Meriweather
Not all who wander are lost
- Oct 21, 2014
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For me, the story itself is the fib - not the source of the voice in Abraham's head. I don't start from "belief" and go from there - I start from skepticism and seek. There's not enough rational evidence to conclude that Abraham, if he even existed, faced such a dilemma.
Jews retain stories of Abraham that are not Canon. Tradition has it that Abraham's family were makers/sellers of Totems, that is statuary of images that were believed to also contain the powers of the animal/image from which it was modeled. Each family/person had a Totem (or god) who protected and watched over them.
Abraham's experience of God was very different, unique at that time. His experience of God led him to believe that there were not many gods watching over a single individual or family; rather there was one God, watching over all.
At the time, there were also child sacrifices to the gods. Abraham's experience was that God desired so such sacrifice.
It appears that Abraham grew up with the belief of spirits protecting humans, and through his own experiences convinced many that there was one Spirit watching over all. Keep in mind this change in belief did not happen overnight. Notice how, "The God of Abraham" still carried the idea that this was Abraham's god, while others had their own.
I would argue that starting with skepticism turns into self-fulfilling prophecy. For example, starting with being skeptical that one cannot swim, one cannot understand math, humans cannot fly to the moon often ends up with a person not being able to swim, failing at math, or not even trying to reach the moon.
Why not start with possibility? It is possible I can swim, that I can understand math, that humans can reach the moon. I began with the possibility that everyone (myself included) can seek and find an experience with God, that He is also seeking an experience with us.