The world needs an alliance of righteous individuals and organizations to counter the forces of evil that
are destroying our faith-based civilizations, oppressing religious and ethnic minorities around the world,
attacking innocent people through barbaric acts of terrorism, and unleashing armies of aggression to
crush peace-loving neighboring countries. These evil activities must be stopped by the forces of good
banding together to offer an alternative that secures a durable state of international peace and
prosperity.
Peacemaking Through Providential Collaboration
At the heart of API’s work is the belief that members of the Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity and
Islam) have inherited a special providential commission originally bestowed on their common spiritual
ancestor, Abraham. God chose Abraham to establish a people who were obedient to their Creator and
committed to building a world under the authority and laws of God.
This is the purpose of the Divine Providence, which is eternal and unchanging. It is a purpose
determined by the original purpose for the creation, namely the realization of a world of love and
goodness, of peace and prosperity for all humankind, living at one with God. As such, the providence
transcends all differences of religion, race or ethnicity, and embodies a vision for the future of humanity
that can serve as a powerful force to unite all people of faith and goodwill in a common cause.
At the same time, the Divine Providence is contested by the forces of a Satanic Anti-Providence. These
are the forces of evil which work to destroy whatever good is achieved by those who seek to obey God,
and which relentlessly seek to lead people into dark realms of violence and destruction, far removed
from the love of God. It is in this state of alienation that people violate the Godly principles upon which
a world of goodness can be established. This is the world we know from history and the present.
Lessons From a History of Good and Evil, Abel and Cain
To understand the origin and nature of the contest between the forces of good and evil, we need to look
to the first family and the way in which it became alienated from the Creator. Their separation from God
became starkly evident when the oldest son, Cain, responded to God’s rejection of his offering by
turning on his younger brother, Abel, in a fit of resentful envy, and killed him. This horrific murder
revealed the depth of depravity to which the first family had fallen through its members’ disobedience
to the Creator.
But why look to this story from scriptures to find answers to the world’s problems, since we cannot
possibly know where facts end and myth begins? A good response to this question has been provided by
J.R.R. Tolkien, whose mythological trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, is one of the most persuasive depictions
of the struggle between archetypal forces of good and evil. He explained the value of myth this way:
Just as speech is invention about objects and ideas, so myth is invention about truth. We
have come from God, and inevitably the myths woven by us, though they contain error,
will also reflect a splintered fragment of the true light, the eternal truth that is with God.
Indeed, only by mythmaking, only by becoming a ‘sub-creator’ and inventing stories, can
Man ascribe to the state of perfection that he knew before the Fall.
Ever since the first recorded murder, the irresponsible, selfish, resentful and destructive character of
Cain has been the archetype of evil behavior in human beings, while the responsible, selfless, forgiving
and peace-loving character of Abel has been the archetype of good behavior. Both archetypes are easily
recognizable in history and in the world around us
In essence, the two brothers embodied two opposite mindsets and attitudes towards others. Cain was
arrogant and consumed by an unjust desire to receive the blessings of God for himself, regardless of the
cost to his brother. Abel, however, was humble and desirous of doing God’s will, even if it required him
to sacrifice himself and his possessions.
History shows us that the Divine Providence advances when Abel prevails over Cain, but suffers a
setback when Cain prevails over Abel. This pattern is demonstrated in their story and countless other
Cain-Abel stories in the scriptures as well as in the world that we know.
The Importance of Abraham’s Family in the Vanguard of the Divine Providence
The murder of Abel was a success for the Satanic Anti-Providence. It set in motion an era of spiritual
darkness that has continued to this day, interrupted only when Abel-type figures have appeared to offer
a better, more Godly path. In the Biblical account, Noah was the first major providential figure to
succeed Abel. However, after he and his family were separated from the rest of the fallen world through
the flood Noah’s second son, Ham, showed a lack of faith in his father. This marked an invasion of
Noah’s family by Satan, resulting in a delay in the Providence.
