The Abraham-Isaac Story

Philosophy 101: W. O'Meara: Writing Assignment

Read from the following material and answer the questions fully:

Problem : Assume you are Sidney and Martha's best friend. They ask you for advice about God's command that they sacrifice their son Isaac. They have been reading the story of Abraham and Isaac in the Bible and have become convinced that God has appeared to them and asked them to sacrifice their son just as Abraham was commanded by God.

Book of Genesis: 'After these things, God tempted Abraham, and said to him: Abraham, Abraham.’ And he answered: Here I am. He said to him: Take thy only begotten son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and go into the land of vision: and here thou shalt offer him for an holocaust upon one of the mountains which I will shew thee. So Abraham rising up in the night, saddled his ass: and took with him two young men, and Isaac his son: and 'when he had cut wood for the holocaust he went his way to the place which God had commanded him. And on the third day, lifting up his eyes, he saw the place afar off. And he said to his young men: Stay you here with the ass: I and the boy will go with speed as far as yonder, and after we have worshipped, will return to you. And he took the wood for the holocaust, and laid it upon Isaac his son: and he himself carried'in his hands fire and a sword. And as they two went on together, Isaac'said to his father: My father. And he answered: What wilt thou, son? 'Behold, saith he, fire and wood: where is the victim for the holocaust? And Abraham said: God will provide himself a victim for an holocaust, my son. So they went on together. And they came to the place which God had shewn him, where he built an altar, and laid the wood in order upon it: and when he had bound Isaac his son, he laid him on the altar upon the pile of wood. And he put forth his hand and took the sword, to sacrifice his son. And behold an angel of the Lord from heaven called to him, saying: Abraham, Abraham. And he answered: Here I am. And he said to him: Lay not thy hand upon the boy, neither do thou anything to him: now I know that thou fearest God, and hast not spared thy only begotten son for my sake. Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw behind his back a ram amongst the briers sticking fast by the horns, which he took and offered for a holocaust instead of his son. And he called the name of that place, The Lord seeth. Whereupon even to this day it is said: In the mountain the Lord will provide. And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven saying: "By my own self have I sworn, saith the Lord: because thou hast done this thing, and hast not spared thy only begotten son for my sake: I will bless thee, and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is by the sea shore: thy seed shall possess the gates of their enemies. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because thou hast obeyed my voice."

What advice would you give Sidney and Martha?

Please answer questions based on how much weight should be given to the following factors:

a. great; b. much; c. some; d. little; e. none

1. Religious faith is so personal that no one can advise another in this problem.

2. Whatever God commands an individual to do is right for that person to do.

3. God would be contradicting the nature of divine love if God were to ask that Sidney and Martha kill their son in order to prove their faith in God.

4. As the supreme author of life, God has the moral right to order the sacrifice of Isaac.

5. When religious belief contradicts a reasonable moral command such as that parents should love their children, then that religious belief should be seriously questioned and even changed.

© William O’Meara, 1997

Abraham (Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913, with Additional Commentary by Modern Scripture Scholars Who Accept Critical-Historical Scholarship)

William O'Meara's World of Philosophy and Religion