Can Jews, Christians, and Muslims get along? At first glance, the notion that we are all “Abrahamic religions” seems useful, and many people concerned for peace between religions have invoked it, hoping to encourage cooperation and mutual affirmation. Modern Jews look to Abraham as their forebearer. Christians look to him as “ the father of us all” (Rom 4:16). Islam places him among the line of prophets that begins with Adam.
So, a common point of reference? A unifying kinship that can help us overcome historical animosities? Jon Levenson says not, or at least largely not. Writing in the Spring 2010 issue of the Jewish Review of Books, a new publication featuring some of the finest writers and thinkers in the Jewish community, he argues that yes, Abraham figures in all three religions, but what each religion says about Abraham largely reflects the basic differences that divide Jews from Christians, and both from Muslims.
Living religions positively vibrate with conviction, and in this case, as in most others, points of contact tend to generate friction.
Take the case of Judaism and Christianity. Both treat the book of Genesis as sacred. But Genesis itself poses a problem. For, as Levenson points out, the text “resists the notion that he [Abraham] is equally the father of more than one community.”
When God calls Abraham out of his father’s house, the promise he makes to him is singular, not plural: “I will make of you a great nation” (Gen 1:2). The singular character of election is then strongly reinforced. The line of inheritance passes to only one son, first Isaac and then Jacob. No happy diversity, I’m afraid.
This singularity, moreover, has universal significance. The children of Abraham will be both blessed and a blessing. As God says to Abraham: “I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves” (Gen 12:2-3). God is up to something with Abraham, something of significance for the whole world.
Thus we come to a crucial point of difference between Jews and Christians. As Levenson explains, the main lines Jewish interpretation presume that the biological descendents of Abraham will inherit the blessings promised to Abraham, and precisely as God’s chosen people, they will ensure divine blessing for all the nations of the earth.
Just how this happens is a matter of speculation in the history of Jewish theology. The prophets often see a restored Jerusalem as the cultic center of the world, while some medieval interpreters see the Jewish people leading the nations toward monotheism. Differences noted, the picture is fairly clear. Jews stand at the center of human history, with blessings radiating outward to the rest of humanity, which remains non-Jewish, but acknowledges the unique and universal significance of God’s covenant with Abraham’s descendents.
Christianity reads the promise to Abraham differently. St. Paul writes against the view that Abraham’s descendants are biological: “It is men of faith who are the sons of Abraham” (Gal. 3:7). This does not rule out Jews. An extended and complicated meditation on God’s providence in his Letter to the Romans ends up speculating that the biological descendants of Abraham are “cut off” for the sake of the promises, only to be “regrafted” at the end of the age (Rom 9:3-4 and 11:23-24).
By St. Paul’s reading, the patrimony of Abraham remains singular, but instead of Jews at the center, he pictures Abraham’s patrimony diffused to all the nations. The leaven enters the lump of dough, so to speak, brings to fruition the promised blessings in the form of the church now spread among all the nations. Thus one of the very practical differences between Judaism and Christianity: the former does not proselytize, while the latter urges missionary outreach.
Muslim take a still different view, one that downplays the theme of Abraham’s patrimony and doesn’t trouble itself about who does and doesn’t inherit the promised blessings. What matters is true monotheistic belief, to which Abraham bore witness.
Once again, the attitude to Abraham brings out deep differences. The Muslim view points toward the larger Islamic vision of an undifferentiated humanity brought to true worship by the line of prophets sealed by Mohammed—which is precisely not the Jewish view of humanity blessed and redeemed by a chosen nation at the center of world history, nor the Christian view of a new Israel, the church. In fact, the Qur’an teaches that the Jewish and Christian preoccupations with chosenness distort the true teachings of Abraham.
Nothing is simple. Yes, of course the figure of Abraham provides a point of contact for Jews, Christians, and Muslims, but our understandable desire for harmony should not blind us to the real differences.
Jews see the world redeemed in and through their unique communal identity as children of Abraham. Christians have much the same vision, which invariably leads to a collision and debate about just who inherits the promises to Abraham. Muslims set aside the biblical notion of a chosen people altogether, which amounts to a severe judgment against the fundamental theological convictions of Jews and Christians.
If we downplay the significance of these differences, we relax the grip of faith and dissolve dogmas into pliable sentiments. This path—one that appeals to a superficial unity at the expense of the theological core of faith—leads pretty close to the point of unbelief that the secularist recommends as our best hope. If we don’t believe anything, or at least not anything more than muddy platitudes, we’re very unlikely to be at each other’s throats.
