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Title: Abraham : A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths by Bruce Feiler ISBN: 0-380-97776-1 Publisher: William Morrow Pub. Date: 17 September, 2002 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.57 (54 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Mildly Interesting
Comment: 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: 2
Summary: Oh gosh -- the voice
Comment: 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
Rating: 4
Summary: Interesting
Comment: 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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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: Da Capo Press Pub. Date: April, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: Islam, Christianity, and the West: A Troubled History (Faith Meets Faith) by Rollin Armour ISBN: 1570754071 Publisher: Orbis Books Pub. Date: 01 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: Daughter of China by C. Hope Flinchbaugh ISBN: 0764227319 Publisher: Bethany House Publishers Pub. Date: 01 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $11.99 |
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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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