Re: Abraham and Isaac
yoel haalmoni (core@rof.net)
Wed, 9 Apr 1997 07:04:10 -0600 (MDT)
Mike Earl-
> Another popular Old Testament story that never really gets the
>scrutiny I
>think it deserves is the story of Abraham, his son, Isaac, and the burnt
>offering. The story is found in Genesis chapter 22.
> In this story we find Abraham out and about one fine day, minding
>his own
>business when -- out of the blue -- God tells him to do something
>unthinkable. In verse 2 God says to Abraham, =ECTake your son, your only s=
on,
>Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there =
as
>a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.=EE
> In other words, God was telling Abraham to kill his son. But God w=
as
>telling Abraham to do much more than simply kill his son. God was telling
>Abraham to sacrifice his son as a burnt offering. And as you are about to
>discover, sacrificing a human being as a burnt offering is a far cry from
>lethal injection or a quick bullet to the back of the head.
> Allow me to explain.
> The proper way to perform a burnt offering is described in
>Leviticus chapter
>1. In that chapter we learn that the burnt offering was a greusome little
>ceremony that required the ritualistic killing, dismemerbment and burning o=
f
>certain animals. None of the animals slain during these rituals was ever
>eaten; they were simply slaughtered and then burned into oblivion.
> The Bible tells us that the burnt offering was an act of deep relig=
ious
>significance and was pleasing to the Lord. Of course, if you ask me, the
>burnt offering was nothing more than a sick and detestible act of religious
>insanity, the cruelty of which was exceeded only by its utter pointlessness=
.
> Be that as it may, God was now telling Abraham to perform this
>ritual on his
>own son.
>
> What I=EDd like to do next is read to you from those verses in
>Leviticus that
>explain just how the burnt offering is to be performed. But I=EDm going to
>paraphrase things just a bit by inserting -- where appropriate -- the names
>of Abraham and Isaac. If you check these verses out for yourself, you=EDll=
see
>that I=EDm not distorting a thing -- I only present the story in this way t=
o
>give you some idea of what Abraham was up against.
> I use as my reference Leviticus 1, verses 4 through 9. They go
>something
>like this:
>
>(1) [Abraham] is to lay his hand on the head of his son Isaac, and it will
>be accepted on [Abraham=EDs] behalf to make atonement for him.
>(2) [Abraham] is to slaughter his son [Isaac] before the Lord,
>(3) Then [Abraham] shall bring the blood of [Isaac] and sprinkle it again=
st
>the alter on all sides...
>(4) Next, [Abraham] is to skin [his son Isaac] and cut him into pieces.
>(5) Then [Abraham] is to put fire on the alter and arrange wood on the fir=
e.
>(6) Then [Abraham] shall arrange the pieces of [Isaac=EDs] body, includin=
g
>Isaac=EDs head and his fat, on the burning wood that is on the alter.
>(7) [Abraham] is to wash [Isaac=EDs] inner parts and [Isaac=EDs] legs with
>water, and shall then burn all of [his son, Isaac] on the alter.
>(8) This is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing =
to
>the Lord.
>
> Now I'll grant you, most people don=EDt give this stuff a whole lot=
of
>thought. In trying to understand this indiffernce, I have come to the
>conclusion that people do one of 3 things. They either (1) have no idea su=
ch
>a story exists, or (2) they know story exists, but they don=EDt understand =
the
>violent nature of God=EDs request, or (3) they read this story in the Bible=
,
>and because they read it in the Bible they assume that whatever=EDs going o=
n,
>it must be something good.
> But folks -- come on now! I mean, just how lurid do things have to=
get
>before what the words on the page are telling us finally start to sink in? =
I
>mean, God has just commanded this man to murder his son, his own flesh and
>blood, his own child -- and in a manner that would offend the likes of
>Charles Manson! Yet the only thing most people ever seem take with them fr=
om
>this story is a profound respect for Abraham=EDs willingness to carry out G=
od=EDs
>will. Only an overpowering presumption of Biblical goodness could lead a
>person to believe that Abraham=EDs resolve to barbeque his own child was a =
good
>thing. Yet when you talk to people about this story, that=EDs exactly what=
you
>find.
