Exploring the power of Abraham's legacy

The story of the offering stands as "the most celebrated" and "most combustible" episode. All three religions "have chosen to place the narrative of a father preparing to kill a son at the heart of their self-understanding," he says. Some Jews in medieval times even found courage in the story to kill themselves and their children rather than be forced to convert. Christians see the story as foreshadowing the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Muslims see it as symbolizing total surrender to God, and commemorate it in the Feast of the Sacrifice, the final rite of the hajj.

The most sobering question, however, is whether the offering story serves most as a model for holiness or for fanaticism. Does it play a part in today's suicide bombings? And what is the contemporary import of the Ishmael-Isaac rivalry?

The author, who is Jewish, makes his way to prominent sites in Abrahamic history, from the desert of Beersheba to Jerusalem to the patriarch's tomb in Hebron, and his conversations with imams, bishops, and rabbis offer reason for both discouragement and hope.

He finds some encouragement in the perception that in the 21st century, "the battle for God is approaching stalemate." People realize that one religion is not going to extinguish all others. While some faithful still hold on to triumphalism, others recognize the need for a new kind of interaction among the faiths.

Abraham, Feiler decides, "is like a vast underground aquifer that stretches from Mesopotamia to the Nile, from Jerusalem to Mecca, from Kandahar to Kansas City. He's an ever-present, ever-flowing stream that represents the basic desire all people have to form a union with God."

In every generation, people have told themselves stories of Abraham for their times, and now we can too, he proposes: "We can, like Abraham, leave behind our native places – our comfortable, even doctrinaire traditions – and set out for an unknown location, whose dimensions may be known only to God but whose mandate is to be a place where God's blessing is promised to all."

In his view, the need is so great that the writer and his publisher have set out to spark informal interfaith discussions across the US, supported by a professional study guide (www.brucefeiler.com). These gatherings, called Abraham Salons, are forming in local houses of worship, libraries, schools, and homes. A two-week national conversation is planned for Nov. 8-24, and Abraham Summits involving prominent figures are being scheduled in major cities.

Feiler's hopeful perspective is far from naive. This wonderfully readable book inspires because it grapples honestly with how all three faiths have reinterpreted their original truths, often as a means to separate themselves from others. That realistic understanding provides a basis for fostering genuine communication.

• Jane Lampman writes about religion and ethics for the Monitor.

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