Artless "Christianity" Part 1: The Fallacy of Reading the Bible Literally


     The Illiad, Lord of the Rings, The Arabian Nights, Marie De France's "Bisclavaret," and even Harry Potter are amongst the many titles that are myths. When we read them as stories, we unhinge ourselves from our preconceived bias' and even some of our rationalistic boundaries. In school libraries, we often see a sign that reads "Reading takes you somewhere else.." plastered all across the walls because reading or engaging ourselves in any artwork truly helps us to depart from everything that is either conventional or material.

  Music is commonplace in churches because it helps instill us with this transcendent feeling that all exceptional art works accomplish. In church, my greatest memory lies with the music which was often either sonorous or ambient. Strangely, this music imbued me with a sense of imagination. Suddenly, my mind was unbridled from the restraints placed by the orthodox teachings I had earlier used. In my mind, I could roam freely and try to envisage some depiction of God.

   Suddenly, the pastor's brusque voice interceded and that imaginative scenery within my mind receded much like a genie back into its polished lamp. Weirdly, many preachers speak with an incisive tone to provoke us into examining our defiled selves versus thinking freely about a God that is truly beyond ourselves. As a child, those images of an enigmatic, artful God were often replaced by a cheap replacement in a  suit purchased from Walmart. The preacher inveighed against different carnal sins that prevent us from entering heaven. In his litany of earthly evils, one of the worst was to doubt the existence of what he considered God and thus disbelieve in "him."

    In my childlike mind, I often wondered to myself if the pastor was curiously referring to "himself," rather than God. If our knowledge is gleaned exclusively from our earthly experiences within a material world, How can this pastor be so decisive about matters that are "immaterial," "ineffable." In the end, any pastor or human for that matter must depend upon some idea of God constructed from either their imagination or a set of dogmatic limits imposed by a religious order. These limits include reading mythological text literally. 

   It was these stories that thoroughly entertained me as a child. They still offer me joy and ecstasy even when trying to rehabilitate myself from a religious experience that made me "masochistic," and conceited. In many of the Old Testament stories, hubris is the chief evil. These stories thus are comparable to the Greek stories like The Illiad or The Odyssey where a character's overweening pride brings about their destruction. Humility, in the end, has a pacifying effect upon the individual that is maimed by a worldview filled with egotism and unsubstantiated certainty.

   How about the story of the cyclops within The Odyssey? Odysseus, unmindful of his manners, begins devouring some of the cheese and other items that the Cyclops stored within his cave. Odysseus views  himself as being inherently superior to the uncultured monster that inhabits this cave. Like any individual that thinks they're superior, they begin to think little of the similarities that exist between themselves and the debased "other"

   Was the Cyclops really uncultured? Later in the story, we see that the Cyclops has reason and he even expresses care when milking his goats and attaining food for others of his kin. Alas, Odysseus has the nerve to respectfully ask for the Cyclops permission for an invitation only after he and his men had raided his food. Of course the Cyclops refuses, he begins eating his men.

   Since Odysseus, from the outset, viewed the Cyclops as something that needs to be eradicated. Of course, the Cyclops reciprocates and treats Odysseus in a similar fashion. As with all wars, two egocentric mindsets are embattled with one another because each side is thoroughly convinced that they're superior to the other. Inevitably, religion is brought into the fray as Odysseus beseeches the God for help. One can liken this circumstance to the manner that we pray to God often. Even, I find myself still praying when in fearful situations or when completely convinced that "I," more so than others, deserves to be rescued.
In the Crusades, the kings tamed the enigmatic God and made him nothing more than a support for their brutality. Within the Greek myths, different Gods are allied with different people with varying interests. Thus, wars happening in the mortal world are simultaneously occurring within the cosmic world  as well.

  If we were to have read this particular Greek myth literally, our imagination and minds would be bereft of the "wonder" that these stories leave with us. More importantly, we wouldn't recall the story because it has no ethical significance. Christians don't read Jesus' parables literally but focus entirely on the meaning that underpins the mythic fabric of these stories. Yet, some Christians view the Adam and Eve account as a scientific theorem. Many other stories are seen as nothing more than dry historical accounts. As a result, the adventure, the poetry, and the fascinating elements of "language" are lost as religious individuals instead use the Bible as a holy encyclopedia to consult when placed in extenuating spiritual circumstances. 

    Being an agnostic has aided in helping me to finally read the Bible as a wonderful book of stories. My Bible was once a deterrent to my imagination. Once I left the flock, I could finally persuade myself to read the Bible as one cohesive book that includes a history of humanity's ideas of God. While David, Moses, and even Jacob are not true historical figures. I've still learned to see the values and beliefs of Jewish Culture back during the period Christians title "BC" which condescendingly states that all people before Christ are essentially screwed because they did not live during the era where they could find the right religion with the best eternal life insurance.

  In my next part of this article, I will strive to dissect the character of God in the Old Testament. Sometime in the future, I hope to focus on the many mythological features in the Bible that appear within other mythologies from various religions. For many readers here, this is probably a very uncomfortable reader. I'm fully aware of that but I'm very happy where I am currently. If you think I am a morose agnostic who is unhappy without the benefits of joining one of the millions of churches with millions of ideas as to the "truth," you're wrong. I am far more relaxed and hopeful than ever before in my life. I'm writing these posts and making this blog because I know that there are many disillusioned people out there like me who yearn for a religion with less egotistical certainty, and more intellectual humility( a virtue of the Greek rationalists) when it comes to metaphysical matters.