Running+From+Conclusions

**Running Away from Conclusions:** ** A Conversation that Never Happened **

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 In Genesis 22, Abraham nearly sacrifices his own son in a test from God, but after the fact nothing in the Bible is said about Isaac's life after the incident until he receives Rebekah to be his wife. I mean, come on, if your father tried to kill you and almost succeeded, you would certainly not have a common and mundane teenage experience. This dialogue between Abraham, Isaac, and the angel of the Lord demonstrates a fictitious situation following the near sacrifice of Isaac and fills the gap between Isaac's boyhood and manhood. Using Webspiration to brainstorm and art works and the Bible to provide interpretation I eventually formulated a narrative script highlighting certain character traits of the subjects. After recording the script, I assembled all the necessary components of the project to create this wiki page to highlight my work.

**Completed in 1603,** // **The Sacrifice of Isaac** // **was expertly painted by the naturalist artist Caravaggio in a commission from the Cardinal Maffeo Barberini. Caravaggio painted this scene early in his short career with naturalism and lighting not seen before in biblical artwork and for a short-lived period afterwards was never short of commission offers and patrons. In the work Caravaggio masterfully incorporates realism and horror at the same time by juxtaposing Abraham's serious but pained face with the shock and fear written on Isaac's face.

Caravaggio lived during a time where the Catholic Church needed biblical art to combat the growing prevalence of rebellious Protestantism and helped to provide some of that art. Though he was not the greatest of role models, Caravaggio painted art considered today to be modern and sophisticated for his time. The artist contributed greatly to the start of the Baroque period, a time of realism and emotion that changed the way the world today views art.**

//**The Calling of Saint Matthew**: **in-depth description and background behind the painting** 
 * Caravaggio's Escapades**: **more detailed information about the artist Caravaggio** //

Even though Abraham obediently follows God and does not openly question him, he is still reluctant to obey what he does not understand. While ascending Mt. Moriah, Isaac inquires where the burnt offering to the Lord is, to which Abraham replies, '"God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering"(Gen. 22.8). By using the modal auxiliary "will" rather than saying something else such as may or might, Abraham conveys to Isaac that he is one-hundred percent sure that God will come through, leaving absolutely no doubt in his convincing answer. The questioning eyes that Isaac must have had reminds Abraham of the same doubtful and questioning eyes and appearance he had when God assured him that Sarah would bear him a son, one to fulfill the patriarchal line. Though the eyes remind Abraham that God would provide, those same innocent eyes also cause Abraham to second-guess his decision to obey God's commands.
 * Abraham's Character ** 

In the oil painting //The Sacrifice of Isaac // by Caravaggio in which the angel of the Lord stops Abraham from sacrificing his terrified son Isaac, Abraham's reluctance and confusion to God's command is clearly visible. The furrowed, wrinkled forehead of the first patriarch demonstrates his regret of having to commit such a malicious act and his confusion as to why God would take away the gift of life that had been bestowed by the grace of God upon him. Abraham, in his wise old age, certainly would have pondered the reason God commanded him to kill his son, even to the point of questioning God's omniscience and promises to him even though the text does not mention Abraham's emotional and/or phycological reaction. Even though the angel grabs Abraham's hand just as he is about to slay Isaac, Abraham's eyes do not portray relief in the painting, rather they emanate anger, as it seems Abraham is glaring directly at the angel, the representative of God, questioning why the Lord would subject him to such an awful test to accomplish an unseen goal. Had God not reassured Abraham and blessed him even more for his obedience, Abraham would have deviated from the right path because he did not always understand God's motives and his rigorous testing that seemed to have no purpose. Though Abraham obediently follows the Lord without question, he does so with reluctance until God explains his purpose in his testing.

