Inductive Paper on the Bible and Literature

Introduction

The bible is a literature book which has the features of any other literary work. Both the old and the New Testament have some similarities as well as differences in the literary features that they employ. A review on Gary Hoffman's book "Pomegranate Gospel" points out that the Bible is a literary text; a surprising, hilarious, and a deeply meaningful book. Gary offers suggestions which open an understanding of the Bible as a literature; an understanding which he proposes offers true enlightenment. This essay seeks to develop coherent biblical literary theories through inductive reasoning, drawing examples from the bible.

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The Old and New Testament use metaphors to teach moral lessons. This is evident in a widespread of passages in the bible in which the authors communicate the intended message in the form of metaphors. In the Old Testament, the use of metaphors is widely seen especially in the books of the prophets. For instance, the book of Jeremiah makes use of many metaphors bringing to light different messages. In Jeremiah 2:2-3, the people of Israel are described as a "bride" who was loving and obedient to her husband (God). Israel is also regarded as the "first fruits of His harvest." In verses 2:5-13, the relationship between God and the Israelites degenerates since they have found themselves other "lovers" and "dug their own cisterns" which are broken and cannot hold water (v. 13). These metaphorical descriptions bring out the image of a marriage which has been broken by the unfaithfulness of one partner (Israel). They are being called to review their ways before they are punished. In the New Testament, Jesus uses metaphors to teach His audience. 1 Corinthians 12:27 calls Christians "the body of Christ and individually members of it." Saint Paul was calling the Corinthians to live in harmony just as organs of the same body.

The Old and New Testaments are replete with heroic figures. Several individuals in the bible have been portrayed to have performed heroic activities during their times. One such individual is David, whose heroism sprout as a young shepherd boy up to when he was the king of Israel. 1 Samuel 17 describes David's heroic act of killing Goliath, a Philistine who had been mocking Israel for a long time. David is still a young boy and manages to kill the gigantic soldier with a stone and a sling. Abraham is also considered a hero of faith. This is seen when he obeys God's call to leave his homeland and travel to an unknown land (Genesis 12), when he believed God that he would be a father of many nations even though he was advanced in age (Gen 15), and when he agreed to sacrifice his son Isaac to God (Gen 22). In the New Testament, John the Baptist is a hero whose duty was purely to prepare the way for the Messiah (Matthew 3). He also did prepare Jesus for His ministry by baptizing Him, (verse 15). Another hero of the gospel is Saint Paul who was imprisoned countless times for preaching about Jesus Christ yet he could not be stopped. Stephen showed his heroism by enduring death by stoning and even pleading to God for the forgiveness of his murderers, (Acts 7:60). He was the first martyr for Christianity during a time when there was great persecution of Christians. There are many other individuals who did heroic acts in both testaments.

Biblical texts are written primarily to teach moral values rather than history. As some claims have been put across, the bible is a moral book that guides on the way to live a morally upright life. Both the Old and the New Testaments emphasize the need to lead an upright life and the benefits that accompany those who heed this call as well as the misfortunes that follow those who do not. For instance, the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4 is in support of this. Cain kills his brother Abel out of jealousy and then denies it. God reprimands him and curses him to be a restless wanderer (verses 12-13). The laws of Moses as given to the Israelites was to teach them on how to coexist with each other and how to relate to their God. This is well demonstrated in the Ten Commandments which is divided into two on the love of God and the love for fellow man (Exodus 20). The New Testament holds the same principles of moral values. In most of the teachings of Jesus, He emphasized on the values. For instance, the beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-16 summarizes on good deeds and what the doers of these deeds will reap. For example, he teaches that "blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy" (verse 7). John the Baptist also taught on this when he urged his followers that if one had two coats he should lend one to his neighbor who did not have. This shows the importance accorded to moral values in the Christian world.

The Old and New Testament narratives reflect conflicts between ancient empires. This is especially in the Old Testament where the different empires were in constant wars with their enemies. The Israelites, for instance, were confronted with many battles as they made their way from Egypt to Canaan and even after settling in the Promised Land. For instance, the Philistines were the main enemies of the Israelites during the reign of King Saul. The former had a gigantic soldier, Goliath, whose physique intimidated the Israelites and they would flee and end up being defeated until when the young shepherd boy David killed Goliath and ended the shame in Israel (1 Samuel 17). The book of Kings narrates the reigns of different kings and the battles they were involved in with their neighbors. Almost always, the victory for the Israelites depended on the state at which they were with their God. If they were in good terms they would win and vice versa. During the time Jesus was born, the Jews were under the rule of the Romans. One of the expectations that the Jews had for the coming Messiah was that he would redeem them from the bondage of their Roman masters. After the birth of Jesus, Herod made several attempts to have Him killed since he believed that Jesus was a threat to his reign since Jesus was being referred to as the king of the Jews (Matthew 2). Herod was fighting to secure his empire which he believed was under threat. Ancient empires conflicted and fought to maintain or expand territories and in other instances, to revenge.

Biblical literary narratives show that the deity rewards the righteous and punishes those who are not loyal to Him. Romans 6:23 says that "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Committing sin is showing disloyalty to the deity (God), and this is punished by eternal death eventually. On the other hand, remaining loyal/faithful to God attracts the reward of eternal life. In the Old Testament, God punished the Israelites whenever they rebelled against Him. For instance, in the wilderness when they rebelled and argued with Moses, God sent deadly serpents that bit them and many died. On the other hand, they received blessings when they obeyed their God. For instance, when King Hezekiah was about told that he would die, he reminded God of the good deeds he had done and he was added 15 years to live. Abraham's obedience was rewarded with the son Isaac, great wealth, and a great name among the nations. When King Saul was asked to destroy everything in the camp of the Amalekites and he disobeyed, leaving the fat cattle to himself, he was punished by being defeated in the battle and together with his sons died in the battlefield. This is believed to be the case today for the Christian believers.

Conclusion

In summary, the Bible is a literary text with the features similar to those of other books. The Bible narratives use the literary styles and concepts that are used by other literary works. It makes the use of metaphors, carries similar concepts both in the Old and the New Testaments and addresses issues that are secular in nature and common to people such that they can relate to them. As such, the Bible is a literature book.

Works Cited

Bible, Holy. "New international version. (2011)." Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan (2013).

Hoffman, Gary: Pomegranate Gospel: Bible Revivals for Secular Texts. 2016

Ryken, Leland, and Tremper Longman III. The complete literary guide to the Bible. Zondervan, 2010.