Since this isn't a blog about personal religious beliefs, but a place to talk about history, language and culture, it'd be nice to hear about people's educational and personal histories, to better understand their takes on the coming material.
I have a BA in Anthropology from Stanford University. I was raised Mormon, though never considered myself a believer, even as a child, and I never practiced in the Mormon church, nor went on a mission. Nowadays, I don't subscribe to any particular religion though I'm socially a "secular Christian," by virtue of the fact that I celebrate Christmas and Easter rather than Hanukkah or Diwali.
I have always been wildly interested in comparative religious study, however, and read quite a bit, or had actual classwork, in the following:
- Christian history
- anthopology
- archaeology
- linguistics and socio-linguistics
- ancient Near Eastern studies
- history of science and technology
- Modern Hebrew (two years)
- German (two years)
- Roman history
- Greek history
- Jewish studies
- Mesoamerican studies
- ancient and modern Mayan languages
You don't need to have the same background or, for that matter, any background, to enjoy the coming readings. Just be curious!
Monday, December 27, 2010
Getting Started
I'm inspired to read the scriptures of the main Judeo-Christian traditions in part because of David Plotz' similar effort reading the Bible.
Probably up until the last century, familiarity with scripture was considered standard, regardless of your religious stance. In a Western tradition, at least, the Old and New Testaments provided a common vocabulary for all sorts of people, and references to Biblical characters and stories were common in non-religious contexts such as books, articles and in common day conversations.
Nowadays, the closest I feel to having a common reference point in conversation with others is via The Simpsons. That fun cartoon is about one of the few things I am confidant that everyone knows at least the basics about, so I can cite something Homer once did and people will remember it, or at least understand Homer's nature and get the point.
Scripture still informs our language, our history, our views and more, but we don't often recognize it. For instance, David Crystal's "Begat: The King James Bible and the English Language" explores the source of idioms still in daily use. From the NPR story:
"If you've ever "fought the good fight" or chuckled at "what comes out of the mouths of babes," you just might agree with him."
I propose we read through the Jewish Bible, or Old Testament, then continue through the Christian New Testament and, finally, the Koran. I'm almost completely unfamiliar with the last but it draws on the history of the first two, as well as then playing a huge part in the history and development of Muslim Europe, North Africa and Middle East. Also importantly, it is because of Islamic scholars that much of Classical traditions (Roman & Greek) was preserved through the Middle Ages and still available to us... traditions that are intricately tied up in the Old and New Testament. Sort of a complete circle there, if you ask me.
Probably up until the last century, familiarity with scripture was considered standard, regardless of your religious stance. In a Western tradition, at least, the Old and New Testaments provided a common vocabulary for all sorts of people, and references to Biblical characters and stories were common in non-religious contexts such as books, articles and in common day conversations.
Nowadays, the closest I feel to having a common reference point in conversation with others is via The Simpsons. That fun cartoon is about one of the few things I am confidant that everyone knows at least the basics about, so I can cite something Homer once did and people will remember it, or at least understand Homer's nature and get the point.
Scripture still informs our language, our history, our views and more, but we don't often recognize it. For instance, David Crystal's "Begat: The King James Bible and the English Language" explores the source of idioms still in daily use. From the NPR story:
"If you've ever "fought the good fight" or chuckled at "what comes out of the mouths of babes," you just might agree with him."
I propose we read through the Jewish Bible, or Old Testament, then continue through the Christian New Testament and, finally, the Koran. I'm almost completely unfamiliar with the last but it draws on the history of the first two, as well as then playing a huge part in the history and development of Muslim Europe, North Africa and Middle East. Also importantly, it is because of Islamic scholars that much of Classical traditions (Roman & Greek) was preserved through the Middle Ages and still available to us... traditions that are intricately tied up in the Old and New Testament. Sort of a complete circle there, if you ask me.
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