Eng.212 journal

What I have Learned about the Tension between the Biblical and Classical Traditions and the Difference it Makes

2005-12-11T02:39:00.000-08:00

Generally speaking, there is a huge difference between the Biblical and Classical traditions. The Bible is the work of God while the Classical traditions are man made, so it is like a competition between the God’s word and human’s word. In other words, the biblical traditions are true stories which took place in life, but the classical traditions are merely made up myths by the human being imagination. Another difference between the biblical and classical traditions is that the events of a biblical story occur in different places while the events of a classical myth take place in one certain place or city. In addition, there are many gods in the classical traditions, but in the biblical traditions there is one God for the whole universe. That is what I have learned as the general aspects and features between the biblical and classical traditions.

Now, I would like to demonstrate what I have learned about the tension between the biblical and the classical traditions and the difference it makes by using two different stories. I chose a biblical story and a classical myth to show through them the difference between both of them. I chose the story of Job from the biblical and the story of Prometheus from the classical traditions. My main goal is to point out the role of the submission element in those two stories because submission played a significant role in those two traditions.

As we know that God examined Job’s faith and patience by taking away his offspring and wealth. In the beginning, Job tried his best to become patient, but he could not. He cursed the day which he was born in and started questioning God. Job started asking God why He made him suffers for nothing. Job had claimed that he did not commit sins or do something wrong that would make God mad at him. God, however, did not answer Job. Instead, God started asking Job questions to show Job that he is a very weak creature who has to obey and submit to his creator. God asked rhetorical questions like who you are to ask the Lord of this universe who created everything. After that, Job felt his fault and submitted to God which made God pleased and satisfied at Job. Finally, God restored Job’s fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.

The story of Prometheus is quite the opposite. Prometheus challenged and rebelled against Zeus by stealing the fire and giving it to humans. Zeus refused to give fire to humans when Prometheus had asked him for it, so Prometheus decided to steal it. Furthermore, Prometheus tricked Zeus by offering him a plate of bones covered by fat instead of meat. When Zeus had discovered that, he got angry at Prometheus. As a result, Zeus decided to punish Prometheus. Zeus ordered Prometheus to be chained on a mountain and an eagle eats Prometheus’ liver. It would grow everyday and the eagle would eat it again.

We can infer from these two stories that gods have to be obeyed and submission has to be paid to them. I have learned that Prometheus represents the rebellious figure who opposed the gods and got punished for that while Job represents the submissive and obedient creature to his creator. The classical traditions always show the rebellion of humans against gods, but the biblical try to show the submission of humans for God.

Connections between the Bible & Koran

My topic for the capstone class is "Wisdom in the Bible and Koran". I found some similarities between these two Holy Scriptures in some topics that we discussed in class like "love is the central message of the New Testament" and "chpter 12 of the book of Ecclesiastes" and other books of the Bible. Now, I will give you some glimpses from my research paper.

Love & Forgiveness

Love and forgiveness are the central message of the New Testament, apparently. The New Testament recommends the Christian believers to love and do good works for each other. It also requests from them to love their enemies. “He said to him, ‘you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets’’ (Matthew 22:37-40). This love implies helping and doing good things for each other, so it is love combined with practical works as it is mentioned in the following verse, “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12).
In the New Testament, love goes beyond loving your brothers and neighbors; love also implies you to love you enemy as it is mentioned in the book of Luke 6:27-29, “But I say to you that listen, Love you enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.” The whole idea is love, love, and love.
The Koran does attempt to spread the concept of love between Muslims. The Koran calls the Muslim believers “brothers” in one occasion in which they represent solidarity and union. God says, “The believers are but a single Brotherhood: so make peace and reconciliation between your two (contending) brothers; and fear Allah, that ye may receive mercy,” (Al Hujurat, 10). In another chapter, He says, “…but if a person forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is due from Allah: for Allah loveth not those who do wrong” (Al Shura, 40). The reader of the Koran recognizes that it requires from the Muslims to forgive and reconcile between those who are contending.

