How crime, deception, and profit are presented as “righteousness” in sacred narratives — and why conscience refuses to accept it.
Contents: Genesis 12–21: Abraham and Sarah — Crime, Deception, or Righteousness?
Introduction
The stories of Abraham and Sarah are often presented as examples of faith, obedience, and righteousness. For centuries, believers have been taught to admire these figures and to accept their actions as morally justified because they are described in sacred texts.
Yet careful reading raises uncomfortable questions.
Why are deception, manipulation, and profit repeatedly explained as “God’s will”?
Why are human suffering and injustice presented as acceptable when they appear under religious authority?
And why are readers discouraged from judging these actions by the voice of conscience?
This chapter does not aim to provoke or to mock religious belief. It invites honest reflection.
By examining selected passages from Genesis, the commentary seeks to understand how crime can be transformed into “righteousness” through sacred language, and how blind obedience can replace moral responsibility.
The purpose is not to destroy faith, but to restore it — by returning it to its true foundation: conscience, reason, and personal accountability.
Abraham and Sarah — Righteousness or Deception
The Call of Abraham and the Promise
1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,
6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.
7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. (Genesis. Chapter 12)*
The Almighty does not accept sacrifices.
Offerings are needed by demons, who feed on the energy of the suffering of the slain.
Deception in Egypt
8 From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.
9 And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.
Abram and Sarai in Egypt
10 Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.
11 When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance,
12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live.
13 Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.”
14 When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
15 And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
16 And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels. (Genesis. Chapter 12)
Abraham in Islamic and Biblical Tradition
In the Quran, Abraham is described as righteous and possessing true faith. He is presented as a moral example whose life reflects integrity and spiritual responsibility.
In the Old Testament, however, Abraham is often portrayed in a very different light. His actions are frequently associated with deception, fear, and moral compromise. This contrast raises an important question.
If Abraham and Sarah were truly as immoral as they are sometimes presented in the Old Testament narratives, it is difficult to explain why Mohammed would have included them in his teachings at all. The same applies to Moses. If Moses had been as morally questionable as he appears in some biblical passages, he would hardly have been honored as a great prophet in Islam.
This suggests that the Old Testament presents ancient figures in a contradictory way. On the one hand, they are declared holy and righteous. On the other hand, their actions are often described in ways that conflict with basic moral conscience.
From this perspective, it appears that the knowledge Mohammed received did not originate directly from the Old Testament as it exists today. Rather, it seems to have come from more ancient and purer sources that preserved the ethical core of these figures without distorting their image.
Fear, Profit, and Repeated Deception
The Pharaoh Episode and Material Gain
Let us assume that religious leaders are right when they say that Abraham is somehow not responsible for becoming rich through Pharaoh’s favor toward Sarah.
After Pharaoh merely glanced at her, Abraham was enriched with camels, horses, donkeys, slaves, and maidservants. Yet later, Abraham and Sarah arrive in another land.
4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
11 When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance.
13 Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.
16 And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels. (Genesis. Chapter 12)
10 The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.
12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure? (Genesis. Chapter 18)
1 From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar.
2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. (Genesis. Chapter 20)
This means that Abram and Sarah set off for the land of Gerar when Sarah had not yet given birth to a son, but was already 90 years old.
Once again, Abraham suggests that Sarah should hide the fact that she is his wife, fearing that the “local savages” might kill him because of her.
This time, however, the king of Gerar does not take Sarah. He is warned in a dream that she is Abraham’s wife and his half-sister.
Then a natural question arises:
What made Abraham think that anyone would be seduced by his wife, considering that Sarah was already about ninety years old at that time?
Yet readers are asked to believe that a king might have been tempted to drag a ninety-year-old grandmother into his bed.
And they are made to believe it through threats of eternal damnation in the fire of the “merciful” false deity. Sarah was ten years younger than Abraham.
The Gerar Episode and Divine Intervention
3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.”
14Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him.
