Read Scripture: Genesis Ch. 12-50

As Abraham and Sarah learn to trust in God and believe His promises, their lineage brings about the Nation of Israel. . . . 

It seems to me that your god cursed all nations through Abraham's family.  Just look at the wars fought between Christians and Muslims.

How is Abraham responsible for wars fought between Christians and Muslims?  And, please specify the war or wars you have in mind.

OK so the first thing that I notice that is totally skipped over in the video is the foretelling to Abraham of enslavement in Egypt. 

Also missing is the story of Lot, and Sodom and Gomorrah, which is really important since it is about having mercy and not getting pleasure out of another person's misery. 

The first thing the video says is that god gave Abraham lots and lots of children. But that is wrong. He only had 2. Ismael and Isaac. What god promised was that his descendants would be like the stars in heaven. And then he reminds him again, that they would be slaves first in Egypt. 

Why is this not covered? 

Good first points! Clearly, these authors seem to be making art and explanation of 'key' issues (which may be lead-ups to Jesus the Christ (as theme),  and not delving into peripheral story-lines. I agree there could have been a 'useful' mention of this promise of future slavery to come in Egypt for these  "children of Abraham" (v. Genesis 15) it would have been a good fit in passing. if only in passing. 

The writers did mention' slavery for the people,' in this session, nevertheless.

As it turns out, the "many children" of Abraham populate into "many tribes." And, of course, Abraham is known throughout history as the "father of the multitude" that is, the "faithful (in God).

But here is where there is a divide. These points that I bring up, are of uttermost importance to Jews, yet Christians kind of brush it aside. Jesus lived his life as a Jew. He would have valued what these parts have in them, as do Jews who are faithful. This presents a conundrum. Either Jesus was not a good Jew (I doubt that) or Christianity did away with these parts (probably more likely)..for their own purposes. This of course this brings us to "What would Jesus" do moment.

I am going to drop this video here in hopes that it can add something to the understanding of what this "project" is about.

To be clear, I do not know these people in any significant way. In fact, I have not listened to many of these videos due to time constraints. I do review the ones I choose to post. As, I would not "present" something I do not think is appropriate. That said, I simply do not know if these writers will 'tackle' down and dirty controversial topics in the Bible. This may or may not fit with their mission statement (which I could not locate). I do hope to see whether they do or not— i.e., if the series has value and a place on NewTalkers! Again, time is a commodity for me. Next.

These issues you bring up may well be discussed going forward, say, in the Exodus "series," I have not viewed it yet. Moreover, the videos presented so far distinctly mention the child of Abraham and Sarah: Isaac. Observe that Abraham's other son, Ismael, is included (dismissed) in the presentation obliquely as, '. . . (that which) causes other problems in the family.' I have not gone back to listen, but I'd imagine Sodom and Gomorrah fared similarly.

It is clear to me, the writers have a theme and a direction. Overall, I am struck by the presentation and plain-speaking coming from the Project at this point. Many have tried to condense down and simultaneously express the volumes of information in the Bible with the result being as many questions as answers. This production is "fresh" in my opinion.

Jesus surely lived his life as a Jew, full-stop. And in the Gospels he is given a high honor of being called, Rabbi. Any Christian worth his or her salt must respect Jesus' heritage!

Surely God could have foretold the issues that would arise from Abraham cheating on his wife with Sarah's slave (Sarah had the brains to realize that women past menopause cannot get pregnant), and how much killing it would cause  .. and still causes today?  And how disgusting is it that Sarah gave her slave to Abraham to rape?  Too bad Hagar had no say in the matter.

Actually, by the Torah text, Sarah offers Haggar to Abraham due to her advanced age. He didn't cheat on her in the sense that he was sneaking around. How Hagar felt about the whole thing.. is a different story. It is never addressed. Ishmael is promised a nation to him, so that might have swayed her.. again.. just not there in the text. 

True, but with the Christian focus on the sanctity of marriage and sex, and how much more moral biblical marriage was than our views today, I thought it was worth pointing out.  Apparently sex and marriage weren't so sacrosanct to God.

Abraham could have still said no and upheld his marriage - Hagar, on the other hand, had no choice.  And that is so totally immoral.

Thank you for a correct spelling of "Ishmael." In my post, I was going from memory and left out the "h."

While reading about those matters which preceded Abraham, and looking forward to Moses, a vexing foundational question comes to mind. One which at first look may come off as flippant, but with all the usages of metaphors and parables in Genesis, some grounding of the people is required, thus,

• In Orthodox Judaism, was Abraham a flesh and bone person or was he a fictional character?

This is a serious question, though it appears insulting to thousand of years of layered teachings about this man. "Many" people question the historical existence of these significant so-called, "Old Testament," figures, types, and personages.

This is a "golden" opportunity to listen and learn from a Jewish perspective!