Day 3

(some notes are sketchy - I think nearly everyone has posted their papers on their blogs)
Me - Mystery religions present during early days of Christianity, including Mithraists (males only and worshipped in underground temples) and Eleusinians (cult of Demeter and Persephone; open to everyone, including slaves). Other influences existed, but Emporer Constantine's conversion to Christianity ultimately ended these other religions.

Matt M. - Wisdom vs. knowledge in the Bible; wisdom is separated from worldly knowledge in the Bible.

Matt L. - The changes in baptism over time throughout the New Testament

Maria - water symbolism in The Slave and the Bible

Justin - retold the first 11 chapters of Genesis (see his blog)

Shelly - told of the images of water in the Bible and played a Gino Vanelli song: "Come to the Well."

Andrew - The problem of knowledge and evil. Frankenstein, . . . Faustus and Jude the Obscure are satirical attacks on the concept of knowledge. Jude would be on Andrew's list of 3 tragedies.

Adam - The movie "Dogma" is a satire on what happens when you take your beliefs too seriously and Adam referenced Frye's "if you have a belief, there's an opposite" idea, which, according to Adam, keeps you open minded.

Robin - She looked at Frye 7 and brought examples of 6 different visuals: cherubim, seraphim, doves, gold, fire (phoenix) and leviathan

Lauren - Comparison of Native American trixter to the Bible figure of the trixter. The Navajo creation story has a coyote who is a trixter.

Erick - The NT pulled away from Judaism, but it isn't clear without knowing the OT. Erick told the story of the faith of the centurion. Centurions didn't usually value human life but this particular centurion valued the life of his servant.

Individual Presentations day 2

(my notes grew less descriptive as we went on)

Tara - The role of women esp. women in Genesis and The Slave. Sara is infertile and gives her slave Hagar to Abraham, Rebecca favors her son Jacob over Essau and Tamar dresses as a prostitute. All of these women are portrayed as whores, but everything they did was for their children. In The Slave, Jacob blames Wanda for his yearnings; Wanda becomes Sara - subserviant and mute.

Erica - David is heroic and human. He has the capacity for love, is enslaved by passion and falls for an unavailable woman. Psalm 51 (Prayer for Cleansing and Pardon) David's prayer "Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you."

Taylor - Females in the Bible - Tamar vs. Guinevere (Victorian interpretation). Victorians followed a strict interpretation of the Bible and there's the dichotomy of angel and whore for Guinevere. Taylor referenced William Morris' Defense of Guinevere

Dana - She had a Catholic schools upbringing but an agnostic home life. She discussed what she had learned from this class and how harmful a literal translation of the Bible can be. Dana passed around 2 art pieces.

Alex - The Slave and the story of Israel - mirroring story over and over again. Jephtha sacrificing his daughter in Judges parallels the sacrifices of Israel.

Marlow - 666 (the mark of the beast) equals Caesar and Nero - the mark wasn't of the coming beast, it was already there because C&N were both horrifically cruel, violent leaders. Marlow's paper compares the Book of Revelation to Invisible Man

Emily - Revelation and Invisible Man - why do we study the Bible?

Jennifer - God's power - the writer J shows God using power against his subjects and then Jennifer played a CD - "Our God is an Awesome God"
song

Judson - Some things resist the erosion of translation. The Slave is an attack on what you thought was Judaism (parable).

Brendan - went to Catholic schools but had liberal parents. Bloom's description of Yahweh engrossed him, as did the passion and true literature of the Bible.

Michael - Science and religion aren't polar opposites (see his blog for a discussion on this). Newton's apple on the head is Biblical. People try to conceptualize their place in the world and we need these stories.

individual presentations day 1

A group of us studied together this evening; and as none of us know what will be on the test with any certainty, I said I'd post all my notes from the individual presentations and I hope it helps; however, some of them aren't very thorough and they are colored by my interpretation:

Amanda - "let there be light," how water and light have influenced science and society, Sir Isaac Newton studied optics first because it was God's 1st creation - he thought if he studied light, he'd be closer to God. There are 300 references to light in the Bible and light is tied to the word or truth of God and God himself.

