3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Scintillating yet accessible explanations of Western culture: the best rebuttal to populist-style religion, October 25, 2008
This review is from: Biblical and Classical Myths: The Mythological Framework of Western Culture (Frye Studies) (Paperback)
The first half of this book is a series of lectures by Northrop Frye (1912-1991) called "Symbolism in the Bible". The second half is an uncommented collection of well-known classical myths introduced by the co-author, J. MacPherson. Although the second half is worth reading, the main attraction by far is the lectures by Frye, on which this review focuses.
This book is worth reading for theists and atheists who want to understand Western culture. One reason to read it is to understand references, allusions, and the biblical basis for all Western literature (Frye focuses on Milton, Blake and Shakespeare) as well as for modern life and figures of speech. Another reason is to understand the Bible at the mythological level it was intended, for "every syllable of the Gospels is written in myth." Another is to understand the attitude and real messages of the authors of the Bible - not what one might think. Even some one-liners make the book worthwhile, such as the idea that "almost all of Kafka's writings form an extended commentary on the Book of Job." One envies those who were lucky enough to attend a Frye lecture, but it is probably all for the better to be able to read and reread his thoughts in text. Although sparkling with wit and erudition, Frye's lectures are accessible and offer a good introduction to his much more concisely written classic, "The Great Code".
Comments on the Bible's authors and motives: "...no serious religion ever tries to answer anybody's question, because in any serious or existential matter the progress in understanding is a progress through a sequence of formulating better questions." The New Testament authors avoided historical details because they distract from the message of the presence of God. Frye points out that according to [Judeo-Christian-Islamic] tradition, the authors of sacred text were like "holy tape-recorders ... working in a trance", whereas Frye (and probably all honest scholars) see the biblical authors as "agile and alert" minds proclaiming God. That is, at a minimum, the authors had a rather free hand in writing what they did.
One central idea is that the New Testament authors were less concerned about historical accuracy and more concerned about claiming fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy. Subtle echoes are to be found everywhere, such as the basket of the baby Moses and the manger of the baby Jesus. Adam and Eve sin by learning to distinguish good and evil, which is the basis of the Pharisees' legalism - the sin against which Jesus rails in the New Testament. Sceptics can rightly say that the whole thing may have been made up and none of it was real, but again, the authors were not concerned about historical reality, they just want to proclaim God. More important than historical accuracy, as Frye concludes his book, is the message of love that is transmitted to the reader's heart.
Frye taught that heaven is the world as it appears to the awakened imagination. Here Frye emphasises that the Bible's conception of time and space is not literal (Newtonian) and is no basis for the sadistic tradition of threatening eternal hell. "In Jesus' teaching [about heaven and hell], the fundamental reality of things was a division into his spiritual kingdom of heaven and the world of unending torment that man keeps constructing for himself."
One unfortunate remark by Frye flaws the book. He ridicules the Big Bang Theory, stating that scientists devised it in order to have their own creation myth "which says that the world [sic] exploded, oh, say fifteen billion years ago or thereabouts, and has been scattering in all directions ever since." Whether or not this was meant in jest, it shows an ignorant snobbery from an otherwise great mind writing an otherwise great book.
Frye repeatedly explained in his writings that his motivation was to give 20th century students - having little or no familiarity with the Bible compared to earlier ages - a "cultural memory" from which to understand English literature. The 21st century reader also wonders about the threat of those who only understand their sacred books at a literal level and are neither interested in culture nor literature.
Other must-read books from the same author are "The Great Code" and "The Educated Imagination". For a more detailed view of the history and context of the books of the Bible, "Asimov's Guide to the Bible" is excellent. For detailed analysis of the authorship of the Pentateuch, R. Friedman's "Who Wrote the Bible?" is recommended.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must have for any graduate student..., February 10, 2010
This review is from: Biblical and Classical Myths: The Mythological Framework of Western Culture (Frye Studies) (Paperback)
If you're like me and greek mythology went in one ear and out the other in undergrad, then this book will help you shore up and regain what you've lost in the past. This is an excellent volume for any serious student of either Greek or Biblical mythology. I've only just started reading it, but it's very accessible.
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