There are many reasons one should be familiar with the literature found within the Bible. To name a few: 1) The Bible is often quoted or used in many pop culture movies/music (if one was not familiar with the Bible, then they would not have the same knowledge as the unwashed masses found in our classroom) 2) If one were to walk through a museum, such as the Louvre in Paris, that person would be able to better understand most of the paintings that are resembling scenes found in the Bible. 3) If you know more about the content of the Bible, you would sound a lot smarter getting into a heated argument with a Catholic Priest.
Yes I have been guilty of watching movies with Bible references, and I was not one of the people who was able to pick up on them. Yes I have been to many museums, including the Louvre, and had no idea that most of the paintings had anything at all to do with Biblical stories. However, the time in my life I most wish I knew more about the Bible was during an intense session of "flighting" with Father Bob. I had just finished my first year of College at MSU, and that spring I had declared my major as English Literature. I went back to my families ranch with an attitude that I was "so well read" just because of my new found title as an English student (though I had really only read 3 books the entire year). My final paper for my writing class was a research paper where I questioned the validity of the mormon Bible, using geographical, geological and historical references to back my thesis up... Because of this paper, I have to admit that my feelings towards the christian Bible became tainted as well. At the time I did not look at it as a peice of literature, but just the opposite. I saw the Bible as a book of rules and morals that one must live by, or else they were a bad person, and I strongly despised the Bible for trying to tell me if I was a good person or not. (remember: this was 6 years ago and I was a rebellious 18 year old English Major/scholar who knew everything.)
Earlier that spring, my mother had just donated some land to the Catholic Church so that a Catholic college could be built in Lander, Wyoming. Because of this, the "Catholics" (as my ranch manager called them) were always around our property and talking to my mom. One afternoon I was sitting at the dining room table reading some gossip magazine when Father Bob graced me with his presence. He did not seem to notice that I was extremely busy reading about Britney Spears' celulite that was easily noticeable in her candid bathing suit shot. Instead, he interupted my moment of pure happiness and started talking about stuff I really could care less about. 1) his life story 2) he was an English major as well 3) what the Catholics were planning to do with their new land 4) 5) 6) 7).... and so on. Out of nowhere, Father Bob says 'Hey, you are an English Major. What do you think about the Bible?' Well, I had just done a whole research paper on the Mormom Bible, so what was the difference? I began to boast about how I thought the Bible was stupid and how adults use it as their little imaginary friend when they feel alone in the world, and how everything in the Bible is fake. blah blah blah. (remember : im 18) Father Bobs reply to all my nonsence was that he thought I would have a differnet stance on it because its not just a Bible, but an amazing peice of literature that any well read English student or person could appreciate. I did not understand what he meant by that so I asked Father Bob to elaborate. Father Bob explained to me that even he, A Catholic Preist, did not take the Bible literally because there are a lot of situations that are not relateable to todays society, and one must read the Bible as literature and only take bits and peices from it to heart. I was shocked! Everything that I had ever heard about how everything in the Bible was true was just crushed by Father Bob. At that moment, I did not think 'wow, maybe I should read the Bible and try to see it from a literary standpoint.' instead, the only thought through my head was, 'hehe I knew it! the Bible is not valid and a priest just admitted it!' I later realized that had I only read the Bible and knew what was in it, then I would have actually been able to have an intellectual conversation with this man, rather than an immature banter session that led to nothing but a teenager feeling like they know more than the rest of the world.
The point of my story is that I am glad that I finally have a reason to sit down and read the Bible, so that if I am ever put in a situation, such as the three listed above, I will be able to appreciate it as an important piece of literature and not just something people use to try and convert the bad to good.
