Abraham on Trial

Rating:
Summary: Feminist Polemic
Review: An interesting but ideologically-driven work. I had hoped it would give me more insight into the Abraham stories and, particularly, the Binding of Isaac (who--at least according to Jewish sources-- was a consenting adult in his thirties at the time of his "sacrifice,"). I would have liked to see some discussion of how this story, which seems to the author to indict the Patriarchal God of the Torah/Quran (though that same Deity ultimately makes it clear that He does NOT desire the sacrifice of Abraham's son) relates to the feminist willingness to actually sacrifice untold millions of unborn children in the service of their own ideology.

Rating:
Summary: Needs some input from her enemies
Review: Not exogesis. Delaney seems to conceive her conclusion about the story of Abraham first and then read this conclusion into all the texts at her disposal. However, she does raise fascinating questions regarding the formative and constitutive aspects of myth and stories. One quibble is her constant insistence that this Abraham story is "THE" faith model for the three Abrahamic monotheisms. However, the primary model for a certain number of Christians in virtues including faith is not Abraham but Mary; and her arguing that it is only because Mary is Jesus' mother biologically that she is not considered co_Creator is patently shortsighted. Her assumption hehind this argument is that God himself is only Creator because he is the father of Jesus. That is NOT why God is creator. Perhaps Delaney should have swallowed her evident distaste for so-called patriarchal institutions for the sake of academic honesty or at least precision.

Rating:
Summary: Revisioning a heritage
Review: Using anthropological insight, Carole Delaney raises serious questions about the faith foundations of the world's three major monotheistic religions--Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. She sees notions of exclusive, patrilineal generativity underlying male conceptions of God and male dominance and/or ownership of family. Women are lesser creatures, fertile ground (sometimes) for growing a child (the seed and life being supplied by the father) but contributing nothing to the biology and value of the child. Children thus belong to the father and owe absolute obedience to him. He may do with them as he likes, particularly if a "patriachial" God demands them as offerings. Hence, Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac (Ishmael in Islamic tradition), though with hand stayed in the Genesis 22 narrative. (Sarah is nowhere to be found in this portion of the story.) Delaney describes in poignant terms a contemporary case of a girl child being murdered by her father who believed he heard the voice of God telling him to do so. After stressful deliberation the jury concluded "not guilty by reason of insanity." In this case, as in the Abraham episode, the mother's voice was not heard, the child was murdered (no doubt Isaac was traumatized) in the name of God. Western religious traditions (including Graeco-Roman paganism) willingly devalue women and children and give that devaluation divine sanction. It is time, Delaney says, to re-examine and re-envision the legacy of the biblical narrative of supreme Abrahamic faith which denies voice and value to women and children, whether in biblical or koranic studies or in Freud's parallel Oedipal ideas which ignore the deeds of the father against the child. Such ideas "construct" a social world which ignores the worth of children. One note: there is a contrary set of traditions (not always allowed much space in the sacred narratives) where God speaks on behalf of the victims in a patriarchial system that silences women and children. The Abrahamic narrative has two voices, one speaking against the child and one, however obliquely, for the child. This is an important book. Would that it were required reading for our public policy makers. Children are not our first priority. What if they were?

Rating:
Summary: Revisioning a heritage
Review: Using anthropological insight, Carole Delaney raises serious questions about the faith foundations of the world's three major monotheistic religions--Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. She sees notions of exclusive, patrilineal generativity underlying male conceptions of God and male dominance and/or ownership of family. Women are lesser creatures, fertile ground (sometimes) for growing a child (the seed and life being supplied by the father) but contributing nothing to the biology and value of the child. Children thus belong to the father and owe absolute obedience to him. He may do with them as he likes, particularly if a "patriachial" God demands them as offerings. Hence, Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac (Ishmael in Islamic tradition), though with hand stayed in the Genesis 22 narrative. (Sarah is nowhere to be found in this portion of the story.) Delaney describes in poignant terms a contemporary case of a girl child being murdered by her father who believed he heard the voice of God telling him to do so. After stressful deliberation the jury concluded "not guilty by reason of insanity." In this case, as in the Abraham episode, the mother's voice was not heard, the child was murdered (no doubt Isaac was traumatized) in the name of God. Western religious traditions (including Graeco-Roman paganism) willingly devalue women and children and give that devaluation divine sanction. It is time, Delaney says, to re-examine and re-envision the legacy of the biblical narrative of supreme Abrahamic faith which denies voice and value to women and children, whether in biblical or koranic studies or in Freud's parallel Oedipal ideas which ignore the deeds of the father against the child. Such ideas "construct" a social world which ignores the worth of children. One note: there is a contrary set of traditions (not always allowed much space in the sacred narratives) where God speaks on behalf of the victims in a patriarchial system that silences women and children. The Abrahamic narrative has two voices, one speaking against the child and one, however obliquely, for the child. This is an important book. Would that it were required reading for our public policy makers. Children are not our first priority. What if they were?