Religion as Literature and Divinity in Genesis

This week we transition from talking about conceptions of divinity in philosophy to talking about conceptions of divinity in four different religions.  We will read texts from four religions.  We read one ancestor religion and three descendant religions.  The religion of ancient Isreal is the ancestor religion.  Christianity, Judaism and Islam are the three descendant religions.

How do we study religion in this class? We study these religions in a literary way and not in a religious way.  To study religion in a literary way, we must read texts closely and critically and in comparison with other texts.  This does not mean that this course is atheistic or anti-religious.  Our role is not to judge religion as true or false but to judge the texts of the religions as a piece of literature.  We will ask rational academic questions--not questions of faith.  A person can practice a personal faith while still engaging in close, critical reading and comparison of religious texts.

Covenant is a pact or agreement that God makes with his chosen people.  For example, modern Jews, Christians and Muslims all consider themselves to be the chosen people.  Asking who are God's chosen people is a religious question.  We will not answer this religious question.  Rather, we compare the texts from four religions by looking at the concept of covenant in all of the religions.  To ask how we can compare and contrast religious views on covenant is a literary question.

Society, Nature and Divinity are the three aspects of covenant.  Society is part of covenant because when we enter into the same religious pact with God as other people, we also then enter into a pact with these other people.  Nature is part of covenant insofar as we relate to nature as individuals and indirectly through God.  Divinity is part of covenant because we must have a God of some sort in order to have an agreement with God.

Literary Method vs. Philosophy  Rather than focusing on argumentation, we will practice criticism.  Criticism is also known as narrative analysis.  Based on the words in the text, we will identify not only explicit claims but also implicit claims or suggestions.  By "reading between the lines", we will ask what a text means. The evidence we use to make claims about what the story means is the actual wording of the text.  You will have to cite and quote the original texts and explain how the text leads you to a certain interpretation.  It is likely that your interpretation will differ from others.  Indeed, given the nature of the method, it is likely that there will be numerous interpretations that are supported by the evidence.

Genesis.  We begin by looking at covenant in the book of Genesis from the Tanakh, (AKA the Old Testament).  In the first chapter of Genesis, God is described as making a man and a woman at the same time.  In the second chapter, God is described as first making a man and only later making a woman.  Is this apparent conflict a problem?  Another point of tension is in the difference in the demands put on humans.  In the first chapter, humans are ordered to subdue the earth and rule over it.  In the second chapter, there is no such order.  Another question is whether humans every agree to follow out the orders of God.  Is it relevant that there is no explicit agreement described in the text?  Our task as literary scholars of this religious text is to explain how these tensions can or cannot be explained in terms of a unified interpretation of the text.