What I know now that I didn't know before

Jenna Theisen

Michael Sexson

Bible as Literature

December 3, 2009

In the Beginning

When professor Sexson asked how many people had read the bible from cover to cover, I thought I was going to be the only person in the room who did not. I have been around so many people who think they have read the bible, when in fact they have not. I was surprised to learn that only a few had attempted it. So my question is—why is the bible so intimidating? Is it because it is so long? Surely this cannot be, because we have read books that are quite lengthy. Or are we being stubborn and refusing to read God’s word?  Before this class I had barely opened the book. I would always listen to my pastor at church and trust what he was telling us.

I learned from reading Exodus that no one has actually seen God. He has transformed Himself so one cannot see Him. He says in Exodus 33:20, “you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live.” I heard Moses was the only person to see God “face to face”. By actually reading the bible I found out that is not so. In fact, no one has seen God face to face. When Moses sees God, he only sees His backside. Northrop Frye says in The Great Code, “But any suggestion that God has been seen is hedged about with expurgation and other forms of editorial anxiety: the explanation is generally that it was only an angel of God that was seen.” (Frye 116). Another new concept I learned was the creation story.

I had no idea there was more than one creation in the bible. I was always taught God made man, woman was made from the rib of man, and they ate the forbidden fruit from the tree. I thought that was all there was to it. However, the first version of the creation story is all about God randomly piecing the world together. The second version of the creation story is more creative and fun. In Genesis 2:7 it says, “then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.”

Coming into this class I was confused about signs or signals for being a believer. The first sign I did not know was of which is baptism. What does baptism mean or stand for? Why is it so important? It means death and then resurrection. Another significant symbol mentioned throughout the book is circumcision. That was the only way God knew who His chosen people were. The part that I thought was crazy about the book was so many men had to be circumcised as adults.

I have always heard the word Armageddon but never knew what it meant. I thought it had to do with the end of the world. However, in the book of Revelation, it states there will be a final battle between good and evil.

One of my favorite experiences thus far reading the bible is understanding some of the literal references. While reading Walden by Henry David Thoreau, I came across references to the bible in which I understood. For example, Thoreau says, “…and can hardly acquire more of a natural lore if he should live to the age of Methuselah,…”(Thoreau 1895). I understood this because I remembered reading it from Genesis. Before I had to look at the footnotes to figure it out. Now I know that Methuselah was the oldest living person who lived 969 years. Besides learning about characters and events in the bible, I also learned about who God is.

One part of reading the bible that really surprised me was God’s character. I had the impression God was a loving and respectful father who loved all His children. I thought He was the ultimate father. It turns out He is not very loving. In Genesis alone He is not very fatherly. He exclaims in Genesis 6:7, “I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created—people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” When He gets upset, He starts killing off His own children. God believes in sacrificing children. Isn’t He supposed to love everyone? What about the poor innocent children? In Genesis 22:1 God tests Abraham and tells him to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. God says, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.” Not only is God willing to kill an innocent child, but many other innocent people. The Lord is willing to get rid of an entire city until Abraham talks Him out of it. Abraham asks God in Genesis 18:23, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” God then settles down and agrees with Abraham. And then He kills everyone anyway. This is not the God I had pictured. The book of Job explains this side of God. An innocent man suffers for no reason as well.

I learned from reading David Plotz that Jews do not believe in God being around all the time and watching over them. This seemed strange to me. Who do they pray to? Plotz explained why they do not and the answer was very simple—the God in the Hebrew Scriptures isn’t exactly the nicest guy. He explains, “It could be that I am friends with the wrong Jews, but the Jews I know don’t act or talk as if they have a personal relationship with God. They pray to God and may even feel that god works in the world, but they don’t believe that God takes personal interest….Can you imagine the Old Testament God, with all His caprice, vindictiveness, and violence, acting directly in your life?” (Plotz 21). This was a surprise to me until I read his explanation. After reading some of the Old Testament, or the Hebrew Scriptures, I would not want Him following me around either.

