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Mar 12, 2008

Paul added it

While it was an interesting piece looking at the shared aspects of the three major faiths, i found it to be a little bit more of a follow-up book than a stand-alone piece of art.

With that being said, this guy's life is completely awesome. ... So i've graduated from the Ivy League, what to do now? ... Couple years teaching English in Japan? Yep. Grad school at Oxford? That too. Year in the circus? Roger that. Explaining the Bible in a way that anyone can understand it without a partic More...

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Jan 04, 2010

Karen added it

The world's three major religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - have many major differences that cause conflict all over the world. But the three are united in their devotion to Abraham, the folk hero of 4000 years ago who predates all the modern religions, but is claimed by each as their "father." [return][return]Feiler travels to the volatile Middle East to the land where Abraham once walked to get a better understanding of the influential figure. Along the way, he talks to fo More...

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Apr 04, 2011

Lee rated it:

“So, Professor, what do we know about Abraham?” I asked.

“All we know about Abraham is in the Bible,” he says. “In the ground, there is nothing.”

This book is Bruce Feiler’s best. With no archaeological evidence whatsoever to explore, he embarks on his journey to learn about Abraham by interviewing members of various faiths, and finds himself enmeshed in a bewildering array of legends and claims. Abraham begins life as a polytheist in Ur, but is called by a foreign god, Yahweh, More...

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Apr 14, 2010

Ruth rated it:

This book attempts to find reconciliation of some sort between Muslims, Christians and Jews, who all claim Abraham as their own. I was really impressed; Feiler was doing a great job, but disappointed by the very end where he was quite overly-generous to Israel concerning their treatment of Palestine, quoting a random person who entered the Mosque of Abraham, "The Muslims are very aggressive, like Ishmael, and they have swords raised against everyone. And the Jews are very passive, like Isa More...

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Dec 16, 2008

Sarah rated it:

I read somewhere that the Koran has more references to the Mother Mary than our own Bible, and since that time I have been very curious about the similarities between the monotheistic faiths -- Christianity, Judaism and Islam. In this book Bruce Feiler traces how each of these religions ties itself back to Abraham, to the exclusivity of the other religions. The details of Abraham's stories may be different between the faiths (In Christianity Abraham is asked to sacrifice his favorite son, Isaa More...

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Feb 27, 2009

Julie rated it:

I am almost ashamed to admit that I have never read the bible, and I know very few of the stories. It seems that I was far more interested in Greek and Pagan mythology growing up that I was in the stories of the bible. This book provided me with an eye opening look at the shared foundation of the three predominant monotheistic religions of the world(Christianity, Judaism and Islam),and how each began with pure intentions of worshiping a single god, with respect and humility.
Unfortunate More...

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Jun 30, 2009

Katie rated it:

I wish I could say this was a good book... I really liked the author's concept of finding common ground between the three Abrahamic faiths: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. However, the research was shoddy, very few sources were cited, and some of the stated facts were inaccurate. It was pretty disappointing and I can't really recommend it because those were things that any good editor should have caught if the author had been too busy or lazy to look them up himself. That being said, one of my More...

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Feb 14, 2009

LeeAnn rated it:

Fascinating book, studying the role of divergent roles and interpretations of Abraham in the three major religions of the world. I came away with a new appreciation of my own religion and an understanding of why there is so much misunderstanding between peoples in our world. When fundamental beliefs are so different, they must be respected or there will be more and more bloodshed.

One of our core beliefs, stated in the Articles of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day More...

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Feb 17, 2011

Jenn rated it:

ince this is not my usual genera it was hard for me to get into it. However, once there I did find it pretty interesting. The author comes from a Jewish background and his perspective in and of itself made it both more difficult to follow and more fascinating as I was exposed to a non-christian view point on the life of Abraham and the stories in the Torah, Bible and Koran. I was also really interested in his interviews with religious leaders and academics across all three faiths in relation to More...

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Jun 12, 2010

Judy rated it:

Abraham has been claimed as the patriarch of three faiths and Bruce Feiler looks at both the way Abraham has been portrayed by each faith--how his story has been expressed and interpreted--and also how each faith has attempted to claim him exclusively. It was fascinating to see how Abraham has been presented throughout history. His reputation and the portions of his story that were historically highlighted and debated said as much about the period in which they were written as it did about evo More...