Isaac's careful and circumspect nature incites him to fearfully overreact and jump to conclusions when faced with a situation he does not understand. Isaac rightfully questions Abraham as to '"where the lamb for [the] burnt offering [is]"'(Gen. 22.7) while they trek to the summit of the mountain Moriah together. The fact that Isaac even asks the question of "where" sets him apart from other Biblical adolescents, as previously the Bible never highlights any child questioning his/her own parents. Even though the custom of the day was to unquestioningly follow the decisions of the elder, more experienced person, Isaac identifies the odd event he is involved in and goes past the boundary to pique his careful curiosity. Isaac's 'look before you leap' nature forces him to jump forward to question his father, the ruling authority, though in his day and age silence of the young was golden. Isaac's nature of carefully evaluating situations by searching for signs, in this case, the fire and the wood but the lack of the lamb, remains with him as long as he still possesses the gift of sight. When Jacob brings the prepared food to purloin the father's blessing, Isaac, suspecting nothing, still uses his senses to confirm that the person bringing him food is indeed Esau. Confused by the voice of Jacob, he eats the savory food, carefully touches the false skin of Jacob's hands, then smells Esau's clothing that Rebekah gave to Jacob and is convinced the person is Esau, but the final sense, the one that helped him identify the oddity of the situation on Mt. Moriah as a boy, fails him and ceases to confirm the identity of the one entreating him of the blessing, thus causing him to inadvertently continue the patriarchal line through Jacob the younger son.
 * Isaac's Character **

Though Isaac was blessed with keen and careful senses, the stories involving the second patriarch confirm that it is impossible to alter the course of divine providence. The appearance of bound Isaac Caravaggio's painting //The Sacrifice of Isaac // demonstrates young Isaac's fearful and terrified reaction to the actions of his father Abraham, who fervently followed and believed in that godly providence. Isaac appears deathly pale compared to his father and the angel’s florid complexion in the painting, not to mention Isaacs eerie scream of unbridled terror. Faced with dying by the hands of his own father, who had just earlier assured him that God would provide, Isaac goes berserk in fear. Isaac goes deathly white, reflecting his exact feelings toward such a grisly fate. Even though the angel of the Lord stays Abraham’s hand at the last second and Abraham reassures Isaac again, the horrifying event is one that would be impossible to forget quickly. Similar to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that some soldiers experience after service, Isaac could not have possibly forgotten the scary experience and fears his father’s hand until the day he dies. Rather than being the ideal and trusting son that the text implies, Isaac likely became a paranoid person understandably fearful and terrified of his pious father, forcing him to be even more careful in his actions and decisions than before. Though the redactors use the blindness of Isaac to fulfill divine providence, Isaac’s visual impairment likely spawned out of his affliction of fear and paranoia.

Script Dialogue (Music playing) Narrator: Soon after God tested Abraham by telling him to sacrifice his son Isaac in Genesis 22, God gives Abraham a second task to complete: he tells Abraham to go with his son Isaac to the desert to build an altar to the Lord. Abraham: (to himself) Why do I have to go to this random place once again just to show God that I am faithful? Haven't I proven my diligence enough? (sigh) Oh well, I guess I really don't have a choice. God has been good to us so far, and I see no reason for him to turn his back on us now. (to others) Come on Isaac, let us ready ourselves for a journey. Narrator: So Abraham and a small retinue including Isaac traveled into the desert... Isaac: Hey Dad! Where are we going? Let me go scout out the path! (mutters to self) just in case… Abraham: Oh, nowhere, just to the middle of the wilderness to build an altar. Isaac: (suspicious) But why? Haven't we done enough to satisfy your God? (slowly, implying answer) Isn't there something else you want? Abraham: I don't know, but we will follow the Lord's command faithfully. God has given me many things, such as you, Isaac. Just like last time God will provide for all of us. Isaac: (stuttering fearfully, remembering his brush with death by his father's hand) Like, like, l-l-last time? Abraham: Yes, my son...why have you gone so pale all of a sudden? (Isaac takes off running) Abraham: Isaac!! Isaac!!! Now why would he do that, I wonder? Isaac: (to self while running) Why should I trust my father again? He almost killed me last time! I am thankful that angel saved me last time, but there is never any guarantee that my father won't try to kill me in one of those crazed bouts of raving piousness he sometimes has. I've got to get away from him! (continues to run in the opposite direction of his father) (running feet sound) Isaac: (panting and wheezing) I...can't...go...much...farther... (falls down onto ground (sound)) Isaac: I'm...just going to die here alone in the desert... (rushing wind, sandstorm, pause for five-count) Angel: Isaac! Isaac!! Isaac: (delirious, and lying on ground) What Father?....Whoa!...You're not my Dad! (shuffles around (sound)) Angel: (sarcastically) No kidding.... Listen, go back to your father and submit to him, for God is ruler of both him and you. Isaac: (fearfully) I don't want to go! If I go back, my father might kill me! He already almost killed me the first time we went to (obnoxiously) "build an altar." (Angel disappears) Isaac: Hey! Hey wait!...Where'd you go? Come back!! (sits down for awhile thinking (sound)) Isaac: I guess I really don't have a choice, either I'll die out here in the wilderness or I can take my chances with my father...I really don't want to go back, but I have to whether my depraved heart likes it or not. Narrator: So God showed Isaac a nearby river and showed him the way back. Isaac returned to his overjoyed (and sane) father and was not killed but prospered, continuing the patriarchal line.

