The Testing of Abraham – Held on Sunday, January 06, 2013

Gen. 22: 01 – 19 – The Testing of Abraham

Preview

After a two week holiday break we returned to our study of Genesis.  But as usual there were two topics that we dealt with prior to reading our passage.  During the break I had read Creator God Evolving World by Cynthia Crysdale and Neil Ormerod, Fortress Press, c. 2013. Given all of the discuss that ensued around the biblical account of creation, I found this book an excellent account of the tremendous intellectual Catholic tradition.  It affirms the transcendant nature of our God and both embraces and critiques the evolutionary science of Neo-Darwinism.  Since it has six chapters [see below], it seemed well suited for a Lenten series.  I offered to do a guided reading of this college level text for anyone who might be interested.  I was pleased to discover that more than a handful of those present expressed an interest.  For those who are reading this web account, the six chapter headings are:

1. God, Religion, and Science
2. Evolving World: Regularity and Probability
3. Creator God
4. Evolving World: Purpose and Meaning
5. Human Freedom and God’s Providence
6. Implications for Human Living: Moral Agency and Emergent Probability

It’s available at Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Creator-Evolving-World-Cynthia-Crysdale/dp/0800698770/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1357916782&sr=1-1&keywords=creator+god+evolving+world

In discussing the book I mentioned that one of a number of key notions in Creator God Evolving World is the philosophical distinction between primary and secondary causality.  This distinction lies at the very heart of an intellectual approach to the question we dealt with in Comments on this site over the previous two weeks concerning the “What to say in the face of Senseless Violence.”  Commonly when confronted by the brute facts of such senseless violence revealed in the Newtown tragedy, other such events that have occurred all too often, as well as natural disasters such Hurricane Sandy, the tsunami that devastated Japan, the earthquakes that wreak havoc, destruction, etc., etc., we ask why did God allow such events to happen. Even though the victims of events such as these need care and compassion but ultimately there is a hunger for meaning and a critical component in constructing that meaning is to understand how God actually is the cause of all that happens save sin for which we are responsible alone.

This topic lead to an exchange among many of the group on the guns, controls, and violence.  It would take us too far a field for me to summarize that discussion.  However, one point that emerged more than once has particular significance.  As a group we have been able to create a climate in which each individual seems to feel the freedom to say whatever is on their mind.  It is this climate that brings them back again and again.  I personally believe that such freedom of expression is absolutely essential if we are ever to discern God’s call in our life.

Background

In turning to our passage, The Testing of Abraham, Gen. 22: 01 – 19, I was struck that the version on line failed, in my opinion, to convey the literary power of the story.  As an alternative, I read an account from a Jewish version – http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/01-gen-nets.pdf. 

Comparison with Gen. 12: 01 – 04. To begin, this passage mirrors the account of God’s initial call to Abraham, Gen. 12: 01 – 04.  There God is asking Abraham to forsake his past and now God is asking Abraham to forsake his future.  In both accounts God, despite the lack of almost any human evidence, provide.  In each case Abraham is asked to travel to a location unknown to him but to which God will show him.  This passage is particularly poignant in the light of having just sent his first born, Ishmael, with Hagar into the dessert and a fate unknown to Abraham. 

Literary Highlights. I want to highlight as well a few literary points not as apparent in the New American Bible on the USCCB website   http://www.usccb.org/bible/genesis/22, in vv. 2, 12, and 16 there is the haunting phrase, “your son, your only son.”  There is the near incredible silence of Abraham, except in v. 1 when in response to God, Abraham says, “Here I am.”  Then in v. 7 in response to Isaac, Abraham says, “Here I am.”  And once again in v. 11 responding to God Abraham says, “Here I am.”  There is more but enough for now.

Our Questions

For the sake of completeness I will include in our blog the basic questions that guide us in hearing the passages we study each week.

1. First who are the characters and what role does each play? To the extent that we can identify

• what the characters say and do, or
• don’t say and do but we would expect them to do so, and
• finally when they enter into the passage and leave it

We can more easily and more accurately know what their role is from the point of view of the author and / or the editor of the passage.

1. Second, the “when” question is quite complicated and again for the sake of completeness; there is

• The “when” within the story / passage itself,
• The “when” of the editor, and most importantly,
• The “when” of our life at the time we are actually reading / studying the passage.   

1. Third, wWhat is the plot, the point of the passage?
2. And finally, because each passage is at one and the same time the word of human beings and the Word of God, there is revealed the values that are part and parcel of the human beings in their time and place and there is the values revealed by God for the believer.  Our final question is to discern which values in the passage are attractive to us, we are drawn to and which are we repulsed by, inclined to reject?  The more difficult task, if we do identify these two responses in us of the values revealed, which are of God and we are being challenged to embrace and which are not of God and we are being challenged to correct and develop.

My Refrain

Before we read though, let’s quiet ourselves, remember whatever we can from the background, our questions and, most importantly, pay attention to what happens inside of us as we read.

Reading of the passage http://www.usccb.org/bible/genesis/22.

Discussion Gen. 22:01 – 19 – The Testing of Abraham

In listening to the Jewish version Ken was struck with the difficulty in just following that translation.  This prompted him to ask a question about the original sources of any translation. The question is basic to what is called Textual Criticism.  What are the earliest biblical manuscripts [actual documents] that we have?  Research has identified “family” groups of extant documents; all of which are hundreds of years after the life of Christ, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_manuscript for an excellent overview of what we know at the present.

Rosemarie wondered what was going on in the mind of Isaac when all of this was happening. What did he know?  What was he feeling?  All are wonderful questions but our text tells us very little.  It is obvious that we want to know much more than the author has any interest in and that itself is a question, why? And it also requires a certain discipline to our questioning.  There are simply a host of questions we can ask that the bible doesn’t answer, at least, in a direct fashion.

Heber was so aware that when Abraham responds to Isaac’s observation that there is no lamb for the holocaust, God will provide, there was no evidence to support Abraham’s statement.  This lead us to recognize that so often, like Abraham, we simply don’t have any evidence to base on trust on except the word of God, that God is faithful.  Trust is easy until it isn’t and life does present many of us with times in which we question, wonder, and search for meaning.

I wanted to point out at this juncture in our discussion that in this account, God knew that he was testing Abraham, we the reader knows that God is testing Abraham but Abraham doesn’t know.  We, the readers / listeners know now in our present but it isn’t as though when life comes our way we know we are being tested.  This is why it is that we are asked to pray always so that when it comes and it will, we will be prepared.  This is why we are asked to gather with two or three because it is much easier when we are not alone.

Carol asked what was the setting in which the author, editor was writing; a question that puts the story in a context that we often overlook.  We know that this story must have been told originally, then written down, then woven into the biblical account.  Our best opinion is that the weaving into what we now have as the biblical account probably occurred after the exile.  As far as I know, the effort of the Jewish community to make sense of the defeat of the Northern Kingdom, the Southern Kingdom, the exile into Babylon, and return to the Land of Canaan is unique in human history.  The Jewish community didn’t turn to another God but rather affirmed that their God was the only God.  This was the birth of what we know call monotheism, the belief in one God; a transforming event in human history.

As always more occurred than I can write.  Another lively discussion time that happened all too quickly.

Your comments, observations, questions are welcomed.  See “comment” link below.