Such a view is a popular but naïve fantasy. Human beings are not naturally cooperative. Peace is not our default setting. On the contrary, our passions enflame us; our competing self-interest sets us against one another. Faith does not make this worse; if anything, it gives us the resources and the reasons to restrain our passions and compromise our competing self-interests. A future world without faith may very well be more bestial than humane.
I hope faith flourishes. As a Christian, of course, I pray for the conversion of Muslims. Christian relations to Jews is a more complicated matter, but in my view they also fall under the lordship of Christ in a mysterious fashion to be unveiled at the end of the age. Yet, I also have a natural duty to promote the common good, and therefore I find myself encouraging Muslims and Jews to deepen their faith.
I don’t think I’m contradicting myself. Though they differ—and this difference is of the utmost importance for our eternal destiny—the demanding doctrines of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam engage our boiling passions, transforming them into a desire to serve God rather than ourselves. This discipline of the soul strikes me as the most reliable path toward social harmony and a worldly peace.
R.R. Reno is Senior Editor at First Things and Professor of Theology at Creighton University. He is the general editor of the Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible. Levenson’s “The Idea of Abrahamic Religions: A Qualified Dissent” is available online at the website of The Jewish Review of Books.
Comments:
My response has been, for what reason would Abraham think he could trick God?
Of course, the story gose on to the story of the stolen birth right, where the Arabs contend that they as the descendants of Esau, lost there birth by the deception of Jacob, who became the father of the Jews. Again the question posed is for what reason would God's chosen people become so by there deceptuion?
These discussion were with academics at the University (Al-Baath and Tuniv) Level in Syria, and these scars are very deep, but I contend that there are many more areas of agreement in our beliefs, which should and do bring us together, when we make an effort to find our common values.
For instance, the Bible says that “Abram believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness.” An important point which Paul quotes to show that Abraham’s righteousness (as well as our own) comes by belief and not by works.
However, in the Koran (Abraham 14:45) Abraham pontificates in a manner unlike any narration out of Genesis. He describes Allah’s wrath in a manner not characteristic to Abraham but to the rest of the Koran “the guilty will be bound with chains, their garments blackened with pitch, and their heads covered with flames.” He then concludes, “Allah will reward each soul according to its deeds.” What would Paul say?
How would a leftist respond if I were to say that I had found an undiscovered page from Che Rivera’s diary that said, “In the last analysis, being a Wall Street day trader is the most noble aspiration one could have. And by the way, Castro is wrong about everything! This is what I really think.” I’d expect the left would not at all think, “Well, we both like Che, that’s a good starting point to mutual understanding.” Instead, they would be justly indignant at what they would regard as my blasphemous misrepresentation. Likewise, Christians understand that the words of the Koran are in no way organically connected to the Bible. On the contrary, they are a clumsy, and malicious attack on God’s Word.
Of course a Muslim would see things very differently, that’s part of my point. To understand either Christianity or Islam, one must understand them to be antithetical.
Tribal societies regularly choose a famous chieftain as a totemic father rather then a biological father. Not every MacDonald was necessarily the son of someone named Donald for instance; many were just sons of his renters, servants, or warriors.
In any case it seems to me that Jews today tend to subscribe to the notion of being a "light unto the gentiles". And Christian doctrine seems to talk about being "grafted in" or being "adopted" as a metaphor, which implies that Jews do have some form of seniority.
Agreed. I'm surprised the notion of 'theological colonialism' or somesuch hasn't been developed to describe the expropriation of figures from one religion for use against said religion by followers of another faith. It'd certainly be a large enough area of study for a theologian or lefty academic of some sort. Christian medieval polemicists did it to the Jews, and the Koran has done it to both Christians and Jews ever since.
Moreover, Abraham is described as friend of God.
Islam doesn't give a people a superior status. If that doesn't sit well with some, well, so what!
A while back I read your article in Commentary, explaining your wife's recommitment to practicing Judaism and that your children were raised as Jews. At the time I found your account devastating. I tried to imagine not raising my children as Christians and it was, and is, incomprehensible to me. I have high esteem for your work, so I have found this to be a stumbling block of sorts.
On reading this, I've taken a closer look at Romans and its description of the peculiar and enduring character of the "choseness" of the Chosen People.
