How do you read the Bible?
Jan. 10th, 2008 12:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rhuWhen I read the Bible -- especially the Torah (Genesis through Deuteronomy) -- I identify with the people I'm reading about. Regardless of the historical accuracy, I feel that I'm reading about my ancestors, my family, my people, and so the narrative has an immediacy that is lacking in other great literature.
Do others relate to the characters in Genesis the same way that they relate to Odysseus, Beowulf, Hamlet, and Arthur Dent? Do cultural Jews feel the same affinity that I do? Would non-Jews differ in their responses by religion/denomination?
This is something I've been wondering about since I made that Hanukkah puzzle. In particular, when I wrote "Who's that guy on our family tree?" (emphasis added) and expected the solvers to identify the family tree as the biblical patriarchs.
Do others relate to the characters in Genesis the same way that they relate to Odysseus, Beowulf, Hamlet, and Arthur Dent? Do cultural Jews feel the same affinity that I do? Would non-Jews differ in their responses by religion/denomination?
This is something I've been wondering about since I made that Hanukkah puzzle. In particular, when I wrote "Who's that guy on our family tree?" (emphasis added) and expected the solvers to identify the family tree as the biblical patriarchs.