Rosa - She went into her "cave" and we heard bells, a triangle and a kazoo playing the Battle Hymn of the Republic. Book of Revelation - we don't give gifts; we are the gifts that are given, but Rosa gave us slips of paper with Bible verses on them.

Kerry - looked at the notion of time in the Bible. Kronos is clock time and Kairos is the crucial moment in time. "The eternal and the infinite are the here and now." Always questioning keeps the Bible timeless.

John - presented a creative piece and, rather than relying on my interpretation, it's probably best if you go to his blog and read it yourself.

Kelly - Why is the Slave entitled that? The title progressed to Jacob at the river realizing he has been acting out the story of Jacob and Rachel - he is a "slave" to the story.

Rosanna - Blood Wanda - examines the voice of insanity - fertility, sexuality and blood - menstruation became taboo under Abraham. Rosanna examined the lives of 2 women in her life who are "crazy." Rosanna gave Freud's "penis envy"a new definition (look at my 12/5 blog for details).

Kari - examing God as anthropomorphic. Yahweh "tries" to kill Moses - why "try" - was God human at this point? God is transcendant in Job and seems to be driving human beings to look beyond themselves.

Laura - Frye 24 had some things that made her think: The Bible is like a poem - you have to read the Bible as a whole work and you can't refer outside of it. Reality continues beyond the Bible - each time we need life, we take water. Society has to force an interpretation of the Bible. When the Bible was translated to English the priests put their own spin on it - are we still doing that today?

Kim - Why do bad things happen to good people? She used props and examples from Job - the house, the fire - and examples from her own life and experiences, including 9/11, Katrina, her friends who were killed by a drunk driver. We can question why and say we understand or don't understand, but, in the end, maybe he's just too high for us. The props spelled out "theodicy."

Gabby - Why did God accept Abel's offering, but not Cane's? Biblical scholars say that society was pastoral and valued sheep (Abel's gift) over crops (Cane's gift). The "mark of Cane" is defined as many different things by different scholars - darkening skin, a light around him or a man walking a dog.

Dane - Frye says the Bible illuminates the individual and gives him the freedom to fill in the gaps. The True Believer by Eric Hoffer researched how individuals have controlled others through the Bible, incl. depreciating the present by presenting a brighter future. Dane recommends the "Grand Inquisitor" chapter of Bros. K - the church takes away freedom and gives miracle and mystery.

Ryan - Ryan saw ties between Eccl. and communism - "one will lift up another." The wealthy wrote it (Eccl) to keep the poor in place - born naked, die naked - it's all vanity. The rich keeps the poor working so they don't have to

Lindsay - What Wanda felt for Jacob in The Slave and what a man and woman feel for each other is not love but lust. Love comes from God. Lindsay tied the song "Hallelujah" to Wanda and Jacob.

Brian - Frye 24 says you can't argue with the literal meaning of the Bible, but Brian wants to read it as a novel. The Bible wasn't written as just some people sitting down; it was passed on as oral tradition. Too many things try to be tied to the Bible - example of archeologists finding a bench in Jerusalem and saying, "Jesus may have sat here."

A few more from Acts

Here's a few more points from the Book of Acts as suggested by Andrew:

- The Babel account in Genesis has an antitype of sorts in Acts 2, in which the Holy Spirit descends on the Apostles, and they speak in many different languages, in this case to glorify God rather than to 'overthrow' him, as in Genesis.

- Paul's missionary status acts as a sort of type of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt, in that he leads Gentiles and Jews alike out of 'bondage.'

- Many modern references exist that allude to the book of Acts, a couple being the movie "The Waking Life" and Johnny Cash's less known 'antitype' to his song "The Man in Black," "The Man in White," which deals with Saul and his conversion to Paul on the road to Damascus.

