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I've mentioned the God Quest web site in previous posts. There are two writings there that I have mentioned before which look at the story of Isaac and Abraham along the same lines as Paul N from the Girardian Lectionary....the subject of the last post.
The Voice of the Good Shepherd says:
In the story of Abraham and the command to sacrifice his son Isaac, Abraham heard two “voices”—one voice demanding that Abraham “do it” and the other voice countermanding thusly, “do not lay your hand on the lad…” Abraham should have known something was up, as he could think on all the pagan nations who engaged in this vile practice. I have read many commentaries on this event—most filled with theological gyrations used to justify the ugly command to human sacrifice—but the fact remains, such a command does not fit with the nature of God, as we know it. The true God would never ask us to do something that is unlawful or destructive. Those who insist otherwise are the ones MacDonald referred to as those who “are in terror of contradicting the Bible. They make more of the Bible than of God, and so fail to find the truth of the Bible.”
And in another writing which also explores the "two gods in the OT" way of looking at things called "A Grand Experiment" the same author mentions the story briefly:
It took a while for Abraham to hear the true voice of God, duped before into believing it was “the Lord” who commanded him to murder his son.
I know this view is controversial and it can really get conservative Christians in quite an uproar. There are points made in these two articles (not specifically about the near sacrifice of Isaac but about the two voices of God/god in the OT) that are hard to ignore.
3 comments:
A few years ago I went to a worship seminar with a guy called Don Potter, and he told the story of how the Holy Spirit asked Him: "So who do you think commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son? After all, only pagans sacrifice their children to their gods".
Now I think that's interesting, coming from the mouth of charismatic leader. He said that the Lord didn't give him an anser on this, but he found it thought provoking.
I think you are really on to something here, even though I still think that some of the difficult issues in the OT can also be solved by looking closer at translations etc.
But I would agree that not everywhere were the scriptures mention that the Lord did something, that it was really Him.
And I am absolutley with George Mac Donald on this one. If all of us would have the courage he had, the christian faith would probably look a lot different than what one can generally observe.
Blessings,
Florian (Floyd)
Hi Floyd...
TM Floyd correct? I enjoy your posts there...especially since we are often on the same "side" of an issue. Have you read either of the articles I mentioned in this post from the God Quest site? They are very well written/thought out/researched articles. He has a half dozen or so on his site that he has written and others from different authors. Thanks for stopping by...and thanks for commenting.
Cindi.....
Yes that's right: TM Floyd. My real name is Florian as you might know, because I'm german. Its a long story how I ended up with the name 'Floyd' but most folks on TM know it.
I read some of the stuff you mentioned and liked it. Havn't read everything yet, but I think the guy is on to something. And he seems to be really into George MacDonald, whose writings I really enjoy.
Blessings,
Floyd
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