The Faith of Abraham

THE FAITH OF ABRAHAM

The Akedah is haunting. All three Abrahamic religious traditions take the story as foundational; it establishes Abraham as the father of these faiths, even the father of faith. It is not, though, a story one would read to a child before bedtime. A sensitive child might shiver at what genuinely appears to be not heroism but moral horror. Israeli author A.B. Yehoshua argues that Abraham’s blind obedience cannot have positive religious significance. Indeed it is sometimes suggested that Abraham failed God’s test; commanded to murder, he was all too willing, no questions asked. Yet there is something enormously powerful, even inspirational, about the story and about Abraham. Conceding the moral horror, I argue that nonetheless, Abraham is indeed the father of faith, religious faith, even faith more generally.