Book of Acts Group

Well, crud, I just remembered that I'm the designated post-er for our group. 3 things to know about the book of Acts:
1. The word “Christians” first appears in Acts 11:26, and the word was used to distinguish their (Christian) beliefs from other forms of Judaism

2. Frye's idea of that the bible follows both a pattern of imagery and narrative, specifically with types and antitypes, but also with a continuation of ideas such as the "out-of-Egypt-bring-God".

3. Paul and Barnabus state they are set free from sin through a belief in Jesus, not the law of Moses (13:38) – states the definitive difference between Judaism and Christianity

My paper

I hope I'm not too late posting this - it's just after 5 now - I got caught up in editing and formatting my sources (I haven't used MLA in ages!) and lost track of time. I know the formatting is going to go to Hell when I transfer this, so I hope its still readable. I'm looking forward to presenting this to all of you tomorrow!

The Influence of the Mystery Religions


The language of the New Testament is imbued with kerygma, a Greek word meaning proclamation. According to Northrop Frye, “it (kerygma) answers the existential question of what one should do to be saved” (213). Every sentence in the New Testament is filled with the language of salvation; however, being “saved” during New Testament times meant following the teachings of a criminal who was crucified at Calvary. Many first century inhabitants were of Jewish origin, but other influences existed, giving the population other belief systems and religions to choose from.
The early “Christians” were in fact Jews who were following the teachings of Christ, and a few key points are worth noting. In Acts 13:38, Paul and Barnabas state they are set free from sin through a belief in Jesus, not the law of Moses, which states the definitive difference between Judaism and Christianity. The conversion from Mosaic to Christian beliefs marked a change in the practices and lexicon of the time. The Jewish people held their own property and land, but the Christian way was a more communal system of sharing. The Jews believed in strict adherence to Mosaic Law while Christians were more lax. A point of question and contention among Christ’s followers was whether or not non-Jews had to be circumcised first before they could become Christians. The Council at Jerusalem met and proclaimed that converts did not have to be circumcised, stating in Acts 15:19, “. . . we should not trouble those Gentiles who are turning to God.”
Some people may have turned to the teachings of Jesus and his followers, but others retained their belief in the mystery religions. The Eleusinian mysteries came into existence around 1500 BCE. These ceremonies were “held annually in honor of Demeter and Persephone, were the most sacred and revered of all the ritual celebrations of ancient Greece” (Beach).
The celebrations surrounding these mysteries are shrouded in, well, mystery. The group held to secretive initiation rites where something was said, something was done and something was shown. As this was an agriculturally-based religion, and according to Dr. Sexson, the something said was probably a proclamation by a high priest, the something done was an enactment of Persephone picking flowers before she was spirited away to the underworld and the item shown was possibly a stalk of wheat. The Eleusinian mysteries were open to all: men, women and slaves.
In contrast, the Mithraic devotees recruited only males. Mithraism rose in prominence around the same time as Christianity. Written, textual evidence of Mithraism is not in existence, only archeological evidence. According to David Ulansey:
The followers had underground temples (mithraea) from England to Syria filled with iconography, including statues, reliefs and paintings. . On average a mithraeum could hold perhaps twenty to thirty people at a time. At the back of the mithraeum at was always found a representation . . . of the central icon of Mithraism: the so-called tauroctony or "bull-slaying scene" in which the god of the cult, Mithras . . . is shown in the act of killing a bull. Other parts of the temple were decorated with various scenes and figures. There were many hundreds-- perhaps thousands-- of Mithraic temples in the Roman empire.
