Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful book for any Sunday School class
Review: This is a wonderful Sunday school book, an easy breezy amble through the origins of three great modern religions that's as comforting as a back rub and about as useful as a placebo.
Early in the book, Feiler stumbles across a relevant fact that might have produced a great book had he cared to pursue the idea; primarily, that to succeed Abraham "must leave his native land and his father's house." In other words, grow up, go out on your own, and accept personal responsibility for what happens on this earth. It's an idea expressed in Genesis XII; Abraham understands what God has told him, Feiler treats God's gift of individualism to Abraham as a Club Med travelogue.
For tribal people, before the time of Abraham and still valid for those who need the comfort of group-think, identity is defined by the clan, tribe, cult or ideology. Abraham is the first to endorse the idea of individual identity, not in terms of personal hedonism and irresponsibility but as responsible to God for the basis of a moral life. It's an idea that has yet to be widely adopted; "born again" fundamentalists of many faiths believe they can do whatever they like because they "accept" God or Jesus or Allah who forgives them all their sins. It reflects the modern attitude, "Jesus paid for our sins, so let's get our money's worth."
This contrast between mass identity and personal individualism has been often explored; a classic example is "Escape from Freedom" in which Eric Fromm says people who cannot live with freedom will invariably turn to fundamentalism of some kind. The fault with the three great religions Feiler portrays as having grown from Abraham is not their common origin, but the fundamental fanaticism of modern followers who willingly submit to totalitarian faiths.
Feiler ignores the contrast between tribal or group comforts, and the individualism of Abraham which gave birth to societies where individuals feel isolated, dehumanized and alienated. The result is often blind devotion to a cult, abject submission to a Leader and barbarous policies of suicidal mass murder. The individualism of Abraham is like the Ten Commandments of Moses -- great ideas from the very Highest and Best of Authority -- but how many people are willing to accept the full reality of such wisdom?
Instead, Feiler limits himself to a Sunday School recitation of nice but conventional ideas about Abraham. He ignores the basic lesson God applied to Abraham, "Okay, Bro, you're on your own . . . . take responsibility for your own actions and you'll be okay." Instead, this book is written in the image of Big Daddy looking after all of us, if only Big Daddy can figure out why we're fighting among ourselves.
It's a great read, but that's almost a foregone conclusion when you consider the basic source of the original material. It could have been much better. Today's deadliest conflicts are not the product of Abraham or God, they occur because we expect God to look after us instead of accepting what Abraham learned -- accept responsibility for yourself.
Buy it, then read it as a springboard to enable your mind to leap into the future. It doesn't offer answers from the past; but, as individuals, there's nothing like a nice review of the status quo to serve as an incentive to leap into the future.
Rating:
Summary: An Intro to Abraham
Review:
This book offers a nice introductory text to Abraham and his role in the development of three religions. While the book makes no earthshattering theological revelations, the generally concise text poses some important questions about Abraham is an engaging style that mizes interviews, historical travels and author commentary and observation.
Rating:
Summary: Mildly Interesting
Review: As I continue my reading to gain better insight into today's conflict with Islamists, I felt it would help to delve into the common roots of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This book came into view and looked to be a good step in that direction. In fact, it appears to be the very reason Feiler wrote it. "My experience in the region persuaded me that it's possible-maybe even necessary-to gain insight into a contemporary situation by turning away from the present and looking back to its historical source. Especially in matters of faith, even the most modern act is informed by centuries of intermingled belief, blood, and misunderstanding. And in that conflagration, as it has for four millennia, one name echoes behind every conversation. One figure stands at the dawn of every subsequent endeavor. One individual holds the breadth of the past-and perhaps the dimensions of the future-in his life story. Abraham." (9)This book is part travelogue and part self-awakening. Feiler explores the role of Abraham-part myth, part oral history-in the growth of the three great monotheistic religions. He uses an airy, enthusiastic style that bespeaks wonderment and excitement at every step of the way. Unfortunately, Feiler often displays a pendulum-like tendency towards hyperbole that is distracting. For example, he refers to Abraham at one point as "the Albert Einstein of his day" (28). In another section he compares Abraham's life to a three-act Hollywood play (70). Incredibly, he goes on to say God was acting "against [His] natural instincts" in this play. This is an amazing statement that bespeaks a presumed, but inappropriate, familiarity with Him. Sometimes I got the sense that Feiler just likes to hear himself talk. Still, there are interesting insights along the way-the root meaning of "Arab" (21) and the symbolism of male circumcision (68), for example. Also, Muhammad's vision (Islam) stems directly and deliberately from the Jewish interpretation of biblical history (76). Particularly interesting, "Abraham, I was discovering, is not just a gentle man of peace. He's as much a model for fanaticism as he is for moderation...[B]y elevating such conduct to the standard of piety, he stirred in his descendants a similar desire to lash out, to view pain as an arm of belief, and to use brutality to advance their vision of a divine-centered world." (108). His discussion helps to explain religious fanaticism and the willingness of some (unfortunately, far too many these days) for martyrdom. Feiler touches on the roots of the enmity between the followers of these religions, but I found his discussion lacking. A few examples pretty well sum up his view: Early, proto-Christians saw the Jews as having "corrupted the Temple...abandoned the poor, and blasphemed the laws of purity" (138). "Church fathers saw in the misfortune of the Jews more evidence of their own triumph and a vindication for their claim to be the true kingdom of Israel" (152). "Pious Muslims continue to see the Koran as the unfiltered word of God, which is one reason for the devotion it elicits. There is no third-person narrative in the Koran. God speaks directly in all of the text's six thousand two hundred verses" (165). "Islamic midrash, know as tafsir, is considered harsher toward Jews than toward Christians, largely because of the political circumstances during the prophet's lifetime" (174). "For Muslims...Islam didn't supersede Christianity and Judaism, it preceded them. Islam, in fact, was the faith of Abraham, which his descendants twisted for their own purposes" (176). He provides glimmers of the underlying friction, but they don't go far enough. I had flirted with the idea that since Abraham was the common source of these three great religions, perhaps he could also be their source of reconciliation-a common bond that could serve as a rallying point. If he could be, this book doesn't hold out much optimism. Overall I found this book only somewhat enlightening, but certainly not to the degree for which I had hoped. It comes across more as a journal of self-discovery punctuated with exposition of the religious meaning or tradition of various aspects of "Abrahamism" to flesh out a book. I'm pleased to have read it, but with an ever-growing reading backlog, had I known more about this book beforehand I would have passed it by.
