Abraham;
Journey to the Hearts of three faiths is a book based on Abraham or Ibrahim,
the central character of all the three Semitic religions, i.e. Jewish,
Christianity and Islam. He is considered as the father of the faith by all the
religions. Although, being a vital role, in the religious history, the story of
him is interpreted in many different ways throughout the centuries.
The
author Bruce Feiler is not new in this subject. He is a popular voice of
family, faith, and survival in the United States. He is the New York Times
bestselling author of Walking the Bible, Where God was born, the Council of
Dads, Learning to Bow, Looking for Class, and Under the Big Top. In this book,
Feiler, though Jewish, has retold the story of Abraham with the perspectives of
all the three monotheistic faiths, and examines the similarities and
differences among their interpretation. He traveled to war zones, climbed up through mountains, caves and ancient
shrines, and sat with the world's leading religious minds, to uncover the
fascinating, not-well-known details of the man who defines faith for half the
world.
The
basic story of Abraham is shared by each of the three faiths, but with
remarkably different interpretation. The outcome of which is that, each faith
claims Abraham as something more particular to them and attempts to exclude the
meanings of the other faiths. The author
addressed what the Bible and Koran say about Abraham, his call to monotheism,
and his sons Isaac and Ishmael.
Although,
Feiler has provided good and neutral discussion of Abraham in Christianity and
Islam, but his Jewish roots are apparent as more time and space is given to
Jewish Interpretations and their Book Torah. To remain unbiased, the author
talked with leaders of all three religions about their interpretation of
Abraham’s story and how this means more to their religion as compared to
others. An important point of these interviews is that somewhere in the middle
the interpretations affect the interactions of each faith.
Feiler
brings up a good number of fine fascinating points in his explanations and
interpretation of the story of Abraham. These points were not widely considered
before this. His subject research and experiences are interesting and
captivating to read. The interviews the leaders of the religions effectively
support the points he raised. These discussions not only provide the insight
into other interpretation but also help highlight the differences and
similarities among different faiths.
In
the last chapter, Feiler brings the subject back to the original comprehension
of Abraham and his story and advise the reader belonging to all the three
religions to work together to find a new interpretation of Abraham for this
time. This will bring back the original views of working together and Abraham
being the shared father of all three faiths, thus uniting the three major
faiths of world, rather than dividing, as they are at present. This book
provides the reader, thought and inspiration, to offer a vision of hope that
can redefine what people think about the neighbours, the future, and
themselves.
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