>-Which son of Abraham is the "golden child" (Ishmael vs.
>Issac)
>which I think in some ways begins to take on an obvious
>racial tone.

not really. the original hebrew people (ie isaacs peoples) were of the same "race" as ishmael's crew. only recently (with the dispersion of jews and jewish culture into europe) have the jews as a whole taken on a much lighter complexion. abraham, isaac, ishmael, jacob and the whole gang would probably look like what we call arab today.

keep in mind, i'm no expert
******************************
The newbie experience...

(tapping thigh) you just think this is my leg.

Disclaimer: lurk