Clivedurdle

I assume we are agreed that Abraham is a classic mythical character probably either invented or put into a new version during the Babylonian exile.

If so, by using the term Abrahamic scriptures are we not doing the equivalent of people in a couple of thousand years talking of Skywalkeric scriptures?

I would argue we need to look at these main religions without preconditions and work out actual connections. Catholicism does seem to be a western form of hinduism for example, there are clear neo pythagorian and alchemic bits in xianity like the eucharist - a form of philosophers stone - and the interesting appearance of specific numbers in some stories.

Why are we theorising about these religions assuming Abraham is a common demoninator, when one god ideas can be tracked back to Egypt and Zarathustra.

Why not Zarathustrian religions?

mountainman

IMO "Abrahamic" is a totally unwarranted and historically unsupportable assumption.
The term "Abrahamic" first assumes some given historicity for Abraham.

Secondly presupposes the new testament is historically related to the old,
such presupposition based on 4th century testimony of the purported
history of the preceeding 300 years (provided under Constantine).

Why not Hermetic religions? Because they were ripped out of their
foundations by Constantine, and calumnified by the literature of his
new technology henchman Eusebius of Caesarea? Because they were
burnt out of the memory of the empire by the new christian religion?

Time will tell the story. Information is still coming to light.
Julian's 3 Books "Against the Galilaeans", or perhaps Ammianus
Marcellinus' first 13 books, may one day be unearthed.



Pete Brown

Anat

Not more than calling a city Rome assumes the historicity of Romulus.

Diogenes the Cynic

"Abrahamic" is simply a conventional way to refer collectively to the religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Abraham does not need to be taken as anything other than a character common to all three religions. It's a term commonly used in academics as a matter of convenience, not confession. I heard the term used plenty in college by professors and others who did not believe that Abraham was an authentic historical figure. "Abrahamic scripture" was something we came up with as a way to include discussions of the Qur'an in this forum. We discussed several different options and we decided on something which we felt conveyed the intent of the forum without being too clunky.

Clivedurdle

But I want to question exactly how much these religions have in common. It does feel as if commonalities are assumed - Archaeology museum where those jars were broken talks of the three sister religions - but are they really related? I am not discussing how we divide up threads, but asking are we assuming commonalities that are not actually there?

nightwyrm

They all claim to be descended from the same Patriarch Abraham and their sibling squabbling has infected the world with a multitude of miseries.

Clivedurdle

Firstly, two of them - Judaism and Islam - look like primarily desert based pastoralist rligions, xianity looks like a product of empires and learning.

Judaism is monotheistic and rule driven, Islam expansionist and jihad driven, xianity imperial and heirarchical and doctrine driven.

Just because they use common myths and themes, are they actually related?

They co-evolved - they probably do form an eco-system - but I am not related to the lamb I ate at the weekend!

Doug Shaver

They all think they worship the same god. They all think that Abraham was an early worshipper of that god. They all think that he, acting on that god's instructions, established some religious traditions that they are carrying on.

Clivedurdle

Assumptions! Are they true?

Judaism looks monotheistic, xianity tri - theistic, Islam - doesn't it worship a moon god?

They do not have many - (any?) traditions in common!

Why do we assume commonalities that may not be there? What if Islam is a post late Persian Empire religion, Xianity a religion of the Roman Empire and Judaism a religion of the earlier Persian Empire under Cyrus and Darius?

Who first put forward the idea that these religions are related? Is it a twentieth century ecumenical idea?

Toto

Clivedurdle - are you still objecting to the name change for this forum? You'll have to take that up with a Higher Authority.

Religious Tolerance (AMBIGUOUS RELIGIOUS TERMS "A" TO "R") seems to agree that there are problems with the term - some believers will take offense.

It is an comparative religion term, so it will be a problem for anyone taking the content of the religious seriously.