Abraham Notes

Part of this week's journaling experience was to wikipedia or google Abraham and take some notes. I know, I know...homework. Anyways, below are some of my notes taken. Feel free to add some of yours as well.

-T-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham

Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the Bahá'í Faith are sometimes referred to as the "Abrahamic religions", because of the role Abraham plays in their holy books and beliefs. In the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, Abraham is described as a patriarch blessed by God (the Jewish people called him "Father Abraham"), and promised great things. Jews and Christians consider him father of the people of Israel through his son Isaac; Muslims regard him as the father of the Arabs through his son Ishmael. In Christian belief, Abraham is a model of faith, and his intention to obey God by offering up Isaac is seen as a foreshadowing of God's offering of his son, Jesus. In Islam, Abraham obeyed God by offering up Ishmael and is considered to be one of the most important prophets sent by God. In the Bahá'í Faith, Bahá'u'lláh, its founder, is said to be a descendant of Abraham through his wife Keturah; Bahá'ís see Abraham as a Manifestation of God.

The traditional view in Christianity is that the chief promise made to Abraham in Genesis 12 is that through Abraham's seed, all the people of earth would be blessed. Notwithstanding this, John the Baptist specifically taught that merely being of Abraham's seed was no guarantee of salvation. The promise in Genesis is considered to have been fulfilled through Abraham's seed, Jesus. It is also a consequence of this promise that Christianity is open to people of all races and not limited to Jews.