The Script and Characterization

 Through his words and actions during the second hypothetical run-in with his father, Isaac reveals himself to be careful and observant while at the same time fearful of his father. While Abraham, Isaac, and a small retinue travel into the desert wilderness, Isaac has enough sense to ask the simple question as to where they are going and even requests to "'go scout out the path...just in case'"(Lee 1). Though Isaac has not heard as to where they are going, he reveals his carefulness learned after almost being sacrificed by offering to go out in front. Isaac intends to not only scout out the pathway, but to also scout out Abraham's true intentions. Unsatisfied by Abraham's vague response, Isaac goes even further in his care by directly inquiring Abraham if "'there [is] something else he wants'"(Lee 1), not wanting to let Abraham keep him in the dark again like in Genesis 22.

Isaac believes his worst fears are confirmed when Abraham replies that "'just like last time God will provide'"(Lee 2) and demonstrates his fear and apprehension of his father by stuttering and stumbling over his words and by paling white in the face (Lee 2). Isaac flees into the desert out of direct fear as to what his father has in store for him this time. After being met by the angel of the Lord, Isaac carefully weighs his options. Isaac decides that "'[he doesn't] really have a choice, either I'll die out here in the wilderness or I can take my chances with my father'"(Lee 3). Faced with the prospect of death alone in the desert, Isaac pauses to think and weighs his fear of his father's actions versus his fear of death, eventually concluding that his chances of survival are better in going back to his father. Isaac does not let stubbornness or blinding fear take hold of his mind, observantly realizing that if he tried to fight death he would always lose. Even though his fear and circumspect nature gets Isaac into the situation in the first place, the same fear of death and observant nature also saves him from dying in the wilderness.

Reflection

 The idea behind the hypothetical storyline came rather easily to me, though I do not remember exactly how or why it did come to mind. The Webspiration chart brainstorm went smoothly, with only a few edits here and there, which translated to a better quality script. Using the Biblical Art resource, I found the image of Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac quickly and interpreted the painting without much thought as to who the artist was. Soon afterwards I wrote a paper for Visual Art History interpreting a famous work of art and wrote a simple biography about the artist I had highlighted. Upon having to write the artist info for this project I was shocked to realize the piece I had used to characterize Isaac and Abraham was by the same artist I had just wrote about for my Art History paper. Though I was helped by that coincidental break, I still had frustrating troubles in other areas of the project. The script itself was simple and easy to write, but getting other people in peer groups to understand the characterization I was attempting to convey through the script was a totally different story. Back to the drawing board. I revised the script to better fit what I was trying to convey successfully. The last problem I collided with was trying to convert movie files to mp3 audio files, as I decided to use the recording device on imovie instead of downloading Audacity, which my parents thought would clog up the computer (well, i guess Jing had crashed the computer before). After searching on mac forums for awhile, I finally found the solution and completed the project successfully.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">** An interesting of take on God's "true intentions" of testing Abraham **

“Abraham and Isaac.” // Kids-Under-Construction //. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2010. <http://www.kidz-under-construction.com/‌stories/‌story7a.jpg>. “Abraham-Isaac.” // insidecatholic.com //. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2010. <http://insidecatholic.com/‌Joomla/‌images/‌70/‌abraham3isaac.jpg>. “By the Book Comics.” // Blogspot.com //. N.p., 2007. Web. 5 May 2010. <http://bythebookcomics.blogspot.com>. “Calling of Saint Matthew.” // Artchive //. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2010. <http://artchive.com/‌artchive/‌C/‌caravaggio/‌calling_of_st_matthew_text.jpg.html>. “Caravaggio.” // Artchive //. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2010. <http://artchive.com/‌artchive/‌C/‌caravaggio.html>. “illus-05.jpg.” // Gutenberg.org //. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 May 2010. <http://www.gutenberg.org/‌files/‌17162/‌17162-h/‌images/‌illus-05.jpg>. // The New Oxford Annotated Bible //. Ed. Michael D. Coogan. Aug. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2007. Print. New Revised Standard Version. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',helvetica,sans-serif;">
 * Citations**