The Jews are “broken off because of their unbelief,” and yet, once “the full number of gentiles come in…all Israel will be saved”. There is indeed a mystery here. “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!”
We will not know until the end of days how this plays out.
As a Christian, of course, I also pray for the conversion of Muslims. Christian relations to Jews are, indeed, a complicated matter – more complicated for some. Yet, whatever the Eschaton brings I think with deep sadness of those who are, in the here and now, a branch broken off, a people with a hardened heart, knowing not the grace and the love of the risen Christ. And so, we ought to pray for the conversion of the Jews as well.
Oh, and Hakeem, thanks for the blessings, I can use all I can get.
A Christian is a man or woman (no nifty grammatical tricks here) who rejoices in the arrival of the Messiah. But to rejoice in the arrival presumes to believe in the promise, so all Christians are by their choice Jews also. Thus Jesus said that he could make more Jews from the stones lying about in the field. He has indeed made more. Every Christian is a convert to Judaism.
Now admittedly this idea is extremely offensive, or should I say threatening, to any Jew. As Christians the case is plain on its face. The conversion of the Jews only calls for them to remember their ancient faith, as we do, and to forget about the false promise of the resoration of the kingdom of David, because that was the polity where the Jews -- in the strict, tribal sense -- ruled.
There is no way around it though. This is now a new Covenant in the blood of the Christ. The old is gone, or rather is fulfilled for nothing can be taken away from the hand of god, and the new prevails. That's what St. Paul said, and what we all aver.
I am glad that we are communicating perfectly well in the English language. We understand each other, don't we?
Regards,
a power that even or esp. the seemingly weak in the world holds , when in trusting love for The Father , they accept unavidable pains and sufferings ....just as their Lord did , to release into the world blessinsg of merciful love ..
The reverse also possibly true - how such great gifts ,when abused, also leads to severe problems and we possibly witnessing many such instances at large scale - persons receiveing our Lord , in state of sin , such as after having looked at another with lust , trashing the sacredness of marriage through use of contraception and so on !
No wonder that The Church and persons in it seem weak and not worth emulation !
Yet, The Church possibly has thousands , if not millions of such hidden holy saintly persons , let alone the army of saints in heaven , still affecting the destinty of the world ,a world of 6+ billion where wars , compared to old testament times are not that many , where the Christian truth of God's love for All His children , including sinners , pagans ... get to be lived by the way The Church alone has taken care of all His children !
Thus , the superiority The Church claims is in being able to be like a Mother , even as a servant , as a friend and thus revealing The Face of our Father in Heaven ..a face fully revealed in our Lord which is the deepest yearning of all our hearts - to behold the Face of The Father !
His sending His Mother into our midst , esp. at Fatima , with its promise for peace for the whole world , the partial fulfillment of which has already been realised by partial fulfilment of her requests - is there any other better blessing our world needs - Godly peace in our hearts and all around !
The Church , pleading in our Mother , would that not fulfill same , since in God's plan , the unity of being children of The Mother can be more palpable for any and all !
Woud not His promise of enemity between The Woman and the serpent and to have the serpent's head crushed be thus fulfilled and along with that even an end to the chaos , such as the oil spills ... both in our hearts and the oceans !
You may find it interesting that Rémi Brague has concluded along the same lines as Levenson (from the perspective of a Catholic theologian) in an article in Communio, 2007. It was printed in several of the language editions, but the original is French, I believe, "Pour en finir avec les trois monothéismes", the beginning is here: http://www.communio.fr/article.php3?id_article=1122. (Unfortunately they do not publish their entire articles on line). One of the themes he treats is the notion of "abrahamitic religions", and your words "Abraham figures in all three religions, but what each religion says about Abraham largely reflects the basic differences that divide Jews from Christians, and both from Muslims" sums up his conclutions quite well.
6 Jesus saith to him, I am way, truth, and life; no man cometh to the Father, but by me.
•••••
19 Therefore love we God, for he loved us before.
20 If any man saith, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother, whom he seeth, how may he love God, whom he seeth not?
21 And we have this commandment of God, that he that loveth God, love also his brother.
Mr. Reno,
I, too, believe that Jews have a special relation to God — His Son was a Jew.
I disagree about encouraging Muslims to deepen their faith. They are openly anti-Christian and anti-Jew, not to mention anti-Israel.