Test of Faith

“And Abraham put out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. And an angel of God called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham! Abraham!’ And he said, ‘I'm here.’ And he said, ‘Do not put your hand out toward the boy and don’t do anything to him, because now I know that you fear God, and you didn’t withhold your son, your only one, from me.’”

(Genesis 22:10-13)

Tziporah:

If the timeless story of The Binding of Isaac presents a test of Abraham's faith, the moment in which he reaches for the knife and is stopped by God's angel reads like the Proctor of an exam calling, “Time: Please put your pencils down and close your test booklet.”  Many accept these verses as evidence that Abraham passed God's test, that he demonstrated perfect faith through his willingness to sacrifice his child. Classical rabbinic commentary supports this interpretation, stating that the angel was forced to call his name twice because Abraham—utterly focused in his zeal to slaughter Isaac—did not hear the angel's first call.  While I can accept this story as a parable about faith and sacrifice, I still feel unsettled every time I read it. What if Abraham hadn't heard the angel's second call? Why would God wait until that moment to stop him? Wasn’t it enough that Abraham didn't question God, walked three days to the mountain and bound Isaac to the altar? And isn’t it possible to go too far in proving our faith?

Grace:

What interesting questions you raise, Tziporah!  Christians often see the story of Abraham’s offering of his only son as paradigmatic of God’s giving his son Jesus to a broken world. In our suffering we need reassurance that God brings resurrection, new life, out of death; whether physical death that is part of the natural order or a spiritual death that occurs in moments of great pain and doubt. For me, the issue is not about proving our faith, but learning to trust God’s faithfulness. The question “wasn’t/isn’t it enough that…” rings throughout all our scriptures, I think, for it is an eternal question. My husband has a humorous, but thought-provoking response: “God always comes through, but not one minute early!”  I think my own life bears testimony to that notion. Alas, God’s timing is so utterly maddening. And also so perfect.

Yasmina:

The trial that Abraham [Peace and blessings be upon him] endured, according to Muslims’ perspective, represents the epitome of submission (Islam, in Arabic). It reinforces trusting in God’s power and will, which provides anyone facing a trial with a sense of hope, without which a Muslim cannot experience a pure state of submission. In the Islamic tradition, it is Ishmael who is the son accompanying Abraham in this trial, and the moment you mention, Tziporah—right before Abraham is asked to hold his action—is specifically described in the Quran as a spiritual state of total submission in the heart, soul, and body of both Abraham and his son Ishmael: “So when they had both submitted their wills to God and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead for sacrifice, We called out to him, O’ Abraham!” (al-Saffat 37:103-104)  Every year at Ead Al-Adha[1], I am reminded that our tests of faith are best rewarded when we reach this ultimate state of submission in our hearts and accept of the will of God.

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[1] Ead Al-Adha (Holiday of the Sacrifice) is widely celebrated, and falls during the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.

Who's In, Who's Out?

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

The Gospel of John 14:6

Grace:
These words of Jesus, so sacred to Christians, are often used as words of comfort at Christian funerals. Yet heard outside Christian tradition or misunderstood within it, they can be bitterly divisive, especially if they are interpreted to mean that non-Christians have no access to God or that only Christians who declare their faith in a certain way—using specific words or performing a specific ritual—are “saved.” In an earlier statement within this same biblical passage, Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.”[1] Later Jesus emphasizes once again that the Father dwells with those who “obey my teaching.”[2] Thus, as a Christian, I believe that I come to the Father through striving to live a Christ-like life, a life rooted in the sacrificial way of love—love without conditions and without exceptions.

Yasmina:

Muslims understand the way to God as a path, referred to in the Quran as the “straight way,” and defined as “the way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, those whose portion is not wrath and who go not astray.”[3] God has shown this path to all of His prophets and messengers, including Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Jesus and finally Muhammad [Peace and Blessings be upon them all].  One reference to these honored prophets reads: “Those were some of the prophets on whom God did bestow His Grace, of the posterity of Adam, and of those who We carried [in the Ark] with Noah, and of the posterity of Abraham and Israel of those whom We guided and chose. Whenever the Signs of God Most Gracious were rehearsed to them, they would fall down in prostrate adoration and in tears.”[4] As a Muslim, I revere Jesus [Peace and Blessings be upon him] as the Messiah who was born of an immaculate birth. I follow the teachings of God in the Quran and I humbly strive to emulate the character of Muhammad [Peace and Blessings be upon him], who gave the perfect example for loving and serving God and His creation, and embodied the true meaning of Islam.

Tziporah: 

I admire Grace for choosing a challenging text, which she described as having been “used too often in terribly disparaging, exclusionary ways.”  It immediately brings to my mind the many times I learned that Judaism allows all people of faith entry to olam ha-ba, the world to come, provided that they uphold 7 basic laws.[5] This teaching was often invoked by Jewish Studies professors to demonstrate Judaism’s superiority as a universal and welcoming religion.  This assertion—that all religious paths are acceptable but only mine is the “truth”—has proven personally dissatisfying and, at times, destructive to relationships between people of different faiths. I can certainly appreciate how this idea originated with the early rabbis, perhaps in response to emerging Christian teachings that acceptance of Jesus was the only path to redemption.  I can also see why later rabbis perpetuated it through centuries of persecution and forced conversion of Jews to Christianity.  Nevertheless, I am uncomfortable with our apparent compulsion to declare ourselves and our beliefs as most right and exclusively true.  I pray that in the world to come, humanity will have evolved to accept the Baha’i teaching that all religions express a single Divine purpose[6] and serve as multiple paths leading to God’s presence in paradise.

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[1] The Gospel of John 14:2

[2] The Gospel of John 14:23

[3] al-Fatihah, 1:7

[4] Maryam, 19:58

[5] Jeffrey Spitzer's excellent explanation of Noahide Laws is at www.myjewishlearning.com.

[6] This is reflected in the Baha’i teaching of The Oneness of Religion.