Originally posted by FMF
I think the question I am raising here is to what degree does this analogy shed light on the nature of the division between the followers of the Abrahamic God.
The aim is not to minimize the doctrinal differences between Jews, Muslims and Christians, only to analogise their commonality.
The analogy might carry over to other secular events for example:
One group believes Lavoisier discovered oxygen.
One group believes Priestley discovered oxygen.
One group believes Scheele discovered oxygen.
The matter hinges on historical records and perhaps a view of what it means to be a discoverer and which and when if any of these men did what that means.
However WRT to the 3 religions, I believe it necessitates some research on the role of Abraham as the first Jew (Judaism), an important ancestor of Jesus (Christianity) or a prophet in the lineage of Mohammed (Islam). And then, what question is to be asked? What is the analogy to the "definition of discovery" that is pivotal in the discussion of oxygen? It is not which religion Abraham truly "founded" if some sense of "founded" applies in all three cases, is it?
Obviously, for the people of all three religions, Abraham truly founded
my religion and not the others.🙂
This could be analogized to oxygen: The French, English and Swedish will each see their compatriot as the true discoverer of oxygen, depending on the meaning of "discoverer." (This is an overstatement. Most people don't care.)