.....I have had an email from a reader who wants to know whether or not I'm reading the King James version of the Bible. The answer is a big NO.
.....I am not reading the King James version. I am reading a book of selections from the Old and New Testaments in a modern translation of the stories in a book once used in the NSHS curriculum.. The book does not indicate who did the translations--but it sure reads like a bible--and literature. If the average reader attempts to read the Bible he's confronted with a volume of more than a 1000 pages printed in double columns and bound forbiddingly in black cloth or imitation leather. After a while he bogs down, gives up, and goes on to try "War and Peace." I am also not "glossing" over the text, and I'm "reading all the words." As far as any objection to the last line as "gratuitous" is concerned, it's satirical like all the rest of the blogs. However, I am not Jonathan Swift. I am only the Baron.
…..The wallet that was lost has been found.
I don't feel that reading the Bible is as onerous as you seem to imply. It often reveals facts that have become lost through its retelling out of context (for instance, Noah took 7 pairs of many animals, not just one pair). Reading it with a commentary provides a map, just as footnotes do for the reading of Shakespeare. I understand that you are reading all the words, but I see that it's just certain passages offered in the book you have. I asked because most of your questions you posed (i.e., what ever happened to Cain?) are clearly explained, but probably in the sections that are not in your book's collection.
ReplyDeleteI guess if you read an abridged version of "Hamlet," you are still "reading Shakespeare," but if you have to ask what happened to Polonius, something important is probably lost along the way. The Bible does bog down in some sections, so one can always read just the first of the five books and simply claim to be saving the rest for later.