God, the Bible, and Human Consciousness
This study offers a reading that avoids both literalism and sociological reductionism through a study of the Bible's intricate patterns of imagery. It will appeal to thoughtful people dissatisfied with the religious status quo and looking for a new intell
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P REVIOUS P UBLICATION Scranton University Press, 2000. New Jerusalem: Myth, Literature and the Sacred. A study of mythic narrative in American literature
God, the Bible, and Human Consciousness Nancy Tenfelde Clasby
GOD, THE BIBLE, AND HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS
Copyright © Nancy Tenfelde Clasby, 2008. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2008 978-0-230-60543-5 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. First published in 2008 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™ 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 and Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS. Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-37294-2
ISBN 978-0-230-61198-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230611986 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Clasby, Nancy Tenfelde, 1938– God, the Bible, and human consciousness / by Nancy Tenfelde Clasby. p. cm. 1. Bible—Criticism, interpretation, etc. 2. Bible—Language, style. 3. Symbolism in the Bible. I. Title. BS511.3.C53 2008 220.6—dc22 2007041295 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Scribe Inc. First edition: June 2008 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For my husband, Gene, and all my children: Alison, Lance, Sarah, Jerry, Jacob, Erik, Ryan, Matthew, Jamie, and Jessica.
CONTENTS Preface
ix
Introduction Logos, Mythos, and Truth
1
1 Genesis: Creation and Fall
29
2 The Protohistory
41
3 The Ancestors
51
4 Existential Exodus
77
5 Power: Kings and Prophets
97
6 Job
115
7 Reading the New Testament
133
8 Core Teachings
145
9 Discontinuities: The Break with Authority
157
10 The Passion
171
11 The Resurrection
193
12 Apocalypse
203
13 The Kingdom
213
14 Last Things
225
Notes
233
Works Cited
241
Index
251
P R E FA C E
It is one thing to take religion as an object of study and another to take religion seriously. —Stanley Fish
T
aking religious truth claims seriously means restructuring modern epistemology. The contemporary matrix for thought, logos, is a precision instrument aligned with logic and mathematical proportions. Its outcomes are univocal and literal. Logos has been so technologically productive that it is the standard for reality-based discursive thought. The Bible and other sacred scriptures are encoded in mythos, an orderly cognitive system based on analogy or comparative thought, rather than the analytical processes of logos. Such symbol systems elude literalist formulation. In this study, I will address the issue of biblical truth claims from the perspective of language formats. Mythos filters instinctively recognized realities—dangers, lo
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