Discover Challenge

Conventional Wisdom

This week, go against the grain.

In the header image, artist Antonio Guijarro Morales reinterprets the famous Diego Velázquez painting “Las Meninas” with anthropomorphic cats as the subjects.

In “The Binding of Isaac and a Call to Argue,” published on Women in Theology, theologian Alexis James Waggoner takes a second look at the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac, in which God commands Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Abraham, as God’s dutiful servant, binds Isaac to an altar and prepares to kill him, only for God to stop him at the last moment.

It’s usually understood as a story about a test of faith. But Waggoner wonders: what if it’s not?

What if the “testing” isn’t about Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac, but is about his willingness to engage with God about what he knows to be right? What if Abraham’s response isn’t the one God is looking for? What if Abraham is taking faithfulness to an ungodly conclusion?

This week, write a post that goes against the conventional wisdom — reinterpret something for us. Tell us about your unconventional views. Help us to see an old story in a new light. You could:

  • Write about a cliché you’ve never agreed with.
  • Give us your interpretation of a book, film, poem, or song you understand differently than most people.
  • Take a photo of something most folks find boring or unattractive, and show us its unappreciated beauty.
  • Create a sketch that reimagines a classic story.

Challenge us! Push us to think of the world — read a story, see a photo, hear a song — in a way we might never have thought of.

To help other participants and new fans find your response in the Reader, tag your post #DiscoverWP. Not sure how to add a tag? Learn more.

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  1. An insightful look at the Abraham and Isaac story as a cautionary tale about blind faith. I also once read that it might also a metaphor about ending human sacrifice, a more common practice in early human history.

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  2. What a wonderful new take on a very old “story.” I have always struggled with that story. I have a hard time understanding the faith of killing your child. Especially the child Abraham thought would be the beginning of great nations. Perhaps that is the lesson. What we think is the plan really isn’t the plan.

    Liked by 3 people

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