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Feb 10 2010

The Bible is true, but still literature

Posted by: Matthew in Uncategorized

The one thing the Bible is not is what it is so often thought to be – a theological outline with proof texts attached.

Asked to define neighbor, Jesus told a story (Luke 10:25-27). Likewise, Jesus’ aphoristic command “Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32) shows that he believed that truth can be embodied in concrete examples or images as well as in moral propositions.

-Leland Ryken, How to Read the Bible as Literature, p.9

Ryken’s book starts out well, but after a couple chapters I couldn’t continue. It’s all good information and his examples are clear, but the thing is just so darn boring I couldn’t stand it! 200 pages could have been condensed into a 20 page essay and nothing would be lost.

I think I’m going to skip it and move on to the (more highly recommended by folks I know) The Art of Biblical Narrative by Robert Alter.

Possibly Related posts:

  1. The Bible as Literature
  2. Being weird about the bible
  3. The simple solution to slavery in the bible
  4. Violent Psalms and “Biblical” criticism of the Bible

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 at 7:20 AM and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “The Bible is true, but still literature”

  1. Tim says:
    February 13th, 2010 at 3:20 AM

    Have you tried Northrop Frye? Though more “The Bible as LITERATURE” than “The BIBLE as literature”, I feel like I am reading a learned and serious man in Frye.

    http://www.amazon.com/Great-Code-Bible-Literature/dp/0156027801/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1

  2. Matthew says:
    February 13th, 2010 at 9:53 AM

    Interesting. Haven’t heard of this one, but I’ll add it to the list. Looks like one of those dangerous unorthodox authors. :)

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