Abrahamic Studies - Dallas International University

06/15/2023

How does Ishmael fit in the purposes of God? Is he bad or is he blessed?
Read "The Role of Ishmael in the Divine Drama - Act 1,' the first of a two-part article by a Dallas International University professor:
Part 1 is available online at

Processing Pain through Artistry: Old Testament Poetry of Exile and Ezekiel 19 Katie Hoogerheide Frost & Joshua L. Harper

03/18/2023

Should Christians support the aims and policies of the modern state of Israel because of divine promises in biblical prophecy? Check out the article on "Christian Zionism" by DIU professor, Mark Harlan at

08/18/2022

The Abraham Center no longer exists as a department. Abrahamic Studies faculty and courses are now in DIU's Applied Anthropology department. Direct inquiries to [email protected]

07/27/2021

Many people are troubled by the story of Noah and the flood. And rightly so—especially by modern standards, this God is a monster. I’ve often heard the question, “How can we call this God loving?” As Rachel Held Evans puts it, “Is God the good guy or the bad guy in this story?”

Looking at historical and literary context can help. Every ancient Near Eastern society had a flood story—the Sumerians, the Hittites, the Babylonians, everyone. (In Sumer’s story, the protagonist’s sons are even named Shem, Ham, and Japheth! Hmm, it’s like Abraham came from there and brought his stories with him… shocker!) The key difference is that in all of the other literature, the gods are trying to wipe out everyone. The protagonists (Gilgamesh and others) have to outsmart or trick the gods in order to survive.

By comparison, Genesis’s God is kinder and more merciful, not only warning the main character but also instructing him in how to save his family and the animals. But in destroying everyone else, by modern standards, this God is still not great… but we find that in most eras of history. If we judge another era by today’s standards, we’re going to be disappointed and sometimes horrified. It’s better to look at which direction the Bible is moving from the status quo of its day than the absolute point of where it is. Human consciousness evolves over time, and the Bible reflects this movement towards more benevolence.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks also comments that the glaring absence in the text is the fact that Noah does not beg God for mercy for his neighbors. When God tells Abraham he’s going to destroy S***m, Abraham starts bargaining. When God tells Cain He’s going to punish him, Cain protests that it’s too harsh. When God says He wants to destroy the Israelites for their sin and stubbornness, Moses appeals. The Hebrew Scriptures are full of people arguing against God for the sake of mercy, and God listening. Noah, by contrast, puts up no protest. Rabbi Sacks says that Noah is called a righteous man at the beginning of the story and never again afterwards—and his story ends in tragedy—because he does not intervene and ask God for mercy. His lack of compassion toward his fellow man begins the downturn of his story.

(Information from BEMA Discipleship podcast and “Covenant & Conversation” by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks)

06/09/2021

The Jewish people have a long and difficult history in the country of Ukraine. Jews have lived in Ukraine from the 9th century, and in 1918 when the Ukrainian People’s Republic was founded, they accounted for one-third of the country’s population. (Yiddish was even one of the official languages.) Hasidic Judaism (a mystical path involving Kabbalah) was founded in Ukraine, and a rich Jewish culture flourished there.

But there have been many tragic periods for Jews in Ukraine as well. In the year 1030, an army of Cossacks massacred Jewish people as well as Christian theological minorities. In 1648-9, an estimated 15,000-30,000 Jews were killed or imprisoned, destroying 300 Jewish communities. During the Russian Revolution and Civil War (1917-20), 31,071 Jews were killed. The number of Jewish people murdered during World War II and German occupation was 7 million.

Today there are still small Jewish communities in Ukraine, including some messianic congregations, but the majority remaining emigrated to Israel after 1989, with the decline and fall of the USSR.

One of the reasons Abrahamic work is so important is to build relationships of trust, cooperation, and peace-building between the Abrahamic faiths. Looking at the history of Ukraine, one can see how much this is needed.

(The majority of the information in this post comes from Wikipedia.)

05/10/2021

It is commonly taught that Islam has no concept of “original sin” such as in Christianity. Gabriel Reynolds, noted scholar at Notre Dame, has written an article on original sin and the Qur’an. While he agrees that the concept in the Qur’an is not expressed how it is in Christianity (which is mostly developed in tradition, not Scripture), he proposes that the ideas may be more similar than they are often believed to be.