Mithraism possibly has influenced the very core of Christianity. Frye points out that “the great rivalry of Christianity in its early days was Mithraism” (96). He goes on to explain that Christmas is celebrated on December 25th because Christian’s claimed “squatter’s rights” on the day of the winter solstice, an extremely important day in the Mithraism belief system.
One primary difference between Christianity and these mystery religions was the matter of exclusivity in worship. A male citizen with the ability to travel extensively could have attended Eleusinian and Mithraic rites, worshipped Zeus and planted trees in honor of whatever nature god he chose to worship. Christianity and Judaism were not open to the concept of picking and choosing beliefs and religions. They were to follow either the Christian or Mosaic laws and turn away from all false worship and idols. Christianity also offered clarity in its individuality: worshippers knew and understood the rituals and followed only one god.
Evidence of Greek influences exists in the Bible. In chapter 14 of the Book of Acts, as they are speaking to a crowd in order to convert them, Paul and Barnabas are mistaken for the Greek gods Zeus and Hermes. The local priest of Zeus and the crowd attempt to sacrifice oxen in their honor, but Paul and Barnabas stop them telling them “. . . (they) should turn from these worthless things to the Living God . . .”. And, jumping ahead to Acts 19, Paul, now in the city of Ephesus, contends with a local silversmith who makes shrines to the Greek goddess Artemis. The silversmith works the locals into a fury claiming that Paul is there to scorn Artemis and her temple. Soon Paul cannot speak to the crowd for fear of losing his life.
While the followers of Jesus may have worked to eradicate the beliefs in the myth and the mystic, the book of Mark reveals that, during Jesus’ time, these beliefs, quite possibly, remained in place. Mark 14:51 tells the story of a young man dressed only in a linen cloth who is following Jesus. For unclear reasons, in the next verse the young man is naked and running away. This incident may have been indicative of a secret initiation rite. The short ending of the book of Mark, which is believed to be the “true” ending by many scholars, is more in line with the mystery religions of the time. The women at Jesus’ tomb see a ghost, run away and tell no one about it. They continue the tradition of entering dark places (the tomb), being told something (Jesus tells them to go tell the disciples and Peter), seeing something (the ghost/spirit himself) and remaining secretive and silent after the encounter.
The influences of mystery religions, Greek mythology and other mystical beliefs held fairly steady following the crucifixion of Christ; however, these “competitors” fell away with time and circumstance. Government order ended the Eleusinian mystery religion. According to the article Eleusinian Mysteries, “The Roman emperor Theodosius closed the sanctuary in CE 392, and finally it was abandoned when Alaric, king of the Goths, invaded Greece in CE 396. This brought Christianity to the region, and all cult worship was forbidden. “
Christianity distinguished itself from the mystery religions by virtue of its openness, both in worship and admission. “While early Christians sought to enlighten the world, then, adherents of the Mithraic mysteries sought individual enlightenment and advancement within the existing culture” (Ulansey). The worship of Greek gods and goddesses and the belief in the myths faded as the Eleusinian and Mithraist followers faded away as well. Christianity grew in strength following the Roman Emperor Constantine’s conversion to Christianity, and in CE 313, Constantine issued the "Edict of Milan," which commanded official toleration of Christianity and other religions.

Works Cited
Beach, Edward. “The Eleusinian Mysteries.” The Ecole Initiative (1995).
3 Dec. 2006 .
Frye, Northrop and MacPherson, Jay. Biblical and Classical Myths. Toronto: U of Toronto,
2004.
HarperCollins Study Bible. New York: HarperCollins, 1993
Leadbetter, Ron. “Eleusinian mysteries." Encyclopedia Mythica (2002). 3 Dec. 2006.
.
Sexson, Michael. Foundations of Biblical Literature Lecture. 31 Oct. 2006
Ulansey, David. "Solving the Mithraic Mysteries." Biblical Archaeology Review Sept./Oct.
1994: 40-53.

Subliminally Sublime

I made this note to myself on October 17th, but I never got around to looking it up or blogging about it . . .

