Bible as literature?

Question

There is plenty of opinions on the bible as the holy book. That is not my concern here.

My question is, do you think the bible can be read as a piece of literature? Can we erase the "holy" image and grab whatever meaning we find useful to our lives like any other classic? Many of Socrate's/Plato's writings have many holes in them but we still consider them influential.

However, I do note that if we would also have to read other religious books as literature also as to not promote bias.

What do you think?

I forgot to add that while holy books demand faith, doesnt mean we have to follow it. Could we ignore that part and read on for other content?

Lol, to the first 7 posters...I feel bad someone thumbed you all down, probably because you dont think the bible is the holy book.

Re: Jeancommuncicates: Socrates predated the Bible so I dont understand how you have to read the bible to understand Socrates. But point taken that the bible was probably where some politicians drew their views from, just like you couldnt appreciate the BIll of RIghts without Magna Carta.

Re: world we know: I agree that it is literature. Word of God is highly questionable.

Answer 1

I think the Bible can be read purely as literature. The same would go for any holy book. They all stand on their own as impressive pieces of literature.

Answer 2

The Bible is an amazing piece of literature:

1) The most ancient books of the Bible (including the first 5 books and Job) are great examples of ancient Fertile Crescent literature.

2) Many books can be read as military history.

3) The historical and archeological literature in the books are rich.

4) The Psalms and Song of Soloman are excellent works of poetry.

5) Job (and much of the Bible in general) provide us many of the sayings that are part of our speech and writing today.

6) Jeremiah is the namesake of the literary form of the jeremiad.

7) Revelation is, of course, apocalyptic literature.

The list goes on and on. Its not only the word of God, but beautiful writing and a classic of world literature.

Answer 3

I don't think we can truly read Plato or Aristotle without knowing the Bible. I don't think we can understand past history without reading the Bible. If Plato had not written about Socrates we would never have known who Socrates was. If we don't know the Bible, we can't even understand our historical or American historical buildings in Washington.
The Bible is reflected in every aspect of American history and especially American literature and American government and American laws. How do you explain America without the Bible?

Answer 4

As a piece of literature, the bible pales in comparison to Lord of the Flies. The bible has no plot line, none of the characters are properly introduced and it frequently contradicts itself. If the bible had been written in modern times it would never have been published.

Answer 5

That was the original position on the Bible. In the early Church it was only sacred with regard to its subject matter, and was mostly read as allegory. Hal Lindsey devoted an entire chapter of one book to condemning the early Christian interpretation of Scripture! He advocates a literally reading of the Bible as the Word of God - a concept that is completely foreign to the early Christian view of Scripture.

Answer 6

It can be read as liturature, it's a bit of a dry read, but it can certainly be done. I had to do a 'Bible as Literature' presentation for my English class. . . . There is a Third Rock from the Sun episode where Dick is reading it like a book and he says "Don't eat the apple. Don't eat the apple. *turns page* . . . Damn!" . . . haha Sorry.

Answer 7

It's just man-made literature, that's all.