I'm also reading Abraham by Bruce Feiler. In it, he seeks to portray Abraham, the father of the Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Abraham was the first monotheist. The people of his time, including, according to Judaic sources, his own father, worshiped many gods. Abraham, or Abram as he was then called, had the courage to break with tradition and follow his own path searching for the one God he knew existed.
His relationship with God was not all sweetness-and-light. It was certainly not a "feel good" religion. Abraham's story is fraught with doubt, broken relationships and confusion and covered overall with a wandering sense of alien feelings. Yet, the quest for God continued and Abraham was changed, and history was changed forever.
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What a wondeful reminder of Abraham's trust in God which didn't exempt him from the struggles that come with being faithful.
ReplyDeleteI like the image of him being the first monotheist - indeed he is the father of those who believe.
Do you know how he is acknowledged or recognized in the Islam religion?
Well, according to Feiler, all three monotheistic religions Abraham as a model for their own religion, since he technically predates them all.
ReplyDeleteIn Islam, Mohammad preached in Mecca to the Arabs. Abraham was important because he was a prophet connected with Arabia and, like Mohammad himself, brought the message of monotheism to a group of polytheists. I'm going to post more about this book.
Thank you. I'll read more on your next post.
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