The poetry and imagery in Bible

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Hi there

I am not a religious person, but one doesn't need to be religious if he or she simply wants to enjoy the literary world of sacred texts. For me, the Holy Bible is not only a source of imaginative and powerful language, but is also a necessary step toward understanding western culture and western literature. Yet, occasionally, I find certain passages too preachy or too repetitive to me. I open this thread in order to save more time and to be more efficient in my Bible reading. Here, fellow members, you may suggest to me passages that you consider that I should read.

Here is an example (excerpted from private conversation with Asherman):

Quote:

Let me suggest the Book of Job. Its pretty short, and addresses the
question of why bad things happen to good people. Few of us today would
be impressed with the idea that God and the Devil where just indulging
in a bit of gambling.

(You know Ashe, I am diligently reading Job right now. That's not very easy~~~)

Thank you, every one, and don't be too hard on me, my faithful Christians.

J-B

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J B, you are fine where you are and your thread has been featured. The Songs of Solomon are quite poetic as well as the Psalms of David.

http://members.aol.com/tonymorosc/harppage/KingDavidTripleHarp.jpg

A favorite psalm(song) of so many people.

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name' sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: For thou art with me;
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;
Thou annointest my head with oil; My cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.

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I hadn't read Psalms for years and year, but during that time I read many references to the beauty of the Psalms.

Sentenced to the treadmill to exercise my poor, sore, leg, I picked up a light weight copy of the Psalms--King James' Version--and found that the majority of them seemed to be about vengence and smiting and urging Jehovah to definitive, bloody action.

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Quote:

found that the majority of them seemed to be about vengence and smiting and urging Jehovah to definitive, bloody action.

I have found the majority of the Old testament seems to be about vengence and smiting and urging Jehovah to definitive, bloody action, too...

Oh, I adore the Songs of Solomon.

Thanks, eveyone, this project has finally taken off with your posts Smile

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J-B wrote:

Quote:
found that the majority of them seemed to be about vengence and smiting and urging Jehovah to definitive, bloody action.

I have found the majority of the Old testament seems to be about vengence and smiting and urging Jehovah to definitive, bloody action, too...

Oh, I adore the Songs of Solomon.

Thanks, eveyone, this project has finally taken off with your posts

Genesis...especially at the very beginning, is pretty cool.

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Re: The poetry and imagery in Bible

J-B wrote:

one doesn't need to be religious if he or she simply wants to enjoy the literary world of sacred texts.

J-B wrote:

one doesn't need to be religious if he or she simply wants to enjoy the literary world of sacred texts.

quite right.

however, it does take years of work before you can begin to resolve the bits that are nothing short of appalling.

if people stopped using religion to justify the worst aspects of man, then religious texts would be a lot easier for the unfamiliar to stomach. after all, they wouldn't find it so difficult to stomach the people that can explain the texts.

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I am reading a book by Max Weber on ancient Judaism. It's quite interesting. He makes me understand certain things.

For example, the Song of Solomon. How could these lines which were so lustful compared with the rest of the book be allowed? Weber suggested the marriage and sexual suggestion symbolize the bond between the Jewish people and Yahweh. This bond is called a "covenent".

Besides, one of the chiefest ideas of Weber is, that it was only by covenent, not by any absolute faith, nor any belief in God's absolute might, that the Jewish people accepted Yahweh in the very beginning.

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J.B, Solomon "messed around" with the queen of Sheba, and yes, his songs are quite erotic. I smiled when some books were banned by a bible thumper where I lived in Virginia, and I mentioned that perhaps the book of Solomon should be banned. There was total silence.

It's also interesting to me that King David, who was called a man after God's own heart, committed adultery and murder for the love of Bathsheba. Sill, his psalms are beautiful. We simply cannot combine the sins with the beauty of creativity, right?

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Letty wrote:

I smiled when some books were banned by a bible thumper where I lived in Virginia, and I mentioned that perhaps the book of Solomon should be banned. There was total silence.

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The poetry and imagery in Bible

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