The Children of Abraham
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Francis Edward Peters
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With contributions by:
Francis Edward Peters
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Preface by:
Francis Edward Peters
About this book
F.E. Peters, a scholar without peer in the comparative study of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, revisits his pioneering work. Peters has rethought and thoroughly rewritten his classic The Children of Abraham for a new generation of readers-at a time when the understanding of these three religious traditions has taken on a new and critical urgency.
He began writing about all three faiths in the 1970s, long before it was fashionable to treat Islam in the context of Judaism and Christianity, or to align all three for a family portrait. In this updated edition, he lays out the similarities and differences of the three religious siblings with great clarity and succinctness and with that same remarkable objectivity that is the hallmark of all the author's work.
Peters traces the three faiths from the sixth century B.C., when the Jews returned to Palestine from exile in Babylonia, to the time in the Middle Ages when they approached their present form. He points out that all three faith groups, whom the Muslims themselves refer to as "People of the Book," share much common ground. Most notably, each embraces the practice of worshipping a God who intervenes in history on behalf of His people.
The book's text is direct and accessible with thorough and nuanced discussions of each of the three religions. Footnotes provide the reader with expert guidance into the highly complex issues that lie between every line of this stunning edition of The Children of Abraham. Complete with a new preface by the author, this Princeton Classics edition presents this landmark study to a new generation of readers.
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Frontmatter
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Contents
vii -
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Preface to the Princeton Classics Edition
ix -
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Preface
xiii -
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Introduction. The Scriptures: Some Preliminary Notions
1 -
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Chapter one. The Promise and the Heirs
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Chapter two. A Contested Inheritance
21 -
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Chapter three. Community and Hierarchy
41 -
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Chapter four. The Law
67 -
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Chapter five. Scripture and Tradition
85 -
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Chapter six. The Worship of God
103 -
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Chapter seven. Renunciation and Aspiration
116 -
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Chapter eight. Thinking and Talking about God
138 -
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Epilogue: Sacred History
167 -
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Notes
173 -
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Glossary
213 -
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Index
227
