Abraham and His Historical Significance: The Planter, The Seed, The Roots

Abraham is a significant figure in history. Especially religious history. When it comes to history, I tend to think of it somewhat like a system of roots; there is one, beginning, central point (the seed) that everything stems off of to create a complex, diverse system of roots that is the history of the world. In this scenario, Abraham is the seed, and the roots are the rest of occurred/occurring religious history (in retrospect). According to Judaism, Abraham was the first Jew. It is an argument to make that Judaism was the earliest and is the oldest religion practice throughout humanity (certainly coming before Christianity and Islam, the other two main religions of the present day). However, going along with the argument proposing Judaism is (one of the) or (the) first religions to exist, Abraham can be classified as the first religious individual. Obviously, that title poses an enormous amount of historical significance, let alone religious (Judaic especially) history. Growing up diffused in a culture surrounded by beliefs, values, and concepts that he did not agree with or abide with, Abraham individually took action to replace the distorted religious societies which he was immersed in with ones that exercised/approached religion the way he felt was correct. He physically destroyed the “materialized” religion at hand and attempted to impose a more theoretical, rational, and faithful religion according to G-d. Although, being a minor religious force against a much stronger, popularized, and appealing religious power, Abraham’s revolutionary ideas and beliefs were immediately shut down. Left to say, this is almost a foreshadowing of Jewish history to come later as Jews become the minority in religious societies. Nevertheless, Abraham pursued his gut feeling and religious ideas that would alter the world of religion forever.

Partnering up with G-d, they established a religious force that would take history and change it forever. A sole man, with a core belief of believing in G-d, established one of the most powerful religions that humanity has/will ever see throughout history. He was not a product of society, but rather an individual who did the opposite of historically diffuse; he historically created, going against the gradient of religion and establishing a firm ground (planting the seed) which the three main religions of the modern world, over thousands of years later, would call as their history. His roots (offspring, pun intended) would then become the next central/beginning figures of two religions; his son Ishmael to Islam, and much farther down the roots system, Jesus to Christianity. Historically significant, Abraham would begin an incredibly long strand of religious-history makers just like him. He set the example and planted the seed (he’s the planter and the seed in this case), by which all others (the roots) would grow off of, learn from, and reflect upon/of when they participate in their religious practices and religion in general.