Abrahamites
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The Abrahamites were a sect of deists in Bohemia in the 18th century, who professed to be followers of the pre-circumcised Abraham. Believing in one God, they contented themselves with the Decalogue and the Paternoster. Declining to be classed either as Christians or Jews, they were excluded from the edict of toleration promulgated by Emperor Joseph II in 1781, and deported to various parts of the country, the men being drafted into frontier regiments. Some became Roman Catholics, and those who retained their "Abrahamite" views were not able to hand them on to the next generation.
There was an order of monks known as the Abrahamites. They were exterminated for idolatry by Theophilus in the ninth century.
[edit] Abrahamites in fiction
In the movie Second Name, Abrahamites are depicted as having the horrendous tradition of killing their first born (as a sacrifice to God), who they name after the father's middle name.
According to this movie, that tradition would be based in the alternative interpretation of Abraham's story: the will of God wouldn't have been to spare Isaac in the last moment by sending one of His Angels, but to encourage Abraham to truly kill his son.
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
- This article incorporates text from the 1771 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain.