Keep God in Your Mind and Do Your Best

Christian and Muslim believers are asked by their Holy Scriptures to keep God in mind, so God does not forget them in the difficult and hard times. God, according to these holy books, stands side by side with those who keep Him in their minds whenever they do anything. At the same time, He does not help those who do not keep Him in mind. In other words, whenever you do or do not do something, this thing has to be for the sake of God.
In the book of Proverbs, there are two verses which demonstrate that. “The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous” (Proverbs 15:29). Moreover, “When the ways of people please the Lord, he causes even their enemies to be at peace with them” (Proverbs 16:7). It is also important to please God while you are alive and before you grow old and die because when you die or get in trouble, nothing would help you as the following verse states, “remember your creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come, and the years draw near when you will say, ‘I have no pleasure in them’” (Ecclesiastes 12:1). However, keeping God in mind is not enough. Believers must work and do their best when they face a dilemma. Beside praying and asking God for a help, they have to show work, and then God will help them as in the story of Moses crossing the sea, “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward’” (Exodus 14:15).
It is the same story in the Koran; God tells the Muslim believers that He will respond to their prayers when they keep Him in their minds. “And your Lord says: ‘Call me; I will answer your (prayer): But those who are arrogant to serve me will surely find themselves in Hell-in humiliation!’” (Ghafir, 60). Nevertheless, they have to link their prayers with hard work as God commands them in another verse, “…verily, never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves,” (Al Ra’d, 11). God’s assistance is always linked with work, so in order to get God’s help, you have show work and do your best in that work.

Class Notes and a brief summary of Oresteia

2005-12-11T02:36:00.000-08:00

Her are questions and answers from the class notes:

Which one of the synoptic gospels written first?
Mark

A good word to describe Jesus and his pals:
Esoteric

Why are there 4 seasons according to the Greek traditions?
The story of Persephone and Demeter

What are the categories of the axis mundi?
1-heaven
2-paradise
3-earth
4-hell

Where is the center of the world?
Right where you are standing

What were the 3 gospels?
Matthew
Mark
Luke

What word does Mark use 42 times?
Immediately

Why do we suffer?
Job: because we did something wrong
Oresteia: we suffer into truth
Homer: the bards can sing about us

The second thing to be best is to die, what is the first one?
To never have been born

“Remember your creator in the days of your youth…” identify this quotation:
Ecclesiastes chapter 12

What are two things the prophets concerned about?
1-social justice
2-exclusive worship of Yahweh

Why is the gospels not good source of historical facts?
Because they are an evolution of prophecy.

Where does the word “testimony” come from?
From the biblical tradition (Genesis), from putting your hand under someone’s thigh and swearing on their genitals.

What is the central theme of the New Testament?
Love your neighbor, your enemy

By what title did Jesus refer to the Old Testament?
Law and Prophets

Whom did Jesus often quote?
Isaiah

What are the two types of wisdom?
1-conventional
2-speculative

What precedent is behind every action?
Myth

What does “apocalypse” mean?
Unveiling

Hubris = arrogance

What are three things to revere in classical traditions?
1-gods
2-parents
3-strangers

Who did Agamemnon sacrifice?
Iphigeneia, his daughter

What is the difference between Prometheus and Job?
Prometheus is not submissive to the gods.
Job is submissive to God.

Which of the gospels does not belong to the synoptics?
John

What was the name of the eumenides before the trial of Orestes?
Furies

Orestes’ sidekick Pylades

An attack on the structure of one’s expectations:
Parable
How did Clytemnestra make Agamemnon do something which adds up to hubris?
She made him walk on the red carpet

Where did Orestes, the Furies, and Clytemnestra all gather at once?
At the temple

When Orestes asks the Furies why they didn’t pursue his mother for having killed his father, what answer do they give?
It was not blood murder.

Define Eumenides: the kindly ones

Define Chthonic: underworld

Define Deus Ex Machina: gods from the machine

Chorus composed of male elders of the city: Agamemnon
Chorus composed of female elders of the city: Libation Bearers
Chorus composed of Furies: Eumenides

Which book of the Bible is composed, according to your instructor, like an Oreo cookie?
The book of Job

Kairos: the crucial moment time of decision

Why is the saying, “The patience of Job” ironic?
Because Job was not patient.

