Literature, Scripture

I really enjoyed yesterday’s discussion in class about reading Scripture as literature. Scripture is literature and should be read as so. Scripture was written as a story, some from oral traditions, some from first hand experiences and some were prophetic words straight from the Lord’s mouth. The authors wrote divinely, but with intentions to retell the story. Authors wanted to portray what happened or what will happen, just like in literature. The Word should be read as literature. We should be analyzing the stories, words and the writing styles while asking ourselves the moral of the story. I’m learning that learning how to read literature can be such a blessing to my spiritual life. If I learn how to read the stories and ask the right questions I may discover aspects of Scripture I would never notice otherwise. It is amazing how the Lord chose to tell his story through literature. The Lord chose to speak to all of creation through stories. When Jesus walked the earth he was constantly telling stories. He spoke mainly through parables. There is a power behind stories that unlike any other. I believe God wired humanity to be fascinated with stories and literature. When I think about it a lot of my daily activities involve some sort of literature. Worship songs and secular songs are poems that lend to emotional reactions and thought. Movies are stories retold with picture and sound. Literature is so important to the world and especially American culture whether we are willing to admit it or not.

As Christians, we are storytellers. We live to tell the story of the Cross.

"You yourselves are our letters of recommendation, written on your hearts, to be known and read by all men; and you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts." (2 Corinthians 3:2-3,RSV)