The bible has some strange and unique rules to follow. For example in Exodus 12:48 it states, “If an alien who resides with you wants to celebrate the Passover to the Lord, all his males shall be circumcised; then he may draw near to celebrate it; he shall be regarded as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it; there shall be one law for the native and for the alien who resides among you”. Another law I found to be ridiculous is Leviticus 15:19. “When a woman has a discharge of blood that is her regular discharge of her body, she shall be in her impurity for seven days, and whoever touches her shall be unclean until the evening.” These rules seem crazy in the modern world. For instance, if women followed these rules, they would be missing a lot of workdays. And if all men had to be circumcised to eat, we might have a few hungry men.

Out of all the interesting facts I learned about the bible in such a short time studying it, there is one thing I learned that I will never forget. The majority of the people who say they have read the bible from cover to cover most likely have not. I do not know what it is about the bible that is so intimidating. Whether it is the length or the way it is written or even the simple fact it is hard to read, people are scared of it. I was the same way coming into this class. The biggest thing I learned from reading the bible is not to be afraid of it. After all, it is only a book.

The Book of Job

While listening to a lot of the presentations in class, I realized I am really missing out on something special by not reading the book of Job. So I finally picked the book up and started reading. I kind of knew most of what it is about by listening to everyone in class, but I found something unusual to me. This is the first time I heard about Satan in the bible. I can't believe it. He must be mentioned again somewhere else, but why did it take so long for me to hear about him? When you speak with friends or family about religion, they are usually really worried about Hell and Satan. Well, while reading the bible, I haven't really read a whole lot about it. This is kind of weird. I am only a couple of chapters into it, so I will keep reading. 

Presentations

I have really been enjoying the presentations in class. The group presentations were hilarious. They were all unique and entertaining. The individual presentations on the other hand surprised me. I didn't expect so many people to be like me. I thought the majority of the people would have been experienced with the book and the stories. But a lot of them were new to it. I do not feel as intimidated as I did in the beginning of the class. I also have been getting to know my classmates the last couple of classes. For the most part I don't really know anyone and this has helped me to get to know them. I almost wish we had to do a presentation like this in the beginning of the semester, so we could all get to know one another. 

Sorry about blogging

I find it difficult to blog. I usually do the majority of my reading before going to sleep. I keep the bible on my bedside table. My problem is when I read it, I forget to blog about what I read the next day. Lately, however, I have learned to write them down before falling asleep and eventually I remember to blog. I will try and get better at this. Sorry.

Epiphany?

I was really excited to read the bible one night when I came home from school. I have never felt this way before. Usually I found the bible to be homework and felt like it was something I had to do. When I got home, my dad had invited a friend over and they were being loud and talking about guy stuff. I kept trying to get through the first few lines, but kept getting distracted. Almost immediately after I closed the bible the power went off. I was so upset because how could I read the bible now when it was too dark to see the pages? My dad's friend left and it was only the two of us. He wanted to talk and catch up, but I told him I had homework to do. We lit a lot of candles and started a fire in our fireplace. My dad, not exactly a religious guy, asked if he could listen to me read. So there we sat for a couple hours reading the bible from the glow of candle-light. We both asked questions and commented on bible verses. We laughed and had a wonderful time. The power came on a few hours later. The television was blaring, the lights came on, the smoke alarms were beeping and resetting themselves. Everything seemed so disappointing. We had this amazing moment and now we were again distracted by the interference of modern technology. We got up and turned all the lights off and kept reading. 

The Slave

I found The Slave to be very interesting and quite addicting. I thought it was amazing how Jacob could spend five years away from other Jews and still have that strong of a faith. I was happy when I read he was going back for Wanda. She was my favorite character and I was so upset when he left her to go back home. I found it ingenious of Sarah to come up with the idea of being a mute. I never would have thought of the language being such an issue. But I would assume it would be similar to a foreigner learning English and speaking with a thick accent. She was very smart and dedicated to it. I have no idea how on earth she could have stayed mute for that long. I go crazy if I am in a museum and cannot talk for a couple of hours, let alone a few years. I also thought it was amazing how in labor she did not speak. She only screamed and groaned. How could a woman do that? She never spoke until she found it was too late. She was going to die. This part REALLY disappointed me. She was my favorite character and now she is dead? To me it seemed like the story died with her. It seemed as if Jacob too died with her. He wondered around for several years, but never truly got on with his life. I thought this was so sweet how he came back to die with her. I thought it was a little cheesy how Sarah's body just happened to be right next to Jacob's when they were buried and how her body wasn't decomposed enough so you could tell it was her. That seemed a little too cheesy for me. I love a happy ending, but at least make it realistic. 

