Looking back and forward and around me -or- what I like about the Bible

      If you have read my past blog entries then you know I do not agree with a lot of the ideas that are put forth, I got really sick of the violence, and at one point I was just plain disappointed. Having had a few days to step away from reading the Bible and having the weight of the assignment lifted off my shoulders, I feel I have gained a new perspective. This is my list of things I really like about reading the Bible (in random order):

• I love that God and the Word all sort of came from each other, yet are one, and that it/they formed everything.
• I really appreciated that God chose the last person anyone would have picked as the hero to complete his tasks. 
• The fact that people were able to talk back to God and even have him change his mind was great. 
• Just knowing that people have studied, changed, and built their worlds around this text is very interesting. How many other books are like this? I don't remember anyone changing Moby Dick and calling it the original and getting away with it. Quoting it or borrowing from it, yes, but saying it is still the same book would not be accepted. 
• There are many surprises in the Bible. From images of unicorns to Jesus not coming to bring peace as I had always heard, this was not the book I expected. 
• I knew full well that I had not read the Bible. I found a copy one of my best friends in high school gave me that I had read bits and parts of. The funny thing was that I did not remember having it much less reading parts. The thing is, I had a sort of arrogant preconception that I actually knew a few things that were in the Bible. When I got to the parts I thought I knew, I was just as clueless as I was about parts I had never heard of. 
• In doing a project for another class that concerns banned books, I realized that the author's use of disturbing images was necessary. If the author of The Giver had not included the image of the baby dying and of the young girl committing suicide, the lesson would have been watered down and lost. It is the same with The Bible. No one really wants to think about babies having their heads smashed against rocks, or someone's firstborn son being killed, but it leaves a powerful message.
• The Bible can lead readers on paths beyond its covers. I, for example, started wondering about Enoch and I found a book that was not included in the canon. Reading The Book of Enoch (the part I allotted time for) gave me an entirely new perspective on Genesis. 
• I think I may now be able to experience other literature in an entirely new light. Just as Enoch shed light on the story of the flood, the Bible has given me a new perspective on The Byrds. (Just one example)
• I like that there are books in the Bible that are so completely unexpected and seemingly out of place. The first few books seem to follow a path, but then you get to something out of the blue like Song of Solomon or Ruth or Revelations that just don't seem like the others. 
• Reading The Bible brought up so many thoughts and feelings that I had to sort out. There is so much in our culture and in my family that comes from this book that when I had to look at the actual text and the misconceptions it really was interesting, but it was also disturbing at times. 

  I could go on with my list, but for now, I will stop there. The first day of class I seriously considered dropping. Now, I am glad I didn't. I really thought I should read the Bible, but I doubt I would have. So even if I did miss a few details with my quick reading I still feel that it was completely worth my time. Truly, I can't wait to start reading it again at a much slower pace.