At the New Yorker, Rollo Romig examines the unique position of scripture as literary genre through the lens of history, and with the help of Avi Steinberg’s recent nonfiction title The Lost Book of Mormon. Romig moves through a line of (relatively) recent cases when new scriptures have been introduced, mostly in the US, and attempts to figure them into the larger picture of contemporary belief....more
Posts Tagged: the bible
“Philip Esler’s book seeks to probe the mindset of ancient Israelite readers, to uncover their cultural presuppositions and to reveal the patriarchal, patrilocal and patrilinear structures in which their narratives make sense.”
Esler’s Sex, Wives, and Warriors: Reading Biblical Narrative with its Ancient Audience walks us through a number of the Bible’s dramatic stories, highlighting how the tales reflect the “seven basic plots common to all world literature.”
(Via The Millions)...more
When you hear the word rivalry, do you think of old-fashioned sibling throat-grabbing? Are you reminded, for instance, of the moment in the Book of Genesis when Joseph’s brothers rip off his famous ornamented coat and sell their annoyingly prophetic sibling into slavery?...more
Apparently, this Orange Prize judge thinks women — at least the women nominated for the Orange Prize — write too much “misery lit.”...more
Is the Bible too liberal for you? Too much of that “help the poor” and not enough sinner-smiting? Do you have no knowledge of ancient Greek and no experience in translation? Then you’re perfect for this project.
Shirley Dent talks about the difference between idiom and slang, especially as it relates to culture....more
My coworker wants me to drop an F-Bomb.
Photographers talk about their hardest earned shots. way rad.
The people of Spain understand who deserves memorializing: Almodovar’s monument.
Have you heard about the Conservative Bible Project? You probably have. Sorry!...more