MORE RELIGIOUS NONSENSE

I found this article in my local paper:

Focus on Abraham unites 3 religions on a path to peace
By Eric Swedlund
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona Published: 12.25.2006

Heeding God's call, Abraham embarked on a journey to a new land, where a covenant with God, believers say, made him the patriarch of Jews, Muslims and Christians, celebrated for his faithfulness today by nearly half the world.
That same path through the Middle East is drawing new attention as a way to ultimately inspire and promote reconciliation for his children.
The Abraham Path Initiative calls for a renewed focus on the journey itself as a way to emphasize the shared ancestry of three often divided faiths. The group hopes to draw people to the region to retrace Abraham's footsteps and spiritually connect with a prophet known for his hospitality as well as his faith.

Let's take a closer look at this Abraham fellow and his dysfunctional family. (All citations from the Revised Standard Version).

First, Abraham committed incest by marrying his half-sister, Sarah (GEN 20:12). Nahor, Abraham's brother, also committed incest by marrying his first cousin (GEN 11:29). When Abraham went to Egypt, he lied about his relationship with Sarah by telling people she was his sister. The Pharoah took Sarah as a concubine and brought down the wrath of the Lord because she was in fact Abraham's wife (GEN 12:17). Because Sarah was infertile, she let Abraham knockup Hagar, her Egyptian slave (GEN 16:4).

Sarah later complained that Hagar was now treating her disrespectfully (GEN 16:5-6) and Abraham let her treat Hagar so harshly that Hagar ran away. GOD decided to intervene and told Hagar to return to Sarah. Hagar's son was called Ishmael and he was Abraham's first born. Not content with this result, GOD meddled again and made Sarah pregnant with Isaac. Isaac would receive Abraham's patrimony instead of Ishmael (GEN 17:16-21). In this section, we also note that Abraham was a slaveholder (GEN 17: 23) and in a later section, that he had children by his concubines (GEN 25:6). Later, Sarah convinces Abraham to banish Hagar and her son Ishmael,leaving them to the mercy of the desert (GEN 21:10-16).

Lot, Abraham's nephew, was willing to protect two angels by giving a crowd his two virgin daughters to do with as they pleased (GEN 19:8). Lot's two daughters got Lot drunk and fucked him, resulting in a child by each one. (GEN 19:32-38).