However, the loss of Ham made it possible for Noah’s first son, Shem, to be claimed for the Providence,
and it was out of the lineage of Shem that four centuries later Abraham was chosen to renew the work
of heaven. Thus Abraham’s family was called to lead the fallen world back to God, thereby becoming the
vanguard of the Divine Providence:
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. 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. I will bless those
who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the
earth shall bless themselves.” (Genesis 12:1-3)
However, fulfilling this mission proved problematic for Abraham because his wife, Sarah, was barren. To
overcome this difficulty, Sarah gave her servant, Hagar, to Abraham as a concubine. Unfortunately,
Hagar was unwise and once she became pregnant she mocked Sarah’s infertility, prompting Sarah to
insist she be sent away. Abraham reluctantly agreed, but an angel intercepted a pregnant Hagar and told
her to return to Abraham’s home and submit to Sarah. Which she did.
Hagar gave birth to a son, Ishmael, but thirteen years later Sarah herself conceived a son, Isaac. To
reverse the murder of Abel by Cain, Ishmael as the elder son was to accept the fact that his younger
half-brother Isaac enjoyed the privileged position of Abraham’s heir. It was the task of their parents to
see to it that Isaac and Ishmael grew up loving each other, so that Ishmael could overcome any feelings
of resentment towards Isaac, and Isaac could embrace his older brother.
However, when Sarah saw her son and Ishmael playing together she demanded of Abraham that he
send Ishmael away with Hagar. Abraham was grieved but acquiesced once he received a message from
God that Ishmael would also be blessed. (Genesis 21:8-13)
Thus Cain (Ishmael) and Abel (Isaac) in Abraham’s family never reconciled. Out of Isaac’s line came his
son, Jacob, whose 12 sons became the 12 tribes of the chosen nation of Israel. This line split in two after
Jesus—a second Adam and global Abel with the mission to lead the Divine Providence—was rejected
and killed by the religious and political establishments in Israel.
With the death of Jesus his disciples inherited his mission and they became the vanguard of the Divine
Providence. Meanwhile, the religion they established, Christianity, took on the responsibility of
advancing the Providence until a return of Christ could be realized.
Meanwhile, Ishmael became the father of 12 sons out of whose lineage came 12 tribes, the ancestors of
the Arabs, to whom the prophet Mohammed was sent in the 6th century AD. Although the descendants
of Ishmael followed a course separate from that of Isaac’s descendants, both lines were blessed because
they belonged to a single providence centered on Abraham. Indeed, the Quran recognizes the
providential role of the main figures in Isaac’s lineage through Jacob and the 12 tribes to Moses, the
prophets and Jesus:
“Say: We believe in God, and that which has been sent down on us, and sent down on
Abraham and Ishmael, Isaac and Jacob, and the Tribes, and in that which was given to
Moses and Jesus, and the Prophets, of their Lord; we make no division between any of
them, and to Him we surrender.” (Sura 3:64)
Hope for Humanity—The Peaceful Reconciliation of Cain and Abel
Every religion, every race, every nation has both Cain- and Abel-type individuals and elements, reflecting
the conflicting forces within each of us. As Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn pointed out in his book on the evils of
the Soviet Union, The Gulag Archipelago:
The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor
between political parties either—but right through every human heart–and through all
human hearts.
To achieve a peaceful reconciliation between Cain and Abel, both parties must come to terms with their
own limitations. They must be self-reflective and responsible, rather than resentful, accusatory and
irresponsible. The nature of Abel predisposes him to adopt the former position, while the nature of Cain
predisposes him to adopt the latter position. Thus the primary responsibility falls on Abel to lead the
way towards a peaceful reconciliation with his brother.
The Mission of the Abrahamic Peace Initiative
Thus the mission of the Abrahamic Peace Initiative is to identify and mobilize Abel-type members of the
various faith traditions, and all other peace-loving individuals and groups, to lead the providential work
of healing the wounds of history and the world caused by Cain-type behavior. With the tragedy that
divided Abraham’s family in mind, we must embrace the transcendent purpose of the Providence as our
collective North Star, a direction around which we can all unite, becoming the vanguard of the Divine
Providence.
At the same time, we must reject the Cain-type ideologies and movements that are destroying our faith-
based civilizations, whether they are the product of Marxist or Neo-Marxist theories, or of corrupt
interpretations of religious doctrines that justify violence, terrorism and other human abuses.
Because America was founded by individuals who believed their work was guided by Divine Providence,
and because it has become a blessed nation that represents all the people of the world, the Abrahamic
Peace Alliance is based in the United States, from where it seeks to serve all of humanity.