Rating: 
Summary: The Right Questions
Review: By Joe Thomas, from http://www.ragingliberal.org
This is a book that sat on my shelf for almost a year. I got it through one of those paperback book clubs when I forgot to tell them I didn't want the selection of the month, and when the cover said it was by the author of Walking the Bible, my own prejudice about titles like that gave me an excuse to hold off on it for a while. But recently, as I was trying to minimize my possessions through some donations, I figured I'd read it quick before turning it in. It didn't seem long so I thought I could get through it quickly and besides, I have a strange psychotic disorder that makes me feel odd about giving up a book that might have a little merit without having read it. All those brave people who tried to instill in me a love of reading did their job, maybe a little too well. The bottom line-after reading it, this book didn't go on the donation pile.
Feiler begins his book with typical vignettes of Jerusalem: trains of people separating into groups of Jews, Christians, and Muslims, wending their way to some of the holiest sites of their respective religions. He quickly moves into a narrative of his personal journey to discover who Abraham really is, and what he can do to bring peace to his descendants who have become not a great nation, but several rival states.
While Feiler's knowledge and use of the religious texts from all three traditions is appealing to thinking religious person and those interested in learning more about the world's three most populous monotheistic religions, his descriptions of the current state of affairs in the Middle East are most interesting to the student of politics. The interviews with individuals and the discussion of the larger issues involved bring the situation to life like nothing else I've read or seen. All the usual suspects are present. The Israeli who believes peace will never come without compromise. The Jewish settler who has every wall and window in his home sandbagged to prevent his family's being shot. The Muslim imam if a mosque in Palestine who calmly tells Feiler the attacks of September 11 came from God. And the "radical" Muslim cleric, who while preaching a hard line on issues such as the right of return, can still come to the conclusion that, "If we look beyond the details, which we may disagree about, and follow the principles of Abraham-truth, morality, and coexistence-then most of our problems will disappear."
This book doesn't have the answers, but it is an insightful journey that could help us find the right questions.
Rating: 
Summary: Pleasant pitch for ecumenism
Review: Feiler, a non-theologian, tries to approach Judaism, Christianity and Islam as three offshoots from a common source, their forefather Abraham. In gathering his information, he speaks to a large number of people and makes some interesting discoveries along the way, e.g. he notices (or is told) that the Akedah is not mentioned anywhere else in the Tanakh. On the whole, however, the book disappoints as it rehashes more cliches than elucidates the unbridgeable differences between the various cultures shaped by Judaism, Islam and Christendom. Feiler fails to note that he is not grappling with three "faiths." Judaism is a culture, a civilization, based on veneration of a sacred text and a basic understanding of a resultant code of conduct. Christianity is indeed defined by a set of articles of faith, but has little to do with Abraham, and has branched into a large number of widely divergent denominations. In Feiler's reading, Jesus was almost incidental to Christianity -- a gross misunderstanding of this religion. Both Christianity and Islam are to be understood as developments out of Judaism and in opposition to it. New Testament and Quran are collections of midrashic narratives derived from the Hebrew Scripture: When it comes to biblical tradition, they do not attain to equal status, but are reactive. The attempt to forge commonality, based on the thin strand of Abraham, seems strained and,ultimately, unconvincing. What we end up with, then, is more of a string of notes in a journal of religious search by an individual, rather than a scholarly contribution to our understanding of religion in general or the Hebrew Bible in particular.
Rating: 
Summary: Oh gosh -- the voice
Review: I picked this book up at a local store and read it while I had some down time between homework assignments. Feiler takes an ecumenical look at three faiths, Islam, Judaism and Christianity - starting with Abraham. Of note are the interviews Feiler performed with leading Islamic, Jewish and Christian scholars and holy men. While the book does not draw any really solid conclusions it is a good place to start when looking at the religions originating out of the Torah. I am sure Muslims will take issue with how they are portrayed by a Jewish author, and Christians may tend to do the same. But, this does not mean it is not worth reading. A good place to start when having a conversation about faith with someone outside your own tradition is to find common ground. Feiler tries to do this in his book, and does it with some success. Joseph Dworak
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