4 billion

Herein lies the problem of Biblical interpretation, exactly who says that G.17 is supposed to be compared to G.21? This comparison is imposing meaning on the Bible, confusing the issue.

The bottom line of G22. is if you can knife a kid for God, then you are on the team. The point is, Abraham does get it, to conquer the World, spread the word of their god and destroy all other religions/cultures, one has to be prepared to commit extreme violence, as epitomised by knifing a child. Christianity has succeeded because it has nothing to do with love and all to do with destroying that which is not it.

2the1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (they ain't talking about BBQ's)

Anat

The text does not criticise Abraham in any way. The angel praises him and blesses him for not withholding his son from God.

Isaac is a non-character. He is mostly a prop in the Abraham story and not much of a presence in the Jacob story. The few things he does by himself are repetitions of actions of Abraham - the wife-sister stunt and the well digging. The best lines he gets is asking about the lamb on the way to Moriah - because that makes him an aware and willing participant in his own sacrifice. his not talking to Abraham isn't significant - he is hardly developed as a character.

In chapter 24 Isaac is coming from Beer-lahai-roi, which is Hagar's place. The midrash has him bringing Hagar back to Abraham (as well as inventing the regular evening prayer, but that's OT).

His marriage to Rebecca helps him overcome his mother's death. The text doesn't think he needed healing from PTSD from being nearly killed by his father.

BTW, author AB Yehoshua interprets the story as Abraham staging the whole deal in order to have God appear to be saving Isaac, in order to ensure Isaac's faith. Hence God's nickname 'pahad Yitzhak' - the fear of Isaac.

rhutchin

I think that this is a case of parents meaning well (presumably) but going about it the wrong way. It would be nice to know all the influences on their decisions. I sent my children to a Christian school close to home and not a boarding school. One graduated from college summa and the other magna (he was a jock), and both seem to have enjoyed their experiences and are well adjusted. I am sorry that you did not have a similar experience.

JPD

Presumably you raised them as Christians - the "adjustments" then would have taken place before entering the school. It would be no surprise that they enjoyed the experience - it would have been familiar.

rhutchin

Do we presume that the parents of 4 Billion did not do so? His earlier account suggests that they might have done the same things that I did prior to sending him off to school. There seem to be things here that we do not know about. As Gamera has pointed out elsewhere, we have a snapshop of what happened but that snapshot is not providing us all the information needed to explain what happened.

aa5874

In my opinion, the author of the story of Abraham and Isaac was trying to show Abraham's complete devotion to God. The author trys to portray God as someone who should be obeyed at all cost, regardless of His commands. It does not matter whether it is child abuse or murder, just do as God says.


Now, this story of Abraham and Isaac, is a catalyst for events like 911, because if a person believes he has heard the voice of God, and that voice commands him to kill and destroy and this person prepares and arms himself to carry out the command of this voice, and is never restrained, unlike Abraham , then that person will act, since God did not withdraw His commands.


I regard the story as a fable but there are others who believe it is true and after hearing voices in their head will continue to reap havoc in the world because no God will restrain them.

4 billion

We lived on a farm, but there was a high school that was a 45 min bus ride away.
My issue is not really with a Christian run school more the concept of being sent away from parents at too young age.

Gamera

There are plenty of rabbinical commentaries on the "dysfunctional" nature of Abraham's family. A number of Hebrew scholars have commented on the fact that after the Binding, Isaac and Abraham are never mentioned as speaking to each other again. I picked that up from them.

But as far as I know, connecting the Binding to Genesis 18 is my own humble interpretive schema.

Gamera

If that's the author's goal, he was inept. No normal person reacts to the Binding of Isaac as anything other than revulsion. Calvin and Kierkagaard pretended to see Abraham as some great "knight of faith", but in fact he is presented as a weak personage throughout Genesis -- basically led by the nose by Sarah, and given to some odious flights of self-preservation, as when he essentially pimps Sarah out in Negev to save his skin.

No serious interpretation of Genesis can ignore the fact that the text presents Abraham as a very flawed man.

Gamera

I don't know how you can interpret the following except as God cleaning up Abraham's mess:

Genesis 20 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society



Genesis 20
Abraham and Abimelech
1 Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, "She is my sister." Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, "You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman."

4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he said, "Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? 5 Did he not say to me, 'She is my sister,' and didn't she also say, 'He is my brother'? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands."

6 Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. 7 Now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all yours will die."

8 Early the next morning Abimelech summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. 9 Then Abimelech called Abraham in and said, "What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done." 10 And Abimelech asked Abraham, "What was your reason for doing this?"

11 Abraham replied, "I said to myself, 'There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.' 12 Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 And when God had me wander from my father's household, I said to her, 'This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, "He is my brother."