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Oct 03, 2011

Yinnie rated it:

Published right after Sept 11, it looks at inter-faith interactions as well as the author's research journey through that prism. Feiler does a good job of looking at Abraham from the Jewish angle, the Christian angle and the Muslim angle separately before intertwining all the different views. With a sense of humor and willingness to explore uncertainties, it was a quick read. With the author's background, the Jewish sections are more fleshed out than the Christian and Muslim sections especial More...

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Dec 20, 2011

Ruth rated it:

i listened to this and to be honest i probably only caught half of it. it wasn't exactly attention grabbing. i always find it interesting to hear some of what other faiths think. He had some nice ideas and opinions on some things and other things seemed ridiculous and completely made up. a problem of way over thinking scriptures and reading way too much into them. at least in my opinion. i think the author was a jew but he mentions preaching so maybe he converted to christianity. not sure More...

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Dec 10, 2008

Jenifer rated it:

This book was recommended to me by my aunt, I think. I just wasn't that interested in it. It should have increased my understanding of the similarities and differences between Jews, Christians and Muslims. I just thought it was dry.
One quote that I liked; "The relationship between a person and another human being is what creates and allows for a relationship with God. If you're not capable of living with each other and getting along with each other, then you're not capable of having a More...

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Jun 03, 2011

Dan rated it:

An easy, entertaining collection of anecdotes and ponderings related to Abraham's various and ever-changing roles in the three Monotheistic religions as well as the author's suppositions as to Abraham's role in the modern world.

Feiler carefully avoids much discussion of other Hebrew characters who play large roles in the three religions like David or Elijah or even other characters in the Pentateuch like Moses who are universally important. To me, this came off as a bit disingenuo More...

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Dec 28, 2010

David rated it:

This book is rather popular, and is a quick read, but I found it rather blah. Feiler makes some interesting insights and speaks to intriguing people all in an effort to seek out the real Abraham in the hope that by looking to Abraham there can be some sort of religious peace between Islam, Christianity and Judaism. One major flaw was a lack of footnotes, which may be normal for popular level books, but is still a serious flaw. Feiler says the apostle Paul wrote the biblical book of Hebrews, a More...

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Sep 15, 2010

Scott rated it:

The author explores the influence of the Patriarch on the 3 major, monotheistic faiths. While listening to this book, I learned several things that I didn't know previoulsy, but a couple insights stood out to me.

I was aware that Abraham was raised in the land of the Chaldeans, but what I didn't realize was that these people were big-time astronomers. Philo wrote, “The Chaldeans exercised themselves most especially with astronomy, and attributed all things to the movement of the stars More...

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Jul 30, 2008

Jamie rated it:

This book is interesting from an cultural perspective, but I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anyone seriously interested in learning more about the historical figure Abraham. Although Feiler interviews several authorities from different faiths, the book is in no way a scholarly approach to the belief systems of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Rather, it is the journey of one man (who is rather unsure of his own beliefs) asking questions of other people about their belief systems, how they r More...

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Jun 04, 2008

Mike rated it:

One of my favorite passages from this fascinating bibliographic adventure (i.e. Bruce Feiler's Abraham) highlights the virtue and value of modesty or humility as far as our personal faith is concerned.

In this conversation, Feiler discusses the archetypal tale as related in the (3) major monotheistic scriptures with Hanan Eschel, one of the leading archaeologists of the first millenium B.C.E. (This excerpt appears on p. 135.)

Hanan explains to the author: "What I'm try More...

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Apr 20, 2008

Karen rated it:

This book was the first of the Feiler books I read. I read it in response to wanting a better understanding of the relationship among the three peoples of the Book. I had Muslim children in school for whom I worried after 9/ll.

I found hope in this book written by a Jew that good could come from such monumental evil. As a result I attended a salon locally where a Rabbi, an Imam and a Christian Minister shared their experiences with the Abrahamic stories in the "old testament" More...

