Monday, August 03, 2015

Biblical Common Knowledge

For those that don't know, I love old books. I read a lot of older titles, not a ton of new fiction. I'm currently almost done with Moby Dick (they're going to get that whale!).

But in this book, like many of the other older books, there is a certain literary style that still gets to me. They quote and/or reference Scripture. A lot. But what's more amazing is they don't say, "this is in the Bible at ____". They just assume that the reader knows exactly what they are talking about.

Like where I am in Moby Dick. They quoted an obscure story in Daniel. All they said were a few sentences. No reference to Daniel or the Bible or chapter and verse, just told it as part of the story thinking everyone reading would understand what is going on.

It makes me wonder how well people knew the Scriptures just a few decades ago, or how little we know them now. What if we actually knew and understood the Bible like that? What is it about today that makes it so hard to read the Bible? So many other options and distractions?

What if we knew the Bible so well that like these authors we were able to weave it into everyday conversation and story-telling...

T

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