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Summary: Interesting if simplistic overview of the Biblical patriarch
Review: In "Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths," author Bruce Feiler examines how Judaism, Christianity, and Islam tell the story of the Biblical patriarch. He notes that the Biblical account provides few details, allowing each religion to fashion a patriarch according to its changing needs throughout history. He reveals important parallels as well as key differences, and organizes his presentation around the tension between the idea of Abraham as the inventor of a universal faith in one God versus each religious group's desire to stake a unique claim on the patriarch.In general, it was an interesting if lightweight overview. Needless to say, if you will be offended by an essentially historical approach that stands outside the tenets of any particular faith, you won't like this book. Given the weighty subject, I was surprised at what a quick, easy read this book was. This may be attributed to the author's very well-organized presentation, but also to a rather oversimplified approach. I was also surprised by the author's optimistic conclusion that the three monotheistic faiths can use Abraham as a point of commonality to bridge their differences when millennia of sad experience (as reviewed throughout the book!) suggest otherwise.
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Summary: Nope, simply isn't so
Review: The thesis that Abraham links Judaism and Christianity with Islam is an old canard that has been refuted time and again. There is simply zero evidence for Abraham's connection to Muslims, Islam didn't even exist until many centuries after Abraham's lifetime. The Koranic claims of Muslim descent from Abraham are after-the-fact fabrications lifted wholesale from writings in the Bible/Torah. No evidence, no facts, not even the remotest plausibility exists for this book's thesis. One suspects, in fact, that it is an attempt to foster a "can't-we-all-get-along" mentality at this time when the free world is preparing the defeat of Islamic civilization. Still, an interesting account of the life of a great prophet, quite readable.
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Summary: Excellent perspective
Review: This book is so well-written and researched. I recommend it highly for the perspective it provides--reminding us we are ALL one people.
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Summary: Abraham the Chaldean
Review: Perhaps the main thing to remember regarding Abraham, is that he was NOT a Hebrew, but a Chaldean. So many literary efforts erroneously portray him as a Jew, which he was not.
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Summary: Slightly flawed
Review: This well written, flowing account of Abraham and his application to the three great monotheistic faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Although a refreshing account this book contains a number of outright fallacy's. First of all the story of Abraham is not, in fact, identical for the three faiths. The most obvious point here is the distinction in Islam of Ishmael who in the Torah/Old Testament is cast away and who god describes as 'a wild beast of a man, his hand against all others'. The question the author raises is 'Since Abraham is the father of the three faiths can't he be used as a unifying person to bring understanding'. In short, No. Abraham is not the central figure in any of the three faiths. Judaism has Moses, Christianity has Jesus and Islam has Mohamed. Abraham is simply a father figure but not a dynamic prophet of god. He was a shepherd with a small number of followers and a small family. He frequently lied to local rulers and said his wife was his sister, so that he would not be murdered for her. His brother, Lot, ended up in a cave and made love to his own daughters. Abraham circumcised himself at an old age and his wife gave birth when she was 80. But the parables and stories aside the man, Abraham, is a very human fleshy character and the authors thesis does not hold true. He is not a unifier, he is simply a beginning, like Adam and Eve or Noah, who are equally nebulous. In the final result this book does not hold the water is reputes itself to hold.
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Summary: Well organized religious review, idealistic conclusion
Review: Bruce Feiler gives us a book which well documents the next step in exploring Abraham beyond the Genesis account; development of extra biblical tradition and Judaic/Christian/Islamic interpretation down to today. It is very well organized into sections covering the three different faiths. I particularly liked how the author demonstrates each faith's attempt to make Abraham exclusively its own via the rabbinic application of Gen. 26 which has Abraham keeping the law prior to the law being given, the Christian Paul using Gen.15 for "midrash at its most elastic" to establish the righteousness by faith doctrine in the N.T.of Romans 4, and the Islamic sacrificial dream son being Ismael as opposed to Isaac. Feiler accesses some very respectable references as well as random everyday people he encounters as he visits various sites where Abraham walked, but for the most part they offer personal opinion some of which I found little to no relevance in. Other interviews reveal the continuing division, and with some even a non-disguised hatred between the differing faiths. This is why I call Feiler's conclusion, that Abraham as the father of many nations can be the foundation for mutual understanding in our day, youthful idealism. Just the same I would recommend this book for the positives previously cited, as easily readable, and Feiler's end chapter premise worth the reader's drawing their own conclusion on.
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Summary: Good overview
Review: Feiler presents an excellent overview and analysis of the life of Abraham and the development of his place in Islamic, Christian, and Jewish history. Of special note is the connection between thoughts about Abraham and the current Arab-Israeli conflict.
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Summary: A Message Of Hope In A Time Of Despair
Review: Anyone who surveys the global situation in these early years of the 21st century could logically feel a sense of despair if they dream of world peace. Despite years of effort, peace in the Middle East seems a more distant goal then ever; and the United States finds itself embattled in a global struggle with radical forces who claim to be guided by tenets of their faith. In this dark time, Bruce Feiler's "Abraham" can serve as a beacon of hope and light. In this slim, gracefully written volume, Feiler invites us along on his personal search for Abraham--the father figure for the three great faiths in the world today. He chronicles how little is actually known about the man--and how this has allowed each faith to mold an Abraham who seems suited to his needs. Sadly, he points out how first Christians and then Moslems at first tried to use Abraham as a figure of inclusion and a bridge with the other religions, but then evolved toward an exclusionist view that only embraced their own version of the prophet. Although his ideals shine brightly in this text, Feiler is not looking at the world through a false prisim; he readily acknowledges the violence and tensions that radiate from the bithplace of these faiths--Jerusalem--and around the globe. But he holds out hope that despite these setbacks, the three faiths are evolving toward an inclusive view of each other, and makes an eloquent case that Abraham can be the foundation on which to build that new understanding.
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Summary: Too Basic for Most Readers
Review: Feiler's "Abraham" is a good book about the father of three religions written for people who have never bothered to read the Book of Genesis. For the totally uninitiated, Feiler gives a summary of the biblical stories. Instead of Feiler's "Abraham," I would recommend first that people read the biblical Genesis. This is a much more interesting and lively book than Feiler's. And second, if you want insight into the same material that Feiler is writing about, read Dennis Shulman's "The Genius of Genesis." Shulman's book has more depth, and is as well written as Feiler's.
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Summary: Father Abraham
Review: Thoughtful and challenging, "Abraham" is a fine primer on the relationship, both problematic and promising, between revelation and culture. Demonstrates effectively and, at times, movingly, the importance of the conversations we have about what matters most. It is also a check to our human tendency to inappropriate appropriate the stories of faith heroes to fit our view of the world (rather than the other way around) and satisfy our frustrations that things aren't working out the way we think they should. Feiler is a very good writer: a clear, strong but unobtrusive personal voice; he is a good guide through the labyrinthine world of great religions.
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