I chose to explore the nature of Sarah Trimmer’s A Help to the Unlearned because I found her character to be unique and highly entertaining. Trimmer seems to be a woman who holds an unwavering belief in what is good and proper, and this comes through in an amusing way in her interpretations. I was first struck by Trimmer’s unique perspective when reading her interpretation of The Song of Songs in which she advises her audience to simply “pass over it” (Trimmer 387). As I began to read more of her interpretations, I quickly noticed a pattern: Sarah Trimmer is dismissive of anything she finds improper. This tendency has some interesting ramifications since writing off and dismissing parts of the Bible is no small matter, yet Trimmer does it …show more content…
She begins by justifying the violation of the “marriage law” that takes place when Sarai gives Hagar to Abram so that Sarai might “obtain children by her [Hagar]” (Genesis 16-2). Trimmer claims that because they lived in “an idolatrous country” with “no holy scriptures to guide them” their actions were done out of “ignorance” (Trimmer 21). After excusing their trespass of the marriage law, Trimmer goes on to affirm the social hierarchy by instructing her audience to note that even though Sarai treated Hagar “hardly,” God ordered her to “return and submit” to Sarai (Trimmer 21). Trimmer continues in her unusual method of interpreting by telling her audience to “observe” or “take particular notice” of those parts of the text which she deems important by pointing out the “divine promise” that was made to Hagar (Trimmer 21). She does this to further validate the social order by showing that Hagar will be rewarded through the fate of her son if she returns to her mistress. Trimmer then supports Hagar’s assertion that she spoke with God by stating that Hagar’s “words show that the Divine Being...was God” (Trimmer 21). To further support this claim, Trimmer concludes by saying that by naming Hagar’s son Ishmael, Abram “testified his faith in God’s promise” being sure to refer to it as “God’s promise” rather than the promise of a …show more content…
Trimmer’s argument is weakened by the fact that she doesn’t address the disparity between what Hagar says and what the text describes since it makes it seem like she ignores the text in favor of her own interpretation. Additionally, though Trimmer advises her audience to note that Hagar is promised that “a great nation will proceed” from her son, nothing of the sort is mentioned in the text (Trimmer 21). True, the text does illustrate “what kind of a man Ishmael was to be” as she claims; however, it does not provide any mention of a “great nation” (Trimmer 21). The lack of textual support again weakens Trimmer’s argument by damaging her credibility since she speaks of things which are clearly not present in the text. The final, and arguably largest, issue with her argument is that she seems to be allowing her bias to reign supreme over the text. Trimmer’s opponents would argue that while it is natural to have a bias, Trimmer’s bias is especially problematic because she gives it more credence than the text and thus instead of interpreting the text she is essentially rewriting it to align with her
I do not so much wish to emphasize the deconstructive rhetoric of this approach as the fact that religious texts lend themselves to creative readings that originate in the reader's experiences or historical circumstances. In other words, the history of Scriptural interpretation exemplifies the text's role as a space where emerging ideologies may be refigured and incorporated into an authoritative cultural tradition. One may think of the genesis of such readings in terms of Harold Bloom's notion of literary succession as "an act of creative correction," the difference in this case being that Anne Hutchinson's creative act involves reviewing the Scripture itself and deriving spiritual knowledge from a finite textual canon (Bloom 30).
“The only good is knowledge, and the only evil is ignorance” -Socrates. In Sarah’s Key by Tatiana De Rosnay, it is determined that this quote is infact true. In the novel, Sarah a ten year old girl is introduced. Sarah lived in Paris during 1942 when Hitler demanded that all Jews be arrested and sent to concentration camps. Most of the Jews had no clue what was going on, especially in France where the French police rounded up all the Jews and brought them to concentration camps. Major conflicts arise in the novel because of characters lack of knowledge such as: Sarah’s innocence created her lack of knowledge leading to her brother Michel's death, Sarah’s lack of knowledge created a conflict with herself throughout the novel, and finally
"How Tatiana De Rosnay Turned French History Into ‘Sarah’s Key’." Speakeasy RSS. N.p., 14 July 2011. Web. 21 Nov. 2015.
Trible, Phyllis. "Depatriarchalizing in Biblical Interpretation." Journal of the American Academy of Religion XLI/1 (March 1973) pp. 30-48.
To illustrate how insane this silliness has become, consider a recent article that appeared in the newsletter of one of Riplinger's most enthusiastic supporters, a prophecy teacher by the name of Texe Marrs. Calling the new conservative translations "unholy" and "grotesque," he proceeded to condemn four leading prophecy teachers because they refused to endorse Riplinger's book and join with him in certifying the King James Version as the only reliable translation. The four he condemned as "misguided leaders" and "false witnesses" were Dave Hunt, Peter LaLonde, Arno Froese, and John Ankerberg. Two of these, Hunt and Ankerberg, happen to be among the leading defenders of the Christian faith today!
