Who is the patriarch of monotheism

Jews, Christians and Muslims all agree that Abraham is the Patriarch of their religions and founder of Monotheism. Judaism and Christianity teach that the story of Abraham is more than the story of one man. Judaism, Christianity and Islam teach that Abraham enters into a covenant with God in which both sides make commitments.

Abraham is required to leave his homeland, and to follow the direction into the land that God promised Abraham and his descendents. God promises to bless Abraham and his descendents, and to make of them a great nation. The most significant demand God makes on Abraham is that he and his descendants totally commit to a belief in one and only one God.

This is the foundation of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. From the biblical perspective, Abraham was the first monotheist. Abraham certainly exists in biblical memory. The twelve tribes of Israel recalled him as their first patriarch. But tribal memories in the ancient world were not always historically accurate—they were a mixture of history, legend, and myth.

Such traditional stories reshape the past so that it remains relevant for the present. The stories of Abraham are not immune to these cultural changes. As a result, we do not know whether Abraham actually existed. But even if he did, many or most of the details in the Abraham stories are legendary and not historical. Both of these features are important in Amorite tribal cultures of the early second millennium B. So it seems that ancient details are occasionally preserved in the stories.

But the stories are not about a half-forgotten Amorite tribal figure; they are about the biblical Abraham, who is the patriarch of Israel and the chosen one of God. The biblical Abraham may not have actually existed, but his memory certainly does in the three great monotheistic religions. In classical Judaism, interpreters elaborated on the biblical stories, making Abraham a dedicated monotheist even before God chose him. By doing so, these interpreters clarified why God chose Abraham: because he was already the first monotheist!

In early Christianity, the apostle Paul drew on the Abraham story to affirm that faith is independent of works, because Abraham trusted in God before he was commanded to circumcise himself and his sons Rom God commands Abraham to sacrifice Ishmael, and after the beloved son is saved, Abraham and Ishmael journey to Arabia and build the holy shrine the Kaaba in Mecca. Ronald Hendel, "Abraham", n.

Abraham, the first patriarch in the book of Genesis, is a figure of memory, legend, and faith. Islam, considered to be the religion of Abraham, knows numerous traditions about Abraham, some of which do not appear in the Bible. The Babylonian exile, the ascendance of Near Eastern Hellenism, and the formation of Christianity are each regarded as potential formative contexts for the emergence of Judaism.

The Hebrew Bible employs different names and titles for Yahweh that make use of conceptual imagery to communicate a variety of character traits and relationships. Gabriel Said Reynolds on the subtle differences in the ways that the "Abrahamic religions" view Abraham. The word monotheism was coined in the 17th century and is often understood as the belief in one god with a denial of the existence of other deities.

View more. The Example of Abraham 1What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? One must trust the bridge to carry him or her safely over the danger. A different take comes from Isabelle Bakhoum, whose painting features a man walking a tightrope quite a narrow bridge! At each end are symbols for three religions. If the religions remain quiet and still, then he will keep his balance and cross successfully.

If the religions move, jump about and cause the pole to jiggle, then he will find it difficult to stay balanced. What might then happen? Several paintings feature an Adam and Eve theme. Their four arms become branches reaching upward toward the hand of God reaching down toward them a la Michelangelo. Each of three arms holds a symbol of a monotheistic religion, while the fourth remains empty to symbolize other religions.

The painting thus suggests that on their own, they cannot reach God, but only by coming together in the center. Can they? Or, having been born from the same father, have they grown so apart that they have become permanently separate?