KarenNC Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 I'm planning to use "The Bible and Its Influence" from www.bibleliteracy.org along with a few other resources to address the Jewish and Christian Scriptures. Does anyone have suggestions for something similar for the sacred texts of other modern religions, addressing them from a cultural literacy standpoint rather than as a devotee or seeking converts for the specific religion? I'm specifically interested in the texts themselves and their influence on literature/art/film/etc rather than a comparative religious practices course. I have that part pretty well handled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate in Arabia Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 How much time are you wanting to spend on one individual religious text? I'd have to think through it some more, but as a start for the Qur'an I'd spend some time on pre-Islamic poetry and the development of the Arabic language. As a grad student, when I talked with one of my (non-Muslim) professors about the best way to deepen my knowledge of the language, his response was to study the Qur'an. It has had a dramatic effect on the language. I would then perhaps go on to a study of Islamic Art (in the traditional sense). I will need some time to think about what I'd recommend as resources... Kate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted March 12, 2013 Author Share Posted March 12, 2013 How much time are you wanting to spend on one individual religious text? I'd have to think through it some more, but as a start for the Qur'an I'd spend some time on pre-Islamic poetry and the development of the Arabic language. As a grad student, when I talked with one of my (non-Muslim) professors about the best way to deepen my knowledge of the language, his response was to study the Qur'an. It has had a dramatic effect on the language. I would then perhaps go on to a study of Islamic Art (in the traditional sense). I will need some time to think about what I'd recommend as resources... Kate I'm open to a range of options in terms of how much time is required. I may not do all of the texts immediately (in fact, I probably won't). Over this next year, we are looking primarily at Classical mythology and the Jewish and Christian Scriptures as they affect Western art and literature (along with some additional exposure to comparative mythology of other cultures). I want to be sure she has a thorough grounding in those before high school. Since we are not Christian, she's not growing up as immersed in the Jewish and Christian Scriptures as I did, so I want to fill those holes. I'm considering the other sacred texts for inclusion in more of a world literature and/or art history class for early high school. She is currently interested in art as a potential career, so I'd be quite interested in resources on how the Qu'ran influences art. It's an area in which I have very little knowledge (other than that I believe traditional Islamic art avoids representing people?). We have always loved the patterns from Moorish Spain, but I'm sure Islamic art is wider in scope than that. Any help would be appreciated, as I have no idea really where to start for resources. I'm looking forward to learning more myself :) . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Can I suggest another book to consider if you want to study the Bible as literature? Leland Ryken's Word of Delight is excellent. This book is purely the Bible as literature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted March 13, 2013 Author Share Posted March 13, 2013 Can I suggest another book to consider if you want to study the Bible as literature? Leland Ryken's Word of Delight is excellent. This book is purely the Bible as literature. Thanks, I took a brief look at it. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to address the differences between the Tanakh and the Christian Old Testament, the differences in the Catholic/Anglican/Protestant versions of the Christian Bible, to include the deuterocanonical texts, or to get into the connections to art/literature/etc. I was attracted to "The Bible and Its Influence" based in large part on those things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 Thanks, I took a brief look at it. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to address the differences between the Tanakh and the Christian Old Testament, the differences in the Catholic/Anglican/Protestant versions of the Christian Bible, to include the deuterocanonical texts, or to get into the connections to art/literature/etc. I was attracted to "The Bible and Its Influence" based in large part on those things. Yes, I saw that in the book you are using, but I think what strikes me in reverse is the book you are using doesn't really study the Bible as literature. It's more of cultural relevance that it studies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted March 13, 2013 Author Share Posted March 13, 2013 Yes, I saw that in the book you are using, but I think what strikes me in reverse is the book you are using doesn't really study the Bible as literature. It's more of cultural relevance that it studies. Good point. Maybe what I'm actually looking for at this point is literacy in the sacred texts rather than a true literature study, as I look more closely at it. My goal for now with our Bible studies is to give her enough familiarity with the Jewish and Christian stories to be able to recognize the allusions to them in art/literature/etc. We are really only at the beginning point with literary analysis. I didn't know of another way to describe the approach that I wanted other than in terms of the sacred texts as literature rather than devotional or proselytizing material, since that's the way I've seen secular Bible courses described. Thanks for helping me think through it more precisely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 This makes sense. I would suggest using either a cultural or comparative religions title. I would also say that if you haven't done much literary analysis yet that this book might be too much. While I think it is a great book; it is also a tough book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted March 16, 2013 Author Share Posted March 16, 2013 This makes sense. I would suggest using either a cultural or comparative religions title. I would also say that if you haven't done much literary analysis yet that this book might be too much. While I think it is a great book; it is also a tough book. Thanks for the advice. I've started a new thread that may better reflect what I'm hoping to find. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/463959-cultural-literacy-course-focusing-on-the-quran-andor-other-non-western-sacred-texts/ I do think that the book you mentioned is beyond what we can do any time soon. This year and into next (we go year-round) I'm focusing on Classical mythology (going deeper using the Vandiver lectures from Teaching Company, as my daughter is already very familiar with the basics), material from a comparative mythology course from Georgia Virtual Learning that should give us the basics from several other cultures, The Bible and Its Influence, and capping things off with a semester of Windows to the World, to combine more info on Biblical allusions and what has been described as a solid intro to literary analysis. Hopefully that will have us well set up for high school and delving more deeply into literature, art history, etc. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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