the bible and english literature

I have to do a presentation on John Donne this week with a partner and I just realized how easy my life can be as English major because I know the Bible. It’s handy in English 340, at least. Our presentation is on Sonnet 10 or Death Be Not Proud by John Donne. Every single line in steeped in Biblical concepts, so being able to cross-reference lines of the poem with Bible verses in your head makes analyzing a lot easier. It’s the same way with most of the literature in this class, actually. Beowulf, the Faerie Queen,  the Canterbury Tales, Paradise Lost, etc. I will probably post my notes up after Wednesday. (Yay! Back to old school gin and tonic with lit notes!)

I guess that’s why I lean towards that kind of English literature – I understand it better and it conversely helps me understand my faith better. It also reminds me of a time when Christians excelled in the arts instead of failing miserably.

Sonnet X.

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so ;
For those, whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure, then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul’s delivery.
Thou’rt slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well,
And better than thy stroke ;  why swell’st thou then ?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And Death shall be no more ;  Death, thou shalt die.

this is the part where i judge a book entirely by its cover

My boyfriend and I went to Chapters the other day to find a book to read together, cause it’s a thing we do sometimes. Anyways, we wanted to find a Christian book but the dominating authors in the Christian section were Brian McLaren, Joel Osteen, and Joyce Meyer.

I’m pretty sure many authors write books simply to fill pages and pay the bills.

Let me say something about Brian McLaren – and this is completely an opinion, just a feeling I have. He’s an asshole.

“The Secret Message of Jesus.” With this very title he claims that Jesus has a secret and he, Brian McLaren, knows what it is. Which is sort of a jerk thing to do for Christians who do have a personal relationship with Jesus, have read the Bible extensively, and accomplish amazing things without ever hearing of  McLaren.

Using the word “secret” insinuates exclusivity. The readers of McLaren’s book have thus been let in on this secret that so many have apparently missed.

Back cover: “What if many have carried on a religion that somewhere along the way missed the rich and radical treasures hidden in the essential message of Jesus?”

You can’t simply read the Bible like so many Christians have done; you have to read McLaren’s book to find the “hidden” “secret” we’ve been missing all along. It’s not about Jesus’ message – it’s about McLaren’s.

This is the part where you tell me I can’t judge a book by its cover, even though I already stated that was what I was going to do. Okay, if anyone wants to review this book in its entirety I will host it on my blog. The ‘asshole’ wordcount must be at least 7.

I’m kidding.

Paradise Lost by John Milton: Book 1

Paradise Lost was written by John Milton and published as 12 books in 1667. Here are some notes from Book 1, with the lines numbered for reference.

It starts off with Milton calling on the Holy Spirit to help him tell the story:

14. What in me is dark,
Illumine; what is low, raise and support
That, to the height of this great argument,
I may assert eternal providence,
And justify the ways of God to man.

Milton then begins his epic. The setting is in hell after Satan and his angels have been thrown out of Heaven.

62. Yet from the flames
No light, but rather darkness visible.

Satan addresses his angels. Even still he is prideful and even more hardened against God. He believes that he and his legions are still capable of overcoming God and claiming Heaven for themselves.

Bears

YES I am still reading. Slowly.

 

Man, I suck. I need to pick up the pace, stat.

 

Here are some notes, I’m in…2 Kings.

 

1 Kings 11:32 – First mention of God specifically choosing Jerusalem as his city, “…the city which I have chosen…”

 

13: 14 – Jeroboam’s hand dried up – freaky deaky!

 

16:27 – Elijah mocked prophets of Baal. The best sarcasm is the Lord’s sarcasm!

 

19:12 – “still, small voice”

 

2 Kings 2: 21 – Elisha healed waters with salt

 

2: 24: Respect your elders -bears ate kids that mocked Elisha. Favorite verse of parents everywhere.

 

6:6 Elisha causes axe to float

 

6: 16 – “They that are with us are more than are with them.” Army of angels – SA-WEET!

 

7:2 origin of “windows in heaven” term

 

13:21 – Dead man touches Elisha’s bones and is revived.

 

16: 3, 17:17, 17:31 – Israelites practiced child sacrifice

 

17:20 – Israelites (10 tribes) cast out of the land.

Man, so intense

SO. I’ve lost track of when I’ll finish the Bible, so I decided to go ahead and add another book so I’ll be reading two. Currently in the Bible I’m at 2 Samuel 24, otherwise page 317 out of 1081, which is 29% done. I’ll just kinda read it and when I finish, I finish. It’s too hard to schedule cause some parts I want to spend more time reading and other parts I don’t. Anyways, here are some notes:

So, Judges is full of a bunch of unsung heroes, cause Israel kept being retarded and worshipping other gods over and OVER again, so they always got carried away and captured by the other nations that they didn’t drive out of the land like God told them to over and over again, and thus they repented and got delivered over and over again. So here’s a few names of the men God used to deliver Israel that you don’t often hear about: Othniel (3:9), Ehud (3:15), Shamgar (3:31), and Ephriam (12:1). Of course Samson, Gideon, Barak and Deborah are in there as well. Oh! And Jael, the woman who drove a stake through the head of Sisera (4:21). How intense is that? Pretty intense.

Torah = DONE

So, my schedule for reading the Bible is great…unless you miss a day or two - then it’s ridiculous to catch up. That said, it will probably take me a bit longer than two months, but I WILL FINISH IT!

Anyways, I just finished Deuteronomy and am now into Joshua. Ten points for finishing the Torah!

So, contrary to popular belief, the torah is actually pretty straight. Yeah, it’s kinda excruciating when talking about all the different kinds of sacrifices and atonements and rules, but among all that is still some really awesome stuff. *understatement of century*

So here are some very brief notes:

Deut 4:2 – do not add or take away from the book of the law

Deut 6:9 – origin of mezuzah

Deut 9:4 – God basically said to the Israelites, “Hey, so here’s this awesome land. Go in and conquer it, but don’t think I’m giving you victory because you in any way deserve it. It is because of these nation’s wickedness that they are being destroyed, not your own righteousness.”

9: 24 – Moses says, “Ye have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you.”

10:19 – love the stranger, for ye were strangers in Egypt

30:6 – God speaks of circumcising the heart

32: 4, 15, 18, 30 21: God is referred to as the Rock and Rock of salvation.

Also, why can’t I be in Israel right now?