Rating: 
Summary: Who is Abraham?
Review: Bruce Feiler's "Abraham" is not a travel book as such - that is, there's no journey through the Middle East trying to unearth traces of Abraham. Rather, it's an examination of the meaning of Abraham in the Bible and the Koran, and in Jewish/Christian/Islamic tradition. Feiler does go to Israel, but mainly to discuss Abraham with representatives of the three faiths.
Feiler writes in an lively and inquiring style, and is not afraid to confront the fact that all three religions have reinterpreted the story of Abraham to fit in with their own aims. As times moved on, the figure of Abraham mutated. What is left is a mixture of text and interpretation - the latter often seeming more influential than the former. I learned much about the differences between the three faiths, but I was not in the slightest bit surprised to find that more often than not Abraham was evoked by one of the religions as proof of its superiority over the others.
Feiler recognises this, but tries to counter it with the argument that the figure of Abraham provides a link between the three faiths that can be used to foster mutual understanding and tolerance. I would not disparage that laudable aim. However, for someone approaching this book from a non-religious angle, I couldn't help thinking that he has a large task ahead of him. Feiler's examination of the way the three faiths have used Abraham seems to me to be a classic example of why religion has been rejected by so many: my God is bigger than your God; we are the only ones who are favoured by God, the rest of you are condemned; believe in the same God as us or else....
This is a puzzling and repugnant side to religions. There is perhaps a bigger gap to fill: the one between an irreligious West and religions which are intolerant of any belief outside their own. Feiler did find adherents to all three faiths who sought understanding and reconciliation. He also found chilling examples of religious fanaticism.
I hope Feiler's optimism is well-founded.
G Rodgers
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: Loved it
Review: Feiler's study of Abraham and his legacy is a fairly quick read, which is good, because I'm about to read it again. I like his style, and I like his message. I'm particularly interested in the suggestions in the final chapter for opening dialogue--and maybe some minds. (Unfortunately, the people who are willing to put aside long-held hatred in the interests of peaceful co-existence are probably already open-minded.) The idea of Abraham as a common ancestor is one that is new to me, and I want to explore these ideas in greater depth.
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: Short, yet highly insightful and provocative
Review: Having read Walking the Bible just prior to Abraham, I was able to get a good feel for the writing style of Bruce Feiler and his infectious enthusiasm for his subject matter. Feiler objectively delineates the first interfaith examination of the man chosen by God to be the patriarch of his people. He thoughtfully and rigorously dissects Abraham through the scripture, teachings, research, sometimes heated interviews, and, of course, his many dangerous travels through The Holy Land to the very sites of the historic happenings. I must admit, albeit a short work, I gained quite a bit of knowledge from Feiler and his spontaneous, yet well-constructed writing style. I learned quite a bit about the current Middle East conflict between the Palistinians and Israel and the prevailing open hostility of many Muslim people toward Israeli Jews. Feiler discusses jihad - according to The Koran it is NOT a justification for violence, but rather an invitation to Islam for "infidels." Regrettably, the fundamentalist sects have made their own contrary interpretation. One tidbit: Ishmael was purportedly to be sacrificed, not Isaac, by Abraham, according to The Koran. Interesting and provocative stuff. Definitely worth a look-see.
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
Rating:
Summary: Oh gosh -- the voice
Review: This is a review of the audio book, not the book itself. It's hard for me to evaluate the book itself because Bruce Feiler's reading was rendered so horribly. Memo to Bruce: Leave the reading to the professionals. Just because we can endure your voice for a few minutes on NPR does not mean we want to hear you for six hours on the audio book. Feiler has an odd, whiney voice that is painful to listen to. I don't recommend this audio book
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