Bloom (pg 244) says "uncanniness is the peculiar mark of sublimity in the extraordinary dialogue J writes for Yahweh and Moses in Exodus 3" (Moses at the burning bush). As we discussed in class numerous times, Bloom loves to describe J as "uncanny." However the word that jumped out to me in that quote was "sublime."

The term sublime came up again in Bloom's discussion of Ex 24:10 (Moses seeing God, sapphire pavement, etc) on pg 255. Bloom described J as being at her most "uncanniest" (there's that word again) but then he goes on to refer to her as "the true Western Sublime."

In class we defined sublime as something so overwhelming it is great and terrible at the same time. My own personal experience with sublime is the Grand Canyon. It was incredibly, amazingly beautiful but terrifying at the same time (it's a long way to the bottom after all).

Etymology fascinates me, so I had to know the root of the word sublime - especially since "sub" means under or beneath. According to Dictionary.com, sublime may be of unclear origin, but one definition is "beneath the lintel." Huh? Or it could be that sublime is an old French word that derived from a Latin word sublmis, meaning uplifted.

I like the "beneath the lintel" definition - makes me think of being terrified and awed all while standing in a doorway.

To make it even more confusing - subliminal (or "subliminable" as the current occupant of the White House says) means under the threshold (or lintel).

some thoughts on the presentations

I didn't plan on blogging about the presentations b/c I figured people would post their own info, but I have seen several things over the last two class periods that have caught my fancy or inspired me. It may be that the former speech and debate coach in me feels the need to critique performances, but I truly am fired up by all of the wonderful lessons I have learned in the past few days.

The fascination with, and presentations on, Revelations and women in the Bible/The Slave by so many of my classmates was intriguing. I enjoyed Amy's take on the visions of "Crazy John" and Rosa's performance art piece that (beautifully) reminded us that we are the gift. Rosanna's definition of penis envy was startling, but I love being exposed to new ideas that make my previously held notions fall on their collective butts.

Dane and Ryan (in their own distinct styles) both presented the Bible as a document used to control the masses, and Brian reminded us that Frye said we can't argue with the literal meaning of the Bible. Brian's comment about how too many things try to be tied to the Bible (i.e. archeologists find a bench in Jerusalem and state "Jesus MAY have sat here") was amusing and succintly echoed something we have talked about over and over again in class: let the myth lie - don't try to tie it to history.

Marlow and Emily both compared Invisible Man to the book of Revelation; although, they disagreed on whether or not they'd recommend Ralph Ellison's book. I would recommend it to anyone who wants insight as to what it's really like to be black in America - granted this is the opinion of a white woman in Montana. I read Invisible Man one summer before I went to Alabama to visit my grandparents - I think it was in 1995. I'd been in Alabama dozens of times before (and several since) and even lived there for a couple of brief periods as a child, but being there right after reading that book gave me a hypersensitivity and awareness that I had never experienced before. Many white people still treat black people as if they are invisible.

Now that I've completely digressed . . .

Taylor's discussion of Guinevere was so intriguing it made me want to read the William Morris book. Erica's David reminded me why he is so many's fave character. And, Dana and Brendan both voiced something that I have learned in this class that means more to me than any other lesson (and there have been plenty!): the Bible isn't a literal document - I've struggled with this for years and it's heady stuff for an ex-Southern Baptist to digest, and I appreciated their input and Dana's artwork.

I know I've mentioned certain names, but, rest assured, ALL of you have opened my eyes, ears and mind.

literally backing up a bit in a quest for the truth

These are some class notes from November 16th - our last class meeting before we began the group presentations. I can't get as detailed as I usually do b/c this was 2 weeks ago and some of my notations "literally" no longer make sense.

Frye Chapter 24 -

P 244 - from the descriptive intention the truth emerges
Harvey (one of my personal faves) and Alice in Wonderland have a change of verbal structure (talking to rabbits) but the truth emerges

Nabokov first translated "Alice" into Russian - he also invented the first crossword puzzle

Aritstotle said that poets are always telling The Truth; historians tell the truth, which led to John's observation that the poet Richard Hugo (Degrees of Gray in Philipsburg) said, "academic writers want to be right; poets want to be honest."

