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Title: Abraham : A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths by Bruce Feiler ISBN: 0-06-052509-6 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 17 February, 2004 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.64 (50 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: All About Abraham
Comment: Abraham is the great progenitor of the world's three interrelated but independent monotheistic faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In this thoughtful book, author Bruce Feiler goes on a journey of discovery, both in the ancient texts of these three religions and in the footsteps of Abraham, to understand the man and his meanings for our own day. And he invites the reader to share the journey with him.
It may seem self-evident for Christians steeped in the Old Testament that one would look to Genesis for the stories about Abraham. And in many ways they do serve as Feiler's starting point and main thrust. However, what soon becomes apparent is that Abraham is so revered by so many diverse peoples that a whole body of oral tradition about Abraham exists beyond the sacred page. Feiler shares many of these insights with us, and since he is not limited by the passages of Scripture, there is a richness in his revelations about the man who first insisted there is but one God.
As this book unfolds, we learn about the geography of Abraham and also the impact that geography has upon his saga. We are invited into passages that are familiar to us, but with an eye to what the Jewish or Muslim perceptive on those well-known passages might be. We see the story of Hagar and Ishmael in new ways, as Feiler points out the ramifications of the first-born son's legacy, in ancient terms.
We also meet modern day guides, whose sharing of parts of Feiler's journey of discovery gives us further insights into the patriarch's story.
Here is just one quote that shows the ways in which Feiler asks us to look beyond what we have already experienced in the person Abraham:
"Hollywood has been particularly neglectful of Abraham. Moses merits a Cecil B. DeMille epic and a DreamWorks animated blockbuster. Steven Speilberg and Harrison Ford spent an entire film looking for the lost ark of the covenant... But no Abraham. Yet Abraham's life would seem to fit the three-act mold that Hollywood demands. Act one is his early life... Act two is his picaresque adventures on the road to Egypt and back... Act three-the most action packed of all-(is the one) in which Abraham is trapped in a deadly love triangle..." (page 70).
This book is timely and informative, but it is more. It invites us to look for ways to incorporate Abraham's story into our own.
Bruce Feiler writes for the "New York Times", the "Washington Post" and "Gourmet" magazines. He has authored a number of other laudable books, including "Walking the Bible". A native of Savannah, Georgia, Feiler has a great sensitivity to the nuances of similarities and differences between the world's great religions.
Rating: 1
Summary: Western viewpoint portraying Islam--a carbomonoxidy-moron!
Comment: How can a non-Muslim write about Islam? This book would've been in a more harmonized equilibrium if at least three staunch believers in their own respective faiths (Islam, Christianity, and Judaism) would have participated in the writing of the book.
This book is highly biased only basing its information on Christian (written by St. Paul, not Jesus [peace be upon him) or Judaic "histories." written by Rabbis. All revelation to Jesus and Moses (peace be upon them) were direct revelations of Allah, desecrated by priests and saints.
For one, Prophet Abraham (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) took his wife, Hagar or Hagira (NOT slave) to Mecca, not where the author claims. There her son, Ismail (or Ishmael) as a baby was crying for water as a baby and her mother searched for it, until Allah gave bestowed on them the water in the form of Water of ZamZam, which still exists in Mecca.
Read books from people belonging to all three religions to get a more balanced view. Read the Torah, Bible, and Qur'an. Otherwise, you will wandering blidnly searching for the truth...which might be just all around you.
Rating: 4
Summary: Interesting if simplistic overview of the Biblical patriarch
Comment: 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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Title: Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses by Bruce Feiler ISBN: 0380807319 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 05 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: In the Steps of St. Paul by H. V. Morton, Bruce Feiler ISBN: 030681112X Publisher: DaCapo Press Pub. Date: April, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: At the Entrance to the Garden of Eden : A Jew's Search for Hope with Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land by Yossi K. Halevi ISBN: 0060505826 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: June, 2002 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Islam, Christianity, and the West: A Troubled History (Faith Meets Faith) by Rollin S. Armour ISBN: 1570754071 Publisher: Orbis Books Pub. Date: March, 2002 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: Daughter of China by C. Hope Flinchbaugh, C Hope Flinchbaugh ISBN: 0764227319 Publisher: Bethany House Pub. Date: September, 2002 List Price(USD): $11.99 |
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