Description: with no reason to pretend; in no position to judge
This story is one of the most beautiful and complex stories in scripture.
Jewish and Christian Traditions Jewish scholars call this story “The Binding of Isaac.” Christian scholars call it “The Testing of Abraham.” These different traditions help us to see another vital difference of interpretation. Jewish readers see a concrete story of the relationship between God, Abraham, and Isaac. Christian readers see a spiritual story about the relationship between God and humanity.
The Chrsitian tradition seems to sacrifice the heart of the story for a broader theological principle. We might well learn from Jewish tradition and think about our own concrete, physical, real relationships with young people in our care, whom we see as our future, and what it is like for us to trust God will provide for them when find ourselves in Abraham’s position, feeling like we risk sacrificing them on altars of our own fashioning.