One part of the slave that really bugged me was how the Jews were SO against Jews marrying a gentile. I would think that the Jews would be happy to know they have one more person on their side. I would have thought they would be excited to teach Sarah the ways of their religion. They would be happy to know they have one more person to carry on their traditions in their religion. Maybe this is the Christian faith I am thinking of, but I am still confused. 

Paper

I am still not completely sure as to what exactly I will be writing about, but I think I have the main idea. I plan to write about why people should read the bible. During these few weeks reading the bible, I have become aware of all the lies that are out there. I have started to question whether very educated people know what they are talking about or not. I am fairly new to religion and have become very interested. I only started going to church a year ago and knew little to nothing about the bible. I think it is almost better this way because I haven't exactly been told lies as to what is actually written. I know several people whom I love and respect, but they preach without picking the book up and reading it. I will also discuss in my paper what I learned from reading the bible that I did not know then but know now, and how it the effects it has had on me. 

Group Project

Today we finished filming our movie on the book of Acts. It has been a lot of fun. I realized the last couple of days that my fellow classmates are very good little actors and actresses. I, on the other hand, am a terrible actress.  I was amazed at how creative and fun filming could be though. Whether people like it or not, it doesn't matter. It is already a success. We had fun doing it and learned a lot at the same time. I got to know some very funny and intelligent people. My favorite part of filming this video was filming. I loved watching my classmates be creative and get so into their role. I loved playing around with special effects to make it more entertaining. The best part about filming was it didn't seem like work. We had a great time. I also found a lot of funny moments when the most random things would occur and we had to improvise. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I already have. 

The Year of Living Biblically

Natalie's blog about The Year of Living Biblically was very interesting. I too would love to read this book. I can only imagine how entertaining and funny the book will actually be. She does a great job letting the book describe itself. I also found it very interesting to find out that there are 3,000 different versions of the bible in English alone. No wonder there is so much controversy over what we think is correct. By reading this blog it has made me want to go out and get the book immediately. It sounds so interesting and entertaining. 

Exodus

In Exodus God almost seems like Lord Vuldimort in Harry Potter. He cannot go up to Pharaoh and take him out like you would think the Almighty can do. instead, He has to get a human being to translate twaht he is saying. Lord Vuldimort is the same. He doesn't have power to coquer Hary Potter on his own. He needs to do his dirty work through someone else's body. I also have a question about the good Lord. Why is He only a god to the Israelites? I thought He is supposed to be The God, the only God. I guess in this story He is only got to His chosen people. 

I also think Pharaoh is really stupid. If I saw a man turn all the water into blood, I would like to think I would listen to what he is saying. Pharaoh isn't bothered by this at all. The only thing that really upsets him so far are frogs. Then Pharaoh lies and says he will give them what they want if they take back the frogs. Pharaoh is more scared of frogs than he is of all the water turning into blood. He is crazy. Then God kills the frogs! Why wouldn't He send them back tot eh Nile where they came from. Does He really have to kill them? God continues to "harden his heart" for several more cruel attempts to free his people. I don't really understand why God would harden his heart. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of trying if God says no?

Susanna

The first time I read "Peter Quince at the Clavier" I was very confused and had no idea what it was about. Then I read the book of Susanna. The book of Susanna was about a young woman bathing in her garden when two elders were filled with desire. They blackmailed her into lying with them, but she refused. The elders lied and said they caught her with another man. She was put on trial and convicted. But a young man named Daniel saved her by taking the elders into different rooms and questioning them both. Neither of their stories were exactly the same. In the end the elders were killed and Susanna live happily ever after. The end. 

"Peter Quince at the Clavier" was very similar to the story I had just read. While reading the poem I felt as if there was music playing while reading the story all over again. I could see how this scene could be in a movie and the "poem" would be playing in the background. 

God's Backside

Moses sees God's backside in Exodus 33:20. It doesn't actually say his backside though. It just says back. God covered Moses with His hand until he had passed by. When God removed His hand, Moses could see God's back. 