Frye 245 - story and history were the same word, but they split into "fancy" and "truth" "Literacy" is a sensitivity to the meanings and usage of language. Frye says that the Bible is "literally true" but every sentence has been redacted/edited and he (Frye) doesn't agree with Bloom that the Bible has a distinct voice. The Bible literally means just what it says, and a "literal" reading of the Bible is to take it at face value.

I have to laugh at the use of the word "literal" - I remember at the beginning of the semester Dr. Sexson warned us against using the term, ie "I literally died when he said that." Now, here we are at the near end of the semester, and it's peppering our lecture and my blog. So, English 211, like the Bible, has a U shape and we have been "literally" restored.

Pictures from Group #4

Here's a couple of pics from Group #4's Book of Ruth presentation. I took more pics, including Group 6, but they didn't come out. I was nervous about our presentation and I think my shaky fingers were hitting the wrong buttons, but these 2 are precious . . . in my humble opinion.

Test #2

Hope this helps everyone. Some of these won't make much sense if you weren't in class, but I hope you'll get the gist.

Hagiography - holy writing, those writings about someone that only reveal their saintly nature and leave out everything else

Kairos (similar to epiphany) - decisive moment of time that obliterates time (Frye)

Kerygma - proclamation of what one must do to be saved - every single sentence in the NT is kerygmatic in relation to the other sentences (it's all a matter of context)

Frye- the sermon on the mount is a positive version of the Decalogue - 10 Commandments

In the Book of Job, Satan is the accuser within a judicial process, rather than the judge/devil

An attack on the structures of your expectations is a parable

Job is not being punished; he is being tested

Sexson says that the 3 greatest tragedies are Brothers K, King Lear and Job because they all contain theodicy - the questioning of the justice of God

God's reply to Job? He doesn't reply - he demonstrates his power & asks Job, "Who are you?"

Define epiphany - sudden manifestation of God - God's appearing to Moses (burning bush) and Job (whirlwind) are both epiphanies

Define sublime - a mixture of the awesome and awful, that which is terrifying (or horrifying) and beautiful - the Grand Canyon is a good example

Enthusiasm - entheos - possessed by the gods

Opening of Ecclesiastes? "Vanity of vanities . . . all is vanity"

Hebel: translation of word vanity - vapor, mist or fog - prevents you from seeing

T/F Jesus individualizes the book of Exodus - TRUE - the story of Jesus is standing for the book of Exodus

Fill in blank - The Lord (giveth) and the Lord (taketh away)

T/F (in this class) Job is a model of patience FALSE - look at main body of story, NOT prologue and epilogue

Apocalypse - the removal of the veil so one may see

Frye's stages of the Bible - refer to first test

There will be a question re. parataxsis (breathless way of connecting events using "and")

(Slave) What is Wanda's name changed to? Sarah Why? all converts to Judaism are named Sarah - daughter of Abraham

Moses, David and Jesus are archetypal heroes

A couple of questions re. mystery religions - event in Mark 14 suggests Christianity was originally a mystery religion and Demeter and Persephone were central figures in Eleusinian mystery religion

Eschatology - doctrine of the last things, the end of the world - this issue underwrites nearly every chapter of the NT

Biographies - (Frye) question related to Gospels

Maria was born in Whitefish, MT, November 17, 1981 to Robert and Nancy - this is part of her archetype. An archetype is the transcendent meaning and a signature is the specific historical example, so Maria is the signature - Tat tvam asi "that thou art" - you're it

Taking the ordinary and making it into a holy history is heilsgeschichte

Which book does "fool" come from? Book of Proverbs

According to Erica, according to Bloom, who is J's last great character? Moses

Which natural image occurs @ the beginning and the end of the Bible? water