Abraham - Curse or Blessing?

Abraham's Curse: Child Sacrifice in the Legacies of the West by Bruce Chilton is a book donated by Old Testament Professor Seow Choon Leong of Princeton University to Trinity Trinity College Library in Singapore. I stumbled upon this book and was captivated by the interpretation that Chilton made on sacrificial violence.

Chilton has traced the roots of violence in the three Abrahammic faiths - Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The roots were grounded in the story of Abraham who heard the command of God to sacrifice his son as a ritualistic offering to God as recorded in the Holy Bible and the Holy Qur'an.

The Jewish/Christian tradition identifies Abraham/Sarah's son as Isaac whereas the Islamic tradition regards Abraham/Hagar's son as Ishmael who was to be sacrificed.

While the offering of Abraham's son was interrupted by God and the offering was replaced by a ram(Genesis 22:11-14), the Islamic tradition teaches that it was also a test of faith and for "those devoted to doing good" will be rewarded "as if seeing God." (As Saffat Surah 37:105.

The Abrahammic tradition is the conviction that God calls for the sacrifice of the offering of Isaac/Ismael or Jesus. The sacrifice of the son or self-sacrifice of Jesus is required. Upon this belief the followers of this tradition have extolled martyrdom and justified violence. Offerings of themselves and of their children and youths and citizens upon the different altars in defense of their faith and country have been regarded as just and honorable.

As a result violence prevails and persists down through history in situations of conflict and war that human kind find themselves. Blood sacrifice not only of animals but of humans are deemed to be necessary.

The question that we need to ask, "Did God really ask for such sacrifices leading to violence to resolve human conflicts." Or is an attempt for sinful human creatures to justify themselves when they resort to violence which destroys and kill.

We tend to follow the tradition from the very beginning that God desired and accepted human sacrifice. This was the practice of the other religions around them although the offerings were made to different gods. Such sacrifices were practiced in primitive societies. This led also to the promotion of martyrdom that glorified those who gave their lives as a ritual offering to God and for the cause of their religious faith.

Jews, Christians and Muslims demand literal sacrifice from their followers. Jews have died in resisting persecutions, Christians have engaged in Crusades and Muslims have participated in jihads. They based their sacrifice on the example of Abraham willingly offering his son.

The question today is whether sacrificial violence is inevitable and is it a matter of one's religious faith.

One interpretation of the Genesis story is that after Yahweh saw the dedication of Abraham the divine declaration was made that all human sacrificial action in relation to Isaac should cease and never again to be repeated.

The Qur'anic conclusion is that "You have already fulfilled the dream (which tested your loyal obedience to the command so you no longer have to offer your son in sacrifice. Thus do WE reward those devoted to doing good as if seeing God (As Saffat Surah 2:105.) In doing good we all see or meet God.

Christians are to understand that the self-sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross is because he was convinced that his death will benefit others and will reveal the necessity to live under the reign of God.

According to the teaching of the Prophet in Al Baqarah Surah 2:256, there should be "no compulsion in religion." Jihad was necessary to preserve the freedom to make Islam possible when confronted with the attacks from their enemies. It is not toi force or coerce others to submit to Allah.

History is strewn with the carcases of those who were placed upon the altars of war and no one religion inasmuch as they claim to be engaged in just wars is not implicated by the evil of violence itself.

The more the members of the Abrahammic faith relate to one another in mutual challenge in understanding one's faith the quicker we turn the curse of
Abraham during all this time of violence and conflict into the blessings of
Abraham of peace and fruitfulness.

The concluding message of Chilton is "Resisting that prospect as part of the purpose of theological reflection within the Abrahammic traditions for millennia, and is now the common vocation of all those who see that we have no human future if we insist on remaining on Mount Moriah. The distinctive voices of the Torah, Jesus Christ, and the Prophet Mohammed (S.A.W.) agree that Moriah is behind us, never to be visited again in whatever form it takes in its myriad disguises, is not God's. It is time for us, whether believers or not, to come down to the place of promise, where we can see that no moral value attaches to sacrificing any human life to any cause, with the possible exception of one's own.