam of humanity, still dream of a moment when they stand alongside one another and pray for their lost father and for a legacy of peace among the nations that was his (Abraham’s) initial mandate from heaven”. (218)
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