>
> Of course, right about now some of you might be thinking, =ECHey,=
wait a
>minute. When we read a little further in Genesis 22 we find that Isaac
>wasn=EDt killed at all -- he was spared.=EE And you know something ... tha=
t=EDs
>absolutely right. Isaac was spared! It seem that just before Abraham thru=
st
>his knife into his son=EDs throat, an angel appeared and told Abraham that =
God
>had just called the whole thing off. In fact, God never intended for Abrah=
am
>to kill his son in the first place. This was just one of those little
>practical jokes God likes to play on his people at times. The Bible
>euphemistically refers to these episodes as =ECtests.=EE
> So God was only testing Abraham.
> But God was not testing a man named Jephthah.
> Let me tell you what happened to Jephthah.
> Jephthah was a mighty Gileadite warrior and man of God who lived
>in the days
>of what the Old Testament refers to as the judges. Jephthah was appointed =
to
>lead a branch of Israelites known as the Gileadites against one of Israel=
=EDs
>enemies -- the Ammonites. But before going against the Ammonites in battle=
,
>Jephthah sought the help of the Lord. In Judges chapter 11:30-31 we read,
>=ECAnd Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: =EBIf you will give the Ammonites=
into my
>hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return =
in
>triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord=EDs, and I will sacrifice it as=
a
>burnt offering.=ED=EE
> The Bible tells us that Jephthah did triumph over the Ammonites,
>destroying
>some 20 towns in the process. However, when Jephthah returned to his house
>to see which of his animals would meet him and therefore become the object =
of
>his burnt offering, he was met instead -- not by an animal -- but by his
>daughter -- his only daughter -- his only child!
>
> Now I know that keeping one=EDs vow is pretty important in the
>Bible. But if
>ever there was legitimate exception to this vow stuff, you think it would b=
e
>now -- right?! I mean, you=EDd think God would step in about now and say
>something like, =ECLook, Jephthah, I know what you were thinking. You thou=
ght
>when you returned from battle you=EDd be met by one of your animals, and it
>would be one of your animals that you would sacrifice. I know you weren=ED=
t
>thinking about slicing your daughter=EDs throat from ear to ear, tearing th=
e
>skin off her body, cutting off her head and chopping her into little peices
>and then burning her dismembered carcass into oblivion. I know you didn=ED=
t
>mean that! So I tell you what. Why don=EDt you just take one of those ani=
mals
>over there, sacrifice it, and we=EDll call it even?=EE
>
> It goes without saying that God had the power to intervene in this
>situation, just as he had with Abraham. But God chose not to intervene thi=
s
>time.
> Of course, God also had the power to make sure that upon returning =
from
>battle, Jephthah was met by a rat or a cockroach -- rather than his daughte=
r.
> But God did not do this either.
>
> What God did to Abraham and Jephthah -- not to mention their kids
>-- was as
>cruel as it was unnecessary.
yoel-
And anyone who does these things OR IS PREPARED TO DO THEM is perverted and
sick. But according to the Bible [Romans 4:1-22], Abraham, willing to
butcher and roast his son for his religion was "righteous".
Oh, but right! What IS "good" or "righteous" anyway...? An enigma inside a
riddle inside the Christian mind. How stupid of me to even question the
morality of Abraham's "faith". Jeffrey Dahmer the Christian may well have
found great joy in Abraham's and Jephtah's "faith".
Is any Christian on this list prepared to butcher and roast any member of
his family to prove his "love" of God? Yet, in Churches around the world,
for 2000 years until today, the willingness of Abraham to dismember and
cook his son has been touted as noble, worthwhile and acceptable. A
righteous proof of faith.
So I can understand the confusion of some Christians in regards to what
"good" means.
yoel