By Beth Peltola

A popular and recently invented phrase: ‘The Three Abrahamic Religions’ takes three religions, with two very different views of God, and tries to combine them into one similar entitiy.

Two are close: Modern Judaism and Islam with their current ‘monotheistic tendencies’, the oneness of God at their centre. While the other, Christianity, unswervingly holds to the ancient Israeli vision of God - the Highest, and the King who is seen, and the Spirit who empowers.

A phrase invented within the last 100 years to describe ancient religions might guide many ignorant of the history and religious texts of those religions, but it doesn’t point to truth. the ‘Abrahamic religions’ has a political background, and it undergirds the ideals of secular pluralism - simplifying religions into a manageable oneness. Ridding them of distinctions, convictions and societal influence.

Human beings might invent terms and phrases to control belief and narrative, but there is only one problem with this. God is who God is, no matter what we try to invent to fit the smaller visions of modern thought.

Many in the modern world might like a general vision of ‘a god’ but religious people rarely just believe in ‘a god’. Muslims follow Allah, Hindus will choose family gods, such as Oum, or Krishna, Christians follow the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. There is no similarity between Allah and the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Allah might be similar to Oum - an unknown unseen deity, and Muhammad might be similar to Krishna, a seen being to revere. But none are like the Father in Heaven, or His Son who walks with His people, or the Holy Spirit who points people to Jesus.

To say all the gods are the same is similar to saying every human being is the same. We don’t walk around saying to each other: “hey human”. That is belittleing to the value of each human being. We wouldn’t even call our pets ‘hey dog’, ‘he cat’. We love them enough to give them names. So how much more our children, and how much more God! We have names, characters and behaviour, which distinguishes us from each other. Those things inform everyone about who we are. God too has a name, character and behaviour. Each religion is clear on this, and their visions of God are poles apart.

Do all religions pray to Abraham’s God?
What is Abraham’s God like?
Who is Abraham’s God?
And here is the bigger question: Do we share the same God?

Who IS Abraham’s God?

Who did Abraham speak with, love, obey and worship?
Is it Allah of the Qur’an? An unseen, unknowable deity who demands obedience with the hope of spending eternity in a garden, where he will not dwell.

Or is it the Lord of modern day Judaism? A monotheistic being, unknown to the ancient prophets, such as Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos and ruling Kings, such as David.

What does the first book of Moses, Genesis, tell us?

The God we can rely on
Let’s start at the very beginning (a ‘Sound of Music’ song just popped into mind). The first chapter of the Bible provides a brief glimpse into a conversation God is having.

God has delighted in creating the heavens and the earth (we see this from the book of Job and the book of Psalms) and now God discusses what His next move of creative activity will be:

“Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female, He created them. Then God blessed them, and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it…” Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.” (Genesis 1:26-27, 31)

That’s a whopping great statement to make about human beings…

‘in the image of God He created him; male and female, He created them’

We are made in the image of our Creator! Ao who is this Creator?

A Christian knows whose image they are made in. That is why Christians reading this will find ambiguous references to God strange. God is not ambiguous, with changeable names depending on what religion a person wishes to pursue.

In our blog about ‘The Trinity’ we referred to God’s names and descriptions, with affection, like most Christians do. Just by using His names, reveals God is not just what anyone wants Him to be, and more so as we look into Abraham’s life and friendship with God - His God behaved and acted in specific ways. When He met with Abraham He had a purpose and through His conversations, we can learn Who this God is.

Abraham’s family

Unfortunately, like Abraham, we have not ruled the way we were supposed to, and yet that does not change whose image we are made in. We were originally made ‘good’, but a quick perusal of the world, of every peoples, and every nation, will not trigger the word ‘good’ in our minds. Something has gone wrong.

Abraham’s actions were also not always good. And yet God promises to Abraham that the whole earth will be blessed through his offspring? Who are his offspring? Does that mean us? Can we join Abraham’s family? How on earth is that possible? And why would that be a good thing? Whats more, which God was speaking to Abraham? The one from modern day Judaism, Islam or Christianity? Are ‘the three Abrahamic religions’ automatically ‘of Abraham’? What about the less known religions which claim to be Abrahamic? When did this idea of the three (or more) “Abrahamic religions” arise? Why is it important to respond to this question?

Let’s travel through part of Abraham’s life and his family dynamics, how God reveals who He is as he interacts with him, to explore who Abraham’s God is.

More to come!