When talking about the Bible, Jesus is the ultimate figure due to the fact he is God’s son and the carnal being of the Holy Trinity. I’m fascinated to see how Jesus is perceived through a literature lens because again all I’ve know the Bible as is a religious scripture that you base your life around. Within chapters 1 to 8 you can apply to the structure of what makes a hero a hero. The call, the journey, and the transformation. Jesus’ calling is when the Angel says to Joseph, “He shall save his people from their sins.” Secondly, his journey is the fact that Herod ordered the slaying of the infants, putting Jesus’ life in peril. Lastly, Jesus’ transformation is when he gets baptized by John the Baptist and also overcomes temptation. Jesus embodies all the heroic requirements which make him a hero in a literature point of view, which can also contribute to the reason people love him and worship him in real life. I know I used to or still do, who knows…

Growing up Christian I would always be exposed to the Bible, obviously. However, one individual that was always talked about and ingrained in my brain was Abraham. The Pastor’s would always call Abraham, “The Father of Faith”. They preached in admiration about his blind faith in God and His voice. They used him as a tool and make us believe that we should be like Abraham and not question God and be obedient. Looking from a literary perspective the fact that Abraham almost sacrificed his son, Isaac, is insane to think about because a higher being told him so. The pastors would tell us to look at that symbolism and believe in God to that extreme, obviously not sacrifice your children because of a voice in your head. It’s insane to me to look now from an outsiders perspective into the church how they utilize characters and stories in order to move on their agenda/religious enlightenment. Also, reflecting on my own personal experience with faith, it’s saddening that I was not able to follow in the footsteps of Abraham because that was what was expected of me. However, I cannot live my life based on what others want me to believe in and do. I can get to choose what I believe in and live my life the way I want. In conclusion, I’m grateful for this class because it has exposed me to a different way of thinking and that there are multiple ways to live your life based on something else. Although we only have read the Rig Veda and the Bible, I can say I truly enjoy WHUM and the concepts it introduces me to about life, regardless if it is a literature class.

In Genesis chapter 1 we can see God’s care and favor in man because he gives man “dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” However, as mankind’s story progresses we see how God begins to turn his back on them. First, he kicks Adam and Eve out of Eden. The, after witnessing Cain’s murder against his very own brother, God curses Cain. We can even see Cain’s boldness in the way he responds to God by replying to him in such a manner as if God was not God. Chapter 4, verse 9 it says, “…Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” Here it shows the attitude that mankind has towards God, showing no respect. That being said, Cain’s act in killing Abel show’s the wickedness of humanity because Cain killed his own brother, his very own family, essentially showing no love towards thy brother. Later on, in the book of Genesis, God is essentially fed up with all of his creations and decides to eliminate all of them. However, he has an exception with Noah and then decides to let him takes his family along with 1 pair of each animal. After the construction of the ark, God sends out a massive flood wiping out anything that was not on Noah’s ark. This is significant because it shows that God does have mercy due to the fact that he let some creations live. However, it also shows his wrath because he killed everything else. Lastly, we can see in Chapter 11 how humanity cares about themselves because of the Tower of Babel symbolism. It was made to show great architectural feat and also to be convenient for man to be with one another. However, it shows their disobedience because God wanted them to disperse throughout the Earth but instead, they create this tower for their purposes. I find it interesting how humanity wants to do their own thing but God wants them to do something else but humanity refuses and rebels. Keep in mind that man was made to be of God’s image…

Growing up, I never really viewed the Bible as a piece of literature. I always viewed it as a holy scripture that was never to be questioned in any manner because that was and is considered “blasphemy”. However, looking at it through a new lens will make me consider new ideas and different perspectives which I find important since I’m on a journey to figure out my identity and where I stand with religion. Referring back to looking at the Bible as a piece of literature, there were so many instances where I picked up on things that I never realized while sitting in church. For example, in Genesis 1, verse 14 it says, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” What calls my attention is the word “us”, like who is us referring to? God and who? His spirit? His son? Are there other Gods that come in to question? Clearly not because Christianity is a monotheistic religion, however, it does raise a lot of questions. Another prime example is in Chapter 3 of Genesis where Eve was deceived by the serpent to eat fruit that God forbid them to eat but was not man created to be of God’s image? Back in Chapter one, it says, “Let us make man in our image after our likeness” So if man and woman were impressionable, does that make God impressionable too? All I just want to say is that it’s just fascinating personally to see these instances where you can speculate and question what the writer(s) actually intended. This is important especially when you question everything that you were raised with, go against it in some instances, and try to figure out where you stand with religion, Christianity is my case.