Tag: Literature

• Genesis One as a Work of Literature

  Genesis 1:1- 2:3 was one of the last contributions to the opening five books of the Hebrew Bible. It was added when they were reaching their final shape, at the hands of Priestly editors. The following Genesis 2:4 to 3:24 ‘creation’ account is much earlier, with a human-like God strolling around his garden, talking to […]

  calgacus83

  3rd Nov 2022

  Christianity, Hebrew Bible, Literature, Mythology, Old Testament, Poetry, Religion

  Creation, Darwin, Evolution, Genesis 1, God, Hebrew, Literature, Man and Woman, Sabbath, Science

• The Gospels as Literature

  Looking at the Gospels as works of literature, for me, diminishes neither their intellectual and emotional impact, nor their spiritual and cultural value. Myth, legend and folktale; imagination, symbol and metaphor, deepen rather than detract from meaning and significance.  The crucifixion I regard as historical fact. The reason for Jesus’ execution was pinned to his […]

  calgacus83

  30th Oct 2022

  Christianity, Jesus of Nazareth, Literature, Mythology, New Testament, Poetry, Religion

  Centurion, Crucifixion of Jesus, Earthquake, Jesus, Kingdom of God, Literature, Matthew's Gospel, Resurrection, Son of God, Temple Curtain

• Jesus, Moses, Matthew and Literature

  As I see it, it’s unsustainable to regard the Gospels as history or biography as currently understood. The writer of Matthew’s Gospel wasn’t a ‘disinterested’ professional, assembling, evaluating, and presenting a comprehensive, strictly chronological, balanced account. He was a believer, writing an extended religious tract, to buttress the faith of other believers, and persuade the […]

  calgacus83

  28th Oct 2022

  Christianity, Hebrew Bible, Jesus of Nazareth, Literature, New Testament, Old Testament, Poetry, Religion

  Exodus, Gospels, Jesus, Law, Literature, Moses, Mount Sinai, Sermon on Mount, Ten Commandments, Transfiguration

• Myth and the Gospels

  In my previous post, I wrote about myths in the Hebrew Bible, and also about contemporaneous Greek myths. There are also what we can call myths, I believe, in the Gospels, and here I’m suggesting an example in John’s gospel. By ‘myths’, I mean imaginative stories which include supernatural beings and events. The fourth gospel, […]

  calgacus83

  11th May 2022

  Christianity, Jesus of Nazareth, Literature, Mythology, New Testament, Poetry, Religion

  Gospels, Jesus, Lazarus, Literature, Macbeth, Myth, Resurrection, Shakespeare, Supernatural

• A Glance at the Gospel of Mark

  Around 70 CE, in a city somewhere in the Roman Empire outside of Palestine, a man composed a religious tract on a parchment scroll. He wrote in Greek, and was either a Jewish or Pagan convert to Christianity. He added no signature, but around 100 years later, he was called Mark, so let’s call him […]

  calgacus83

  31st Oct 2021

  Jesus of Nazareth, Literature, New Testament, Old Testament, Poetry, Religion

  Gospel, Literature, Mark, Messiah, Puccini, Stories, Turandot, Word of Mouth

• The Gospels (5) ‘Sermon on the Mount – Beatitudes’

  In this series, I’m looking at the Gospels as literature, as religious tracts, with contents selected and shaped accordingly. Even if your ‘religion’ is liberal, radical or non-existent, these fascinating and thought-provoking pieces of literature have much to offer, if read for what they are, rather than for what, in my view, they are not. […]

  calgacus83

  28th Sep 2021

  Jesus of Nazareth, Literature, Mythology, New Testament, Religion

  Apocalytic, Beatitudes, Gospels, Humanitarian, Jesus, Literature, Moses, Social Justice

• The Gospels (4) ‘Religious Tracts’

  Continuing to look at the Gospels as literature – as religious tracts designed to confirm and persuade, with their contents selected and shaped to meet that aim – authors can be tempted to stretch things a bit, and indulge a bit of ‘hype’. To ‘prove’ that Jesus is the promised Messiah, Matthew ransacks the Jewish […]

  calgacus83

  24th Sep 2021

  Hebrew Bible, Jesus of Nazareth, Literature, Mythology, New Testament, Religion

  Gospels, Jesus, Literature, Messiah, Prophecies, Stories

• The Gospels (2) ‘Works of Literature’

  I’m writing about the Gospels as long-established and distinguished pieces of literature that deserve to be read, at least, for that reason. I’m also writing about them as extra-long religious tracts, designed to confirm believers and persuade non-believers, with contents selected and shaped to achieve these ends. Matthew wants to persuade us that Jesus is […]

  calgacus83

  19th Sep 2021

  Jesus of Nazareth, Literature, Mythology, New Testament, Religion

  Gentiles, Gospels, Jesus, Literature, Nativity, Stories