Abraham as a Religious Figure in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - Essay Example

Abraham is a religious character, who was considered the father of many nations. The history of this person has a lot of similarities, concerning his life and his service to God, but still, there are some peculiarities revealed in each of them. Abraham is considered to be the first of three Biblical Patriarchs, who lived after the Flood. According to the book of Genesis, he was the first of the Jews and the founder of the Jewish people. “For Jewish commentators through the ages, the biblical story of Hagar and Sarah forces a choice between two central principles: reverence for their Jewish ancestors, through whom God creates the nation of Israel, and concern for the powerless, which is enshrined in biblical and subsequent Jewish law” (Trible, P.

, 2006, 102). According to Judaism Abraham is associated with the opening of the idea of ​​monotheism and its development. When he was three years old, he understood that God is the creator of everything and smashed the idols of his father Terah. The "Land of Moriah" is revealed in the history of the sacrifice of Isaac and identified with Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, where Solomon built the Temple. Therefore, it is believed that the temple was built in the place where Abraham created an altar for burning offerings.

In the Christian tradition, the image of the patriarch Abraham is the prototype of the highest piety and righteousness, in both the Old and the New Testament. According to St. John, Abraham was the guardian and teacher of faith and morals of his people among the surrounding Gentiles. St. Augustine wrote about God's promise to Abraham, the multiplication of progeny, and his blessing, which refers to all mankind. The Islam religion considers that the Kaaba was built by Ibrahim (Abraham) together with his son Ishmael in Mecca, the place, where it stood during the days of Adam.

Ibrahim died in Jerusalem at the age of 175 years. Over the cave of Machpelah, where he was buried, Muslims built a mosque and protected it, as one of the holiest shrines. According to the Koran the son of Ibrahim - Ishmael was the progenitor of the Arabic people. Muslims state that Abraham was in Mecca together with Ishmael and established there the sanctuary called Kaba. The latest criticism touched the personalities of the Patriarchs. Some critics associate Abraham with Brahma, the others with Zoroaster, but the majority of them, see him as a personification of abstract concepts known.

The history of the sacrifice of Isaac is an example of the collision of moral norms and divine commands. It was studied by modern critics and scientists as the modern and contemporary theory, which is concentrated on the issues of the interrelation between morality and religion.