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Aug 23, 2011

Rick rated it:

I enjoyed Feiler's book about the common origins of the three great monotheistic religions. He does his best to confirm that there is hope in finding common cause among the three, often violently conflicting religions. The extremists in each camp are doing everything they can to prevent this, but I believe it is possible and that it will occur. As with all people, these three groups have so much more in common than they have in conflict. If these three can move forward together in peace it s More...

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Oct 05, 2008

Dan rated it:

Feiler presents a well-researched, but ultimately flawed examination into the continual re-interpretation of the great patriarch.

Following his desire to understand his heritage of belief, Feiler visits Jerusalem, the well-spring of monotheism, speaking with the clergy of each tradition: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

His discussion of Judaism is sympathetic but aloof, as if he cannot quite reconcile the fact that generations of his ancestors took it as seriously as they More...

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Sep 17, 2010

Meg rated it:

Unity is at the heart of the Ishmael/Israel split because God promised to bless Ishmael and his sons even though he was banished to the desert. In the Koran, the story of Abraham and his son doesn't name the son. Muslims say it's Ishmael. Understanding the legacy of interpretation is the only way to have hope for the end of the conflict. It's the world's oldest family feud.
Abraham invented monotheism. He was mourned by both sons Gen. 22:7.

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Mar 03, 2009

Long Neck Lemur rated it:

Interesting view on a figure that has helped to shape three of the world's predominant religions. I don't know much about religion and this book helped make sense of some of the dynamics. Occasionally he would risk slipping into a 11th grade persuasion essay tone, but would always somehow pull into an interesting and relevant point just before the style lapse went too far.

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Oct 21, 2007

Cynthia rated it:

Bruce Feiler presents information about Abraham-what do we know about him, what do we know about him that comes from later interpretation. Not surprisingly, most of what is know about Abraham comes from interpretation after his death. The second half of the book presents the viewpoint of each religion - Jewish, Christian, Muslim - in regards to Abraham. There are similarities and differences. Ironically, as I was reading the book, John McLaughlin had a discussion about Abraham on his show McLaug More...

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Apr 10, 2009

Istop4books rated it:

Done with!! That's the best I can say. This book is not for the casual reader nor for the blissfully biblically ignorant, and I am both. I really struggled with it and found my mind wandering even though I really was trying to understand where the author was going with it. I think I would have better appreciated the condensed version or "Abraham for Dummies."

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May 05, 2011

Wendy rated it:

I really enjoyed the differing religious views on this common thread, as well as the similarities. I recently found out however that the author really glossed over the Latter Day Saints view which is not really the same as the Christian view he describes. An interesting starting point for discussions, especially with people of other faiths.

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Sep 18, 2008

Erin rated it:

An OK book about the use of Abraham in the world's three major religions: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim. A little dry a times. It also assumes a decent knowledge of the Bible and the life and stories of Abraham. The book is a bit of a travel log while we follow the author on a journey of self as he explores the character Abraham in the three religions. He shows that Abraham is used by all three to unify its adherents and then distinguish them from everyone. He suggests using Abraham as a spring More...

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Jun 25, 2008

Mara rated it:

This book caught my eye based on my overarching interest in how to bridge gaps between people's of the world and, increasingly, people within our immediate communities. Not being a religious scholar or practitioner I found this book very accessible and informative as a means to review some of the fundamental beliefs at the heart of the three monotheistic faiths (Chrisitianity, Islam, and Judaism). While more complex than this summary could fully explore I found this to be an overall optimistic More...

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Oct 23, 2011

Ashley rated it:

This book didn't sit well with my spirit...I was really interested in it because I think it is interesting how 3 major religions came from one man and his offspring. There were some very interesting parts but he quoted the Bible wrong on multiple occasions and there was just something that didn't sit well with me so if the Holy Spirit is telling me to turn it off (I was listening to the audio version) than I will listen...

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Sep 08, 2011

Asma rated it:

i really enjoyed reading it. as someone like me curious about historical events it satisfied some of what i was wondering about. it also gives the reader an insight of the three main religions. it describes some of the muslims and jews caltures. i felt that the religions of the book has many things in common specially judism and islam.

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