What happens when someone who is ignorant about the Bible starts to read it? David Plotz, deputy editor of Slate Magazine, is attempting to find out just that. David is a Jewish man who thought he knew the Scriptures well. But when he found the story of Dinah’s rape in Genesis 34, he became unsettled. This was a story he had never been taught as a child.
If this story was strutting cheerfully through the back half of Genesis, what else had I forgotten or never learned? I decided I would, for the first time as an adult, read the Bible. And I would blog about it as I went along.
I have to say, I’m inspired by this. I want to pick up my Bible and see what forgotten treasures are lurking in the pages. Did you know there’s a story in the Bible about a king who was killed and the killer couldn’t get the sword out of him because he was so fat? And then his servants didn’t discover his death for a while because they thought he was using the bathroom! Who would have thought stories like that exist in the Bible? It’s there–Judges chapter 3. Or what about Jezebel? She was thrown out of a window, trampled by a horse, and eaten by dogs. These are stories we’re never taught in Sunday School. David’s goal is a good one:
So, what can I possibly do? My goal is pretty simple. I want to find out what happens when an ignorant person actually reads the book on which his religion is based. I think I’m in the same position as many other lazy but faithful people (Christians, Jews, Moslems, Hindus). I love Judaism; I love (most of) the lessons it has taught me about how to live in the world; and yet I realized I am fundamentally ignorant about its foundation, its essential document. So, what will happen if I approach my Bible empty, unmediated by teachers or rabbis or parents? What will delight and horrify me? How will the Bible relate to the religion I practice, and the lessons I thought I learned in synagogue and Hebrew School?
I’ll spend the next few weeks (or months) finding out. I’ll begin with “in the beginning” and see how far I get. My wife, struck by my new biblical obsession, gave me a wonderful Torah translation and commentary for Hannukah, the Etz Hayim, which was prepared by conservative Jewish scholars. I’ll read that and dip into the King James and other translations on occasion. (But I’ll avoid most commentary, since the whole point is to read the Bible fresh.) I’m sure I’ll repeat obvious points made by thousands of biblical commentators before; I’ll misunderstand some passages and distort others—hey, that’ll be part of the fun. I hope you’ll tell me how I’ve screwed up by e-mailing me at plotzd@slate.com.
I’m excited to read his thoughts and discoveries. You can find the series here.
HT: Rhett Smith
Tags: Christianity, Blogging, Bible
Sunday School classes tend to leave out the best parts of the stories. For example David and Goliath usually ends with the stone hitting Goliath on the head and the gaint falling down. But then David cuts off his head and the Israelites slaughter the Philistines. Then there are stories like Tamar seducing her father-in-law Judah in Genesis 38 that leave you shaking your head wondering why it made it into the Bible. Though this does sound like a worth while exercise.
yeah…that story about the “fat king” is pretty crazy…Judges is a pretty crazy book itself…very violent…people getting stakes driven through their head, etc….
good post..
rhett