BookTalk.org

sal 10e Yes I see what you mean. He mentions that his normal employment is as a schoolmaster 'lording it as a country schoolmaster, making the tallest boy stand in awe of you'. Perhaps he finds relief from his depression not only in the sea, but by taking on the role of a 'simple sailor'. He does not have to think, or give orders, just obey them, instead of meting them out

sal10e:
I had a teacher in high school who wanted to offer a year long course on the Bible from a literary perspective because he felt it was vital for understanding many of the great works of literature. Alas, he wasn't able to get it approved

There is a version called - The Bible, designed to be read as literature - edited by Ernest Sutherland Bates.

It is just that I think quite a lot of the Bible is spiritually discerned rather than understood intellectually.

I think a lot of the major characters are metaphors....They teach us such a lot about ourselves and human nature.....just as Shakespeare does....but I rather think they are true in the same sense as Shakespeare is true. It is true in what it says about humanity, as it were ....but it is 'demonstrating' something rather than telling us anything factual.

Hi Penelope, That's interesting I did not know of Ernest Sutherland Bates' version of the Bible as literature. I will have to check that one out.

lorifog wrote:Hi everyone, I'm a friend of Damnifino and she told me you were reading Moby Dick so i figured I'd pick it up and try to muddle my way through. I've had that on my tbr list for some time but have always been intimidated about reading it alone. Thanks for having me!

Oh and BTW, what's wrong with a stack of books next to the bed? Doesn't everyone have one?

Hi Lori - I have both ... not a kindle, but a Sony Reader - and I still have stacks of books going. Even though I did discard/give away a lot of them a couple of years ago.

(Bedbugs have contaminated many homes in Toronto and I've been cautious about what's being brought into the apartment)

About the names 'Ishmael' and 'Isaac' . . . and about what religious literature has to say about it . . . it was, when you come down to it, all written by men. So let's not get too carried away here about angels' names ending with el.

Well Jesus is reputed to have said that angels are neither male nor female. It's in Mark 12.25. If there really were such things as angels and if anyone every really said it.