One day, Abram had a vision. In the vision God tells Abram to leave his father’s house which is today’s Iraq, and travel to a place that God will show him. God said that if Abram who becomes Abraham obeyed this command, his descendants would become a great nation, and that he will bless thee,...
Hagar was the Egyptian slave of Sarai(Sarah), who was given to Sarai’s husband Abram(Abraham) in order for him to have children. Once Hagar had served her purpose she and her son were cast out of the community and left to fend for themselves in the desert with only a little food and water provided by Abram so he would not feel bad about banishing them. Hagar Dead was used in a similar fashion by Milkman, and then promptly thrown out once Milkman grew tired of her. Also, similar to Abram’s gift of food and water before casting them out, Milkman gave Hagar Dead the gift of a thank you note, “Thank you for all you have meant to me” (99) it said, so Milkman wouldn't feel bad about ending their relationship. The rest of biblical Hagar’s narrative mirrors that of Hagar Dead’s as well. Stranded in the desert, the biblical Hagar and her son began to die of hunger and thirst, but when God heard their cries he opened up their eyes to a well they hadn't noticed before and they both were saved. After Milkman left Hagar Dead, she began to starve. Not in a literal sense, but in the sense that she needed love. Hagar Dead’s sustenance is love, which she shows the reader in the beginning of the novel by saying“some of my days were hungry ones”(48) which Pilate clarifies with “...She don't mean food”(49). Without Milkman’s love to sustain her, of course she began to
Because of their Puritanical beliefs, it is no surprise that the major theme that runs throughout Mary Rowlandson and Jonathan Edwards’s writings is religion. This aspect of religion is apparent in not only the constant mentions about God himself, but also in the heavy use of biblical scriptures. In their respective writings, Rowlandson and Edwards utilize scripture, but for different purposes; one uses it to convey that good and bad events happen solely because of God’s will, and the other uses it, in one instance, to illustrate how it brought him closer to God, and, in another instance, to justify his harsh claims about God’s powerful wrath.
Unfortunately, Sarah was unable to bare children for many years. She even assigned blame, asserting, “The Lord has kept me from having children (Genesis 16:1).” God had promised Sarah she would bear children but Sarah grew impatient, as she often did. Now, Sarah turned to her Egyptian servant, Hagar. Sarah rendered Hagar to Abraham so that she could bear his child. Abraham consented to his wife’s wishes and later Ishmael was born. [The Book does not mention whether Hagar consented to this arrangement or not.] Now, both Sarah and Hagar were connected to Abraham. After Hagar conceives a child with Abraham, Sarah holds a certain level of antipathy towards her servant. Sarah feels that her servant holds her to a lower esteem because she cannot conceive, and Sarah starts to feels insignificant. In return, Sarah treats her servant harshly until finally Hagar flees from her. While in exile, an angel proposed that Hagar return to Sarah and Abraham and be subservient; in return, blessings would be bestowed upon
In “Writing to Learn: Writing across the Disciplines,” Anne J. Herrington finds different sources stating that writing is to be taken serious. Janet Emig says, "writing represents a unique mode of learning-not merely valuable, not merely special, but unique” (1) meaning that writing is far more essential than we ought to make it seem. Anne Herrington wants educators teaching in economics, history, chemistry or any other subject to guide their students into understanding why progressing their writing skills will be more helpful to them. At the end of the day, it all comes down to the educator; whether he/she wants their students to use writing as a way for students to adapt to different disciplines.
Authority of Scripture reconciles the community with God and can transform our lives. To participate in the fuller blessing of understanding, it is important to view Scripture with historical and literary sensitivity, interpret theocentrically, ecclesially, and contextually. I realize each of these can be overwhelming to the average person who is seeking direction for a specific concern in their life. Therefore, Migliore reminds us, interpreting Scripture is practical engagement in the living of Christian faith, love, and hope in a still redeemed world. When we listen carefully to the voices of the past, from a worldwide culture, and guided by the Holy Spirit, we will open ourselves to those transformational opportunities.
White, Brian. "In The Humble Fashion Of A Scripture Woman": The Bible As Besieging Tool In
Russell, L. M. (1985). ‘Authority and the Challenge of Feminist Interpretation’. In: Russell, L. (ed.). Feminist Interpretation of the Bible. Oxford. Basil Blackwell. pp.137-146.
Thus, an effort is made to highlight how Bible interpretation – through its publication – has developed in the history of Christianity.
Thiselton, A.C. (2005). Can the Bible mean whatever we want it to mean? Chester, U.K.: Chester Acadamic Press, 10-11.