Yesterday in church our pastor talked about divorce in the book of Mark. It says that if a man gets divorced and remarries, he is committing adultery and vice versa. This upset many people in the congregation. He proceeded to tell the people that the bible was written in a different culture in a different time. He also told people to start picking up their bibles and reading them. He said not to be afraid but excited and that it is okay to question God. A lot of people came up to me afterwards and asked me what I thought about reading the bible thus far. I wanted to give them a good answer, but I couldn’t. The truth is the sermon upset me. I don’t like the fact that the bible says divorce is a bad thing. I have seen so many couple abuse each other and are upset all the time, and then they get remarried and everything is better. The kids are happier and are living in a safer place. Now the bible is telling me that it is wrong to have a happier life? I just told them that reading the bible has opened my eyes a little wider. Ever since I started reading the bible I have been questioning God. There are parts I love about it and parts that really disturb me. I am not really a fan of all the “rules” there are to being a follower. I am also not a fan of killing and torturing people. I was just like those people in church who haven’t actually picked the book up and read. This class has made me get over my fear and start questioning God. 

This whole bible thing is a lot of fun. I grew up Catholic. Well, at least my grandparents and my father did. They all wanted me to follow in the same footsteps. I went through all of the rituals, but had no idea what I was doing or why I was there. A few years ago my friend introduced me to a bible study. We read a lot of interesting stories and I felt drawn to it. About a year ago I started going to church regularly. I found myself excited for the first time to go to church. Before we went to church on Christmas and Easter. My pastor and his wife have taken me under their wing and have been very supportive. They always offer help and guidance. I was so excited to take this class (until I found out I had to read the entire bible and three other books). Reading the bible has been a very moving experience for me. What I love most about reading it is how everything is new. I am learning so much that I find it difficult to comprehend everything. David Plotz is hilarious. I find myself laughing aloud when I am reading his book.

I am finally making my way through the Bible one short story at a time. Today I read the story about Noah and the ark. There was a lot of stuff about I did not know. For example, I always wondered how Noah repopulated the Earth when it was just him and all those animals. Well, it wasn't just him. His wife and his sons and their wives came along as well. It now makes more sense to me. Also, I thought reading this made God seem kind of evil. I guess I just don't know how a father could destroy His children like that. I am currently reading a boring section of Genesis when they are telling the family history and explaining the genealogy of everyone in the story. It gets really boring and confusing. I found myself drifting off several times. But for the most part reading the Bible has been kind of fun and interesting. 

I went to church this morning and we read a passage out of the book of Mark. I found it to be pretty interesting. The passage was about a woman begging Jesus to heal her daughter and Jesus turns her down! She later tells him that even people who do wrong or are looked down upon deserve a second chance and that is when Jesus finally agrees to heal her. Now I am a fairly religious person, but this class is really making me think. I thought Jesus was supposed to be the man of all mankind. It turns out that he was still human and had human emotions. Sometimes it is hard for me to think that Jesus was just a man. I tend to think of him as perfect. Today I realized that he was just like us and that he made mistakes just like us. The moral of the lesson was to give people a second chance. 

I started reading Genesis. So far I find it very boring. The writing style of the first person in Genesis almost put me to sleep. I was very to the point and direct. The second person, however, kept my attention. This change occurred 2:4. The first writer - let's call this person P- was too direct. He started just about every sentence with the word And. It was also very repetitive. I believe he says "And there was evening and there was morning" six times. The way it was written was too confusing for me to understand, enjoy, or to even comprehend. 

The second writer-let's call this person J-was a lot more interesting. I could actually follow along. She started sentences in a unique way every time. Instead of matter-of-factly she wrote as if she was telling a story. The P writer just wrote like this happened and then this happened and then this happened and "then there was evening and there was morning". There wasn't anything to keep me interested.

I started reading the Good Book by David Plotz. So far I am really enjoying it. The part that I find frustrating is how he kind of bashes God a bit. I understand how he can be frustrated with Him, but I don't think it is necessary to bash Him. I do find the reading very easy and pretty hilarious. It is easy to relate to in many ways. I love how he uses his own personal experiences to back up his opinions. 

Hope to have more information as I continue to read the book.