16 To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.” (Genesis. Chapter 20)
1 The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised.
2 And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him; (Genesis. Chapter 21)
17 But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife…(Genesis. Chapter 12)
This means that Pharaoh was declared guilty because Abram concealed the fact that Sarah was his wife. Responsibility was shifted away from Abram and placed entirely on the ruler who had been deceived.
At the same time, the reader is expected to accept that the false deity Lord God is just and reasonable. Such logic presents injustice as righteousness and excuses deception in the name of faith.
When a religious servant begins to invent explanations to defend Abram’s behavior and to justify the false deity, there is little point in arguing with him. A person who replaces conscience with blind loyalty is rarely open to honest reflection.
5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. (Genesis. Chapter 21)
18 So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?
19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.”
20 And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had. (Genesis. Chapter 12)
The Spiritual Exam of Humanity
When you read the life stories of these figures, you begin to recognize the spiritual level of those who wrote them. The same level can be seen today in religious servants who enthusiastically repeat these narratives in churches and temples without questioning their meaning.
This leads to an even more serious question: what is the spiritual level of a world that follows such a false deity into the abyss, while rejecting God’s true gift of salvation?
Many people do not realize that they are not merely refusing this gift. They are failing the most important exam — the exam between dust and eternity.
The problem is not only false teachings.
It is not only thieves, traitors, or those who drag nations into war.
It is not even those who openly lead the world toward destruction.
The real problem is that most people lack the will to listen to the voice of God within them — their conscience.
This is the time of examination for every soul and for all humanity.
Wake up.
Conclusion
The story of Abraham and Sarah, when read carefully and honestly, reveals a deep contradiction between sacred authority and moral conscience.
Deception, fear, and manipulation are repeatedly presented as acceptable when they serve religious purposes. Responsibility is shifted, injustice is justified, and human suffering is explained as “God’s will.” In this way, actions that would be condemned in ordinary life are transformed into “righteousness” through sacred language.
This chapter does not deny faith. It challenges blind obedience.
True faith cannot be built on fear, lies, or moral compromise. It cannot require the silencing of conscience. It does not excuse wrongdoing by appealing to divine authority.
The real question raised by these narratives is not whether Abraham was “chosen,” but whether readers are willing to think, judge, and take responsibility for their own moral discernment.
Faith without conscience becomes submission.
Belief without reason becomes vulnerability.
Religion without independent thinking becomes a tool of control.
Only when conscience, reason, and inner honesty are restored can faith return to its true purpose — the growth of the soul, not its enslavement.
* The text of the Bible is quoted from the English Standard Version. ↑ back
Frequently Asked Questions
This commentary examines the stories of Abraham and Sarah through conscience, reason, and moral responsibility. It explores how deception and fear are sometimes presented as “righteousness” in sacred narratives and encourages readers to reflect critically on these portrayals.
No. The chapter does not reject faith. It challenges blind obedience and encourages thoughtful, responsible belief based on conscience, honesty, and inner integrity.
The text highlights episodes from the Bible where Abraham uses deception to protect himself and gain material benefit. The commentary asks whether such behavior can truly be considered morally righteous, even when presented within the Holy Scripture.
In Islamic tradition, Abraham is presented as a moral example of true faith. The contrast with some Old Testament portrayals raises questions about how ancient figures have been represented and whether their images were later distorted.
Conscience is presented as the primary guide for understanding sacred texts. The chapter emphasizes that moral discernment should not be replaced by fear, tradition, or unquestioning loyalty to authority.
“False righteousness” refers to situations where deception, injustice, or harm are justified by religious language. The commentary shows how sacred authority can be used to excuse behavior that contradicts basic moral values.
Readers are encouraged to approach sacred texts thoughtfully, with honesty and responsibility. The chapter promotes careful reading, critical thinking, and respect for moral conscience rather than passive acceptance.
The central message is that true faith cannot exist without conscience, reason, and personal responsibility. Religion should support spiritual growth, not suppress moral awareness or justify wrongdoing.
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