Affiliation:
1. Academy for Jewish Religion, Los Angeles, California, United States
Abstract
Abraham’s near-sacrifice of his son Isaac, known as the Akedah (Genesis 22), is one of the more puzzling events in the Hebrew Bible. Most rabbinic commentaries and elaborations (midrashim) take an apologetic stance, defending Abraham and drawing spiritual lessons from his disturbing actions. A surprisingly sensitive treatment is found in “Altared States,” a first-season episode of the fantasy television series Xena: Warrior Princess, which reimagines the Akedah as a cautionary tale of sibling rivalry, coercion, and religious zealotry gone awry. This paper examines the Xena episode in the context of the show’s religious skepticism, 1990s spiritual eclecticism, and classical interpretations of the biblical story.
Publisher
University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress)
Subject
Religious studies,Cultural Studies
Reference51 articles.
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2. Playing God