Some notes from class:
Frye says a couple of interesting things. Firstly, I remember reading this too, that all of the "great religions" don't really answer anything definitively, because once you get an answer, you stop asking question, thus forward progress if effectively halted. He also says that if you or I saw the Crucifixion, we would simply see a mentally unstable political agitator getting what he deserved. His point is that we need to open our eyes and ears, and sense things with metaphorical contexts in mind. When Paul talks about "spiritual" we should think "metaphorical" according to Sexon via Frye.
Sexon says that the gospels are not biographical or really historical for that matter, that they are just (I'm kidding) metaphorical in nature. Can I say merely though? Anyway I won't. He says that they don't bother with historical evidence or testimony, that an understanding of them is intended to most compatible with the faithful, because (this is my understanding) that the specific history of the Bible is not the important dynamic, it is the message, always the message. It seems to me that the Bible isn't trying to get you to know that Nebuchadrezzar ruled the Chaldeans in 605 B.C., rather that there is a God, He is real and made the world and did so for a reason, that you have a choice and that choice is salvation. Now, you could argue that the Bible is simply an elaborate system of myths put together to regulate society efficiently and has held on in our consciousness because it is effective at that objective, but that is a wholly different debate. The point here is that the Bible isn't The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich or The History of the World, it is a spiritual book (and yes, I do know Frye would say metaphorical but I'm not Frye) not a history book.
Sexon finished up by talking about Eschatology, a Greek word which literally means a "study of the end." His point was that you could look Revelation literally or (as is becoming a pretty obvious theme) metaphorically. In other words, Jesus isn't really coming back because the end of the world already happened, it happens every moment and every moment could be your last. Personally, I think this is getting a little too cute for my taste, its almost funny and you couldn't pay me enough to buy this, but everyone is entitled to their own opinions and I have to respect this point of view. It is interesting if nothing else, though to me this stretch undermines the good points Frye makes and it makes all the valid points he makes a little wobbly, kind of like when Mel Gibson got pulled over and started screaming about Jews - it took all the good stuff he did and made them seem out of character.
Anyway, that's about it.
Frye says a couple of interesting things. Firstly, I remember reading this too, that all of the "great religions" don't really answer anything definitively, because once you get an answer, you stop asking question, thus forward progress if effectively halted. He also says that if you or I saw the Crucifixion, we would simply see a mentally unstable political agitator getting what he deserved. His point is that we need to open our eyes and ears, and sense things with metaphorical contexts in mind. When Paul talks about "spiritual" we should think "metaphorical" according to Sexon via Frye.
Sexon says that the gospels are not biographical or really historical for that matter, that they are just (I'm kidding) metaphorical in nature. Can I say merely though? Anyway I won't. He says that they don't bother with historical evidence or testimony, that an understanding of them is intended to most compatible with the faithful, because (this is my understanding) that the specific history of the Bible is not the important dynamic, it is the message, always the message. It seems to me that the Bible isn't trying to get you to know that Nebuchadrezzar ruled the Chaldeans in 605 B.C., rather that there is a God, He is real and made the world and did so for a reason, that you have a choice and that choice is salvation. Now, you could argue that the Bible is simply an elaborate system of myths put together to regulate society efficiently and has held on in our consciousness because it is effective at that objective, but that is a wholly different debate. The point here is that the Bible isn't The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich or The History of the World, it is a spiritual book (and yes, I do know Frye would say metaphorical but I'm not Frye) not a history book.
Sexon finished up by talking about Eschatology, a Greek word which literally means a "study of the end." His point was that you could look Revelation literally or (as is becoming a pretty obvious theme) metaphorically. In other words, Jesus isn't really coming back because the end of the world already happened, it happens every moment and every moment could be your last. Personally, I think this is getting a little too cute for my taste, its almost funny and you couldn't pay me enough to buy this, but everyone is entitled to their own opinions and I have to respect this point of view. It is interesting if nothing else, though to me this stretch undermines the good points Frye makes and it makes all the valid points he makes a little wobbly, kind of like when Mel Gibson got pulled over and started screaming about Jews - it took all the good stuff he did and made them seem out of character.
Anyway, that's about it.
posted by Matt McLeod at 11:56 AM
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