Humans’ “nafs” (soul) is said to tempt them and lead them astray, but otherwise the devil is responsible—he is portrayed as the sworn enemy of humans since before Adam and Eve’s sin in the garden. It seems he hates them because God esteemed humans above him, while he considers himself a superior creature.

The Qur’an confirms the tendency towards sin in all humans, particularly in its “punishment stories.” It reminds the people listening that all around them, they can see the ruins of destroyed civilizations—those of people who disobeyed God. Interestingly, thought, it says that non-human animals glorify God. It seem that humans are the only animal shown to be categorically sinful… partially, it seems, in consequence of Adam’s sin.

(For the article, see “Original Sin and the Qur’an” on academia.edu, posted by Gabriel Said Reynolds.)

04/05/2021

Last week the Catholic and Protestant Christian communities celebrated Holy Week, spanning from Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem to his crucifixion and resurrection. Jesus celebrated Passover with his disciples the night he was arrested, and added a new aspect to the liturgy—breaking the bread and drinking the cup, as always, but with new meanings.

In the Passover seder, the bread is broken to symbolize the breaking of affliction and bo***ge, leading to freedom. Now the same bread is broken to symbolize the “breaking” of Jesus’ body, leading to a different kind of freedom. The Jews drink four cups of wine at Passover, each symbolizing an action of God in Exodus: “I will bring you out… I will deliver you… I will redeem you… I will take you to Myself” (Exodus 6:6-7). The third of these four, the Cup of Redemption, now also symbolizes the blood of the New Covenant.

Photo from: https://www.learnreligions.com/passover-the-four-cups-of-wine-2076514

03/28/2021

Chag sameach! (Happy Passover!)

Yesterday, Passover began. Near the beginning of a Passover seder, the seder leader takes the middle of the three matzah stacked on the table and breaks it. While doing this, he or she says, “This is the lechem oni—the bread of affliction—which our forefathers ate in the land of Egypt.” (See Deuteronomy 16:2-3.)

The larger half of the broken matzah is hidden, and the children spend the rest of the seder looking for it. All three Abrahamic faiths have a value for ‘searching for the hidden’—that is, God. This Passover tradition also relates to the messiah, as the Jewish community is still waiting for the revealing of the messiah, while the Christian and Islamic communities are waiting for the return of Jesus, who they accept as messiah.

By the end of the seder, the “bread of affliction” is now referred to as the “bread of freedom.” That’s what happen when affliction is broken: it becomes freedom.

(Photo from https://www.reconstructingjudaism.org/passover-box/yahatz.)

03/17/2021

Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians makes several connections between Adam and Jesus: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.” By associating Jesus with Adam here and elsewhere, Paul is making assertions of cosmic significance for Jesus’ life and work.

The Early Church fathers brought a feminine balance to this focus. Justin Martyr (d. 165) wrote, “He became man by the Virgin, in order that the disobedience which proceeded from the serpent might receive its destruction in the same manner in which it derived its origin. For Eve, who was a virgin and undefiled, having conceived the word of the serpent, brought forth disobedience and death. But the Virgin Mary received faith and joy…”

Irenaeus (c. 130-202) wrote that Eve was disobedient and thus became the cause of death “both to herself and to the entire human race.” But Mary’s obedience became “the cause of salvation, both to herself and the whole human race.”

Tertullian (c. 160-240) added the idea that both women “conceived” by means of words—Eve believed the word of the serpent unto death, and Mary believed the word of the angel unto life and conceived Jesus by God’s word.

The list of Church fathers who wrote similarly is long, but most interesting is their desire to include women in God’s plan of salvation.

(Ideas from Stephen Benko, The Virgin Goddess: Studies in the Pagan and Christian Roots of Mariology; picture from https://illustratedprayer.com/2017/12/05/mary-comforts-eve/.

02/26/2021

Purim Sameach!

Yesterday and today the Jewish community worldwide is celebrating Purim, a feast in honor of Esther and God’s saving of the Jewish community in the Persian Empire. The day before the feast is a day of fasting, commemorating the fast Esther and her people engaged in to ask God to save them from the schemes of Haman.

Purim celebrations often include a comedic-dramatic reenactment of the story, where the audience cheers for Esther and Mordecai (our heroes) and boos Haman (the villain) every time their names are mentioned.

And, of course, food. Lots of food!

(Photo from https://readthespirit.com/religious-holidays-festivals/tag/purim/)