The Story of Abraham
Genesis 17: 3 - 8
This is God's promise to Abraham. And in a later verse, he promises to give a child to Abraham's wife Sarah, who was very old at the time.
And here is the problem of the ages. Ishmael, Abraham's first son, is not the child of Promise, in the NIV Bible, it states that God says Isaac will be the child of promise. And from these two children, Ishmael and Isaac, to very different religions arise. Muslims follow Ishmael, and Christians follow Isaac to Jacob and the twelve tribes of Egypt.
This is the passage that sends Ishmael away with his mother Hagar. Even here it says that God promised nations to Ishmael. And out in the desert as Hagar is walking, God comes to her when they are out of water. And he promises to help her and Ishmael make it and he will make Ishmael a leader.
So there is the breaking off of the two religions. Christianity at this point loses the genealogy of Ishmael and follows Isaac. I would imagine that the reverse is true of Islam. So because Ishmael was not the son of Sarah and Abraham, he was not the child of Promise, and therefore the people of Islam, from a Christian stand point, are not God's choosen people.
And that's one girls understanding. This comes up because my husband and I were discussing at lunch the Israeli / Lebanon / Gaza situation and I started asking why everyone disliked the Jewish people. So we started wondering out loud the story of Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac so we called my esteemed brother-in-law the preacher and he straigthened us out. Though he got his story confused with a later story regarding children of Jacob. But he had the main points right. Ishmael was already born at the time that God came to Abraham.
A biased source, to be sure, but interestingly TheBible.Net points out that the Koran has historical inaccuracies and points to a venegeful and intolerant way of life versuses the Bible which promotes love, understanding and morals.
And this site here has a side by side comparison of what each religion believes. Interesting to look at if you're ever curious. And here's the part that I value so much:
And in world news it looks as if Iran is shedding some of its "We didn't do
that" attitude and saying "No Part of Israel is Safe." I'm not quite sure what side of the fence it puts me on to say this, but I think Iran is actively trying to engage a Middle Eastern war. And Hizballah, ever the lap dog, is chomping at the bit to make sure WWIII ignites.
Wonderful. Welcome to my nightmare. But who is the "Supreme Leader," I wonder? Ahlmanijad? Great. And we aren't in this conflict yet, bucko. And I think it's great and all that you have 2,000 people (gee two whole thousand?!) but um ... have you seen the numbers on the size of the US Military? Something like, oh I don't know, 1.4 million people serve in our military. So your 2,000 is a fraction of a percent of our military. But who's counting. It's just that before you got spouting off about how great you are maybe you should look at who you're talking to. It's like an ant screaming down an elephant. My guess is the elephant gives a little "humph" before stepping on the ant. We're second only to China in military size. And we're second to no one on military technology and expense.
But maybe I'm biased. But those are some facts aren't they? I like this chart too ...
Just thought I'd post some info on here today, for anyone that's interested. This whole thing makes me think of a line in Clueless, "But I thought they declared Peace in the Middle East?"
3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God."
This is God's promise to Abraham. And in a later verse, he promises to give a child to Abraham's wife Sarah, who was very old at the time.
Genesis 17: 17 - 22
17 Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a undred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?" 18 And Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!"
19 Then God said, "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year." 22 When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.
And here is the problem of the ages. Ishmael, Abraham's first son, is not the child of Promise, in the NIV Bible, it states that God says Isaac will be the child of promise. And from these two children, Ishmael and Isaac, to very different religions arise. Muslims follow Ishmael, and Christians follow Isaac to Jacob and the twelve tribes of Egypt.
Genesis 19: 8 - 13
8 The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. 9 But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, 10 and she said to Abraham, "Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac."
11 The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. 12 But God said to him, "Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. 13 I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring."
This is the passage that sends Ishmael away with his mother Hagar. Even here it says that God promised nations to Ishmael. And out in the desert as Hagar is walking, God comes to her when they are out of water. And he promises to help her and Ishmael make it and he will make Ishmael a leader.
So there is the breaking off of the two religions. Christianity at this point loses the genealogy of Ishmael and follows Isaac. I would imagine that the reverse is true of Islam. So because Ishmael was not the son of Sarah and Abraham, he was not the child of Promise, and therefore the people of Islam, from a Christian stand point, are not God's choosen people.
And that's one girls understanding. This comes up because my husband and I were discussing at lunch the Israeli / Lebanon / Gaza situation and I started asking why everyone disliked the Jewish people. So we started wondering out loud the story of Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac so we called my esteemed brother-in-law the preacher and he straigthened us out. Though he got his story confused with a later story regarding children of Jacob. But he had the main points right. Ishmael was already born at the time that God came to Abraham.
A biased source, to be sure, but interestingly TheBible.Net points out that the Koran has historical inaccuracies and points to a venegeful and intolerant way of life versuses the Bible which promotes love, understanding and morals.
And this site here has a side by side comparison of what each religion believes. Interesting to look at if you're ever curious. And here's the part that I value so much:
IX. TREATMENT OF WOMEN
A. ISLAM...
1. Men have more rights than women - Qur'an 2:228
2. Women do not attend public prayers at the Mosque
3. A husband may punish a wife by withholding what is due, and then beat her if necessary - Qur'an 4:34
B. CHRISTIANITY...
1. Men and women are fellow heirs of the grace of life - 1 Pe 3:7; Ga 3:28-29
2. Women do not have leadership roles in the church - 1 Co 11:3; 14:34-37;
2 Ti 2:11-12 3. Forbids withholding what is due, and requires treating the wife with tenderness and understanding - 1 Co 7:3-5; 1 Pe 3:7
And in world news it looks as if Iran is shedding some of its "We didn't do
that" attitude and saying "No Part of Israel is Safe." I'm not quite sure what side of the fence it puts me on to say this, but I think Iran is actively trying to engage a Middle Eastern war. And Hizballah, ever the lap dog, is chomping at the bit to make sure WWIII ignites.
"We have 2,000 volunteers who have registered since last year," said
Iranian Hizbollah's spokesman Mojtaba Bigdeli, speaking by telephone from the
central seminary city of Qom."They have been trained and they can become fully armed. We are ready to dispatch them to every corner of the world to jeopardise Israel and America's interests. We are only waiting for the Supreme Leader's green light to take action. If America wants to ignite World War Three ... we welcome it," he said.
Wonderful. Welcome to my nightmare. But who is the "Supreme Leader," I wonder? Ahlmanijad? Great. And we aren't in this conflict yet, bucko. And I think it's great and all that you have 2,000 people (gee two whole thousand?!) but um ... have you seen the numbers on the size of the US Military? Something like, oh I don't know, 1.4 million people serve in our military. So your 2,000 is a fraction of a percent of our military. But who's counting. It's just that before you got spouting off about how great you are maybe you should look at who you're talking to. It's like an ant screaming down an elephant. My guess is the elephant gives a little "humph" before stepping on the ant. We're second only to China in military size. And we're second to no one on military technology and expense.
But maybe I'm biased. But those are some facts aren't they? I like this chart too ...
Just thought I'd post some info on here today, for anyone that's interested. This whole thing makes me think of a line in Clueless, "But I thought they declared Peace in the Middle East?"
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