Overview

“Abrahamic religion” has long been a buzzword in ecumenical discourse. It is the notion that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, despite their profound differences, are united in their reverence for Abraham—not just as the progenitor of Israel, but as a universal father in the faith. Abraham’s Ashes offers a forceful critique of the biblical and Qur’anic views of Abraham, showing how at the heart of all prophetic religions lies an untenable myth of suprarational magical thinking about “revelation.” This myth involves communiqués to a privileged male from a mysterious patriarchal God who demands, and in the case of Jesus, actually receives the tribute of human sacrifice. This cruel story proves to be an apt introduction to the bizarre, contradictory, and oppressive fantasy known as monotheism.

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In Abraham's Ashes, Peter Heinegg commits the unpardonable sin of looking clear-eyed at one of the mainsprings of Western religious mythology and concluding, as any sane person, must, that what flows from this source is utter nonsense. Abraham's Ashes is brilliant, beautifully written, and wickedly funny. I highly recommend it to everyone who has ever wondered whether religious mythology deserves to be taken seriously. -- Raymond Martin, professor emeritus of philosophy, University of Maryland, College Park, author of Self-Concern (Cambridge University Press) and co-author of The Rise and Fall of Soul and Self (Columbia University Press)

In Abraham’s Ashes, Peter Heinegg commits the unpardonable sin of looking clear-eyed at one of the mainsprings of Western religious mythology and concluding, as any sane person, must, that what flows from this source is utter nonsense. Abraham’s Ashes is brilliant, beautifully written, and wickedly funny. I highly recommend it to everyone who has ever wondered whether religious mythology deserves to be taken seriously. -- Raymond Martin, professor emeritus of philosophy, University of Maryland, College Park, author of <I>Self-Concern</I> (Cambridge University Press) and co-author of <I>The Rise and Fall of Soul and Self</I> (Columbia University Press)

Author Information

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Peter Heinegg received an A.B. from Fordham University and a Ph.D. from Harvard University. He is a professor of English at Union College, Schenectady, New York, as well as an essayist, critic, and translator.

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