Guilty Expression :: Rants and raves inspired by a passionate, frustrated love for God.

Re: Folklore vs. Biblical God (Score: 0)
by Anonymous on Jun 13, 2005 - 02:13 PM

I Thank God I have not been challenged as a heretic so far!

It is the debates, which Star-Wars movies can bring that encouraged me to post this.

I find the term �true folklore� helpful, because it works as something new to this argument. That is to say folklore in the sense of fantasy and yet true in the sense of history. Perhaps some might find both unacceptable. This is why I say something new. To me the story of Esther serves as that perfect folklore.

It is funny you mentioned Noah, and Esther and not surprisingly Jonah. Of all the three Esther strikes me - quite healthily too - as something of a romantic tale, a perfect one, and I like it like that. But I think in present-day Jewish culture celebrations are made every year or so in remembrance of the events that took place in that story. This to me only goes to show how important it is we view or are suppose to view biblical narratives.

Can we see some of the OT as folklore? I guess that is the challenge in this case. Can we see the OT in folklore tradition and yet hold it to be true? Yes, I believe in our day and with the growing number of Biblical scholars theories on God this is the challenge for our belief. Would we equally believe what we believe if we thought of it as nothing more than an educative story and not history? At the same time if what we read about God in the OT isn't history then where does the God we know history with mankind start?

If I may answer your question - "To what extent are these inspired writings taking the form and function of folklore themselves?" I would say in every form as far as education, prophecies and oral tradition like you mentioned goes. But it seems that of all the folklore from cultures we know of historically only the Jewish, Hebrew prophets is that which we take as a true and lawful guide even though we are not in their context.

I'm not quite sure what I think about what I've written either, but I feel that with the debates films like Star Wars or Matrix can bring of the Bible, and with the growing multi-faith -God speaking to all cultures- beliefs that these questions will continue to mould.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts

Lk,

[ Reply to this | Parent ]

Re: Folklore vs. Biblical God by Anonymous on Jun 13, 2005 - 03:19 PM

Re: Folklore vs. Biblical God by Midge on Jun 13, 2005 - 08:39 PM

Re: Folklore vs. Biblical God by Anonymous on Jun 14, 2005 - 08:36 PM