Hello FlorenceArt. I found Morin rather heavy going, but perhaps that was because I came to the French language rather late in life. But I think that in general French intellectuals seem to practice a greater density of language than their anglo-saxon peers.
The story of Abraham is, I think, usually understood allegorically. God is both demanding - and his demands must be obeyed (down on Highway 61) - and merciful. At the time the text was written, this may have been a rather startling idea : after all, human sacrifice was by no means unknown. Another French intellectual who argues that the tradition out of which Jesus came was liberating, and that Jesus's death on the cross is a moment of importance to all humans is
Rene Girard, whose book "On Things Hidden Since the Beginning of Time" is quite impressive.
Another book which argues that religions aren't just arbitrary collections of rules, but that they express something deeper, is
Chris Knight's "Blood Relations." Knight finds critical knowledge in the myths of the people of Central Australia, the Arrernte.