Copious amounts of teenagers today have a habit of questioning books that are too ‘old’ or ‘stuffy’ to apply to their everyday lives. Some of them may find correlations to works by William Shakespeare or Jane Austen, but what about the other books, such as those from the Bible? Usually regarded as too religious to have any connection to life, teens ignore these texts in favor of ones that they feel can integrate into their lives with much more ease- even though some books in the Bible can actually connect more to life than some of these other ‘relative’ works. Take, for example, the book of Genesis. Although written and published thousands of years ago, the stories, themes, and modern-day allusions contained within it can still apply to everyday life- even to those who feel as if they are detached from it.
To begin with, many of the stories chronicled in Genesis relate closely to books that exist today. In fact, some are more accurately described as creative recounts of certain events in Genesis and Genesis itself. For example, John Milton’s Paradise Lost is a classic epic that has a strong basis in the story of Adam and Eve. It depicts an in-depth version of their rise in Eden and eventual fall into temptation, adding in multiple viewpoints to an originally one-sided story. Without having read Genesis, one finds oneself a little lost while trying to explore the profound expanse of Paradise Lost. Consequently, having read Genesis, one finds that traversing the complex language and plot in Paradise Lost may not be as hard as it first seemed. In addition to Milton, many other authors have based their books on Genesis. Son of Laughter, by Frederick Buechner, spins the story of Jacob and Esau from the point of view of Jacob. Without...
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...orld, it would be best to stop here to avoid creating an overwhelming paper. The characters in Genesis relate particularly well to characters in modern media, as well as the dozens of idioms we use in everyday conversation that connect back to Genesis. Nonetheless, the plots, themes, and allusions should suffice in convincing one that Genesis has as much impact and value in today’s culture that, say, a Robert Frost poem or a play by Shakespeare does.
Works Cited
Band Perry, The. “Miss You Bein’ Gone.” The Band Perry. Republic Nashville, 2010. CD.
Frost, Robert. “Never Again Would the Bird’s Song Be the Same.” The Poetry of Robert Frost:
The Collected Poems, Complete and Unabridged. New York, New York: Macmillan,
1979. Print.
Lewis, C. S. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. New York, New York: HarperCollins,
1950. Print. The Chronicles of Narnia.
Since the first storytellers, religion has played an important part in developing both character and plot. From Ancient Greece to Egypt to Judaism to Christianity, the basic stories of human origins have stood the test of time. Classic books such as The Great Gatsby, The Stranger, and Lord of the Flies are full of religious parallels and imagery. Conceptually, main characters of each work--Gatsby, The Stranger’s Meursault, and Lord of the Flies’ schoolboys attempt to be Christ-like figures, but whose demise is ironically brought about by their own sins.
Lewis, C. S. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. Print.
Lewis, C.S. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. New York, New York. The Macmillan
Coogan, Michael David., Marc Zvi. Brettler, Carol A. Newsom, and Pheme Perkins. "Genesis." The New Oxford Annotated Bible: With the Apocrypha. New York: Oxford UP, 2010. Print.
Where Genesis I describes a more ordered creation - the manifestation of a more primitive cultural influence than was responsible for the multi-layered creation in Genesis II - the second creation story focuses less on an etiological justification for the physical world and examines the ramifications of humankind's existence and relationship with God. Instead of Genesis I's simple and repetitive refrains of "and God saw that it was good" (Gen 1:12, 18, 21, 25), Genesis II features a more stylistically advanced look at "the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens" (Gen 2:4). While both stories represent different versions of the same Biblical event, Genesis II is significantly more complex than its predecessor and serves both to quantify the relationship between God and his creations and lay the foundation for the evolving story of humankind as well.
Lewis, C.S. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. PDF File.
The book, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis is compelling in many ways. Published in 1950, it shows ideas that seem out of our world. This book is popular among both kids and adults.
Ryken, Leland; and Mead, Marjorie Lamp A Reader's Guide Through the Wardrobe. Exploring C. S. Lewis's Classic Story. London InterVarsity Press, 2005.
The account of creation is found in the book of Genesis. Chapters one through eleven tell of how and when God created the Earth, the Heavens, all forms of life and everything else in the Universe. Genesis also tells stories Adam and Eve as well as all of their descendants. Genesis is part of the living Word of God, providing details of the character of God, the principles of man, and man’s relation to God. Most importantly, Genesis offers teachings on the natural world, human identity, human relationships, and civilization.
Lewis, C.S. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. New York: Scholastic, 1950. 78-79. Print.
During the week after I first saw “Joseph”, I picked my tattered King James Version from the shelf, and read Genesis in its entirety. I did not experience any profound biblical revelations, nor did I feel drawn toward God. However, I did find myself appreciating the book, itself, much more. I strive to be a compassionate person, one who respects the personal and religious freedoms of others. Understanding the Bible better, makes me more equipped to do so. In a lot of ways, the people around me have Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice to thank for that.
After reading Milton’s Lost Paradise and The Book of Genesis, I noticed some similarities and many differences. Although many of the characters names and personalities were similar, the viewpoints in which these stories were written differed. For example, In Milton’s lost paradise the reader is able to actually see what the characters are thinking and their reasons for doing things, whereas in The Book of Genesis the characters actions are unpredictable. Another difference I noticed was in the Bible the source of sin begins straight from the birth of Eve and the reasons for the creation of man and woman. While in Milton’s Lost Paradise the author starts from the establishment of Satan “Who first seduc'd them to that foul revolt? Th' infernal Serpent; he it was, whose guile Stird up with Envy and Revenge, deceiv'd , The Mother of Mankind, what time his Pride Had cast him out from Heav'n, with all his Host Of Rebel Angels” (33-38). The author is referencing the source of sin to Satan, “Milton accepts, and insists on the challenge that the fall must be made believable—and acceptable—by a dramatic representation addressed to the human reasoning” (Bowers 264-273). These two stories illustrate humanity and God’s formation of earth but in contrastive ways.
Ryken, Leland. “Reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe with C.S. Lewis.” In Pursuit
Lewis, C. S. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. Print.
Ancient literature often is used as a lesson for future behaviors as it is filled with moral lessons. The Bible has been a source for definitions of gender and morality for centuries. In the Holy Bible: New International Version, the book of Genesis does a good job of showing how history told by men writing history ca...