Axis mundi: the center of the world

God’s language-Heaven-Kerigmatic
Hero’s language-Paradise-Ideological
Men language-Earth-Conceptual
Chaos’ language-Hell-descriptive

Pay attention for the 7 categories of the Bible according to Frye because Dr. Sexson has promised to bring them in the final exam:

1. creation
2. revolution
3. law
4. wisdom
5. prophecy
6. gospel
7. apocalypse

Vocabulary:

Pent: Five
Pentateuch: The 5 books of Moses “Torah”
Torah: Law
Iconoclastic: Breaking images
Concubine: A woman lives and has sex with a married man and she is less important than the wife.
Isaac: Laughter
Patrilocal: A husband visits his wife in her father’s house
Virilocal: A husband takes care of his wife and keeps her in his house
Patriarchy: Ruled by fathers
Pate: The head
Teraphims: Household gods
Decalogue: 10 commandments divided into 2: worship laws and social laws
Synecdoche: Figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole and vice versa
Psyche: Soul
Sporagmos:Tearing flesh; dismemberment
Paronomasia: Word play
Prometheus: Who thinks before he/she acts; forethought
Lacunae: Gaps in a story
synoptics: same visions

I found a quick and brief summary of the Oresteia that may help in understanding the general plot. It is taken from Encarta.

Agamemnon, in Greek mythology, king of Mycenae, and commander of the Greek forces in the Trojan War. He was the son of Atreus and suffered the curse laid on his house (see Atreus, House of). When the Greeks had assembled in Aulis for their voyage to Troy, they were held back by adverse winds. To calm the winds, Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to the goddess Artemis. His quarrel with Achilles over the captive princess Briseis and the consequences of that quarrel form much of the plot of Homer's Iliad. After a ten-year siege, Troy fell and Agamemnon returned in triumph to Mycenae. With him came the Trojan princess Cassandra, who had been awarded to him by the victorious Greek army.

Clytemnestra, Agamemnon's wife, greeted him with protestations of love, but while he was in his bath she killed him with the assistance of her lover, Aegisthus. His death was avenged seven years later by his son Orestes. The story of Agamemnon's death is told in the first play of the trilogy Oresteia, by ancient Greek poet Aeschylus.

Orestes, in Greek mythology, son of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, and Clytemnestra. He was still a child when his mother and her lover, Aegisthus, murdered Agamemnon. Orestes' older sister Electra, fearing for the boy's life, sent him to live with their uncle Strophius, king of Phocis. There Orestes grew up with Pylades, son of Strophius, who became his lifelong companion. When he reached maturity, Orestes realized that he had a sacred duty to avenge the death of his father, but the crime of matricide, the act of killing one's mother, was abhorrent to him. He consulted the oracle at Delphi and was advised to kill the two who had murdered his father. With Pylades he returned to Mycenae and slew his mother and Aegisthus. Pursued by the avenging goddesses the Erinyes, Orestes wandered through many lands. Finally, at the command of the god Apollo, he went to Athens to plead his cause before the goddess Athena and a council of Athenian nobles on the hill known as the Areopagus. The Erinyes prosecuted, and Orestes defended himself. When Athena and the other judges voted, the votes were found to be equally divided. Athena ruled that in cases of equally divided votes the defendant should be acquitted, which settled the case and established a principle of Athenian law.

The Cave Chapter: section IV

2005-10-24T00:19:00.000-07:00

Ok, we, group 2, were assigned to do the presentation about The Cave chapter, and I was responsible to talk about section 4 of the Cave chapter. In fact, section 4 is a tough section like all the sections of this book. Anyway, I will try to summarize what I understood from this section.

In the beginning of the section, Frye states that there are two major patterns in the Bible. The first one is the natural cycle of the four seasons; he does not go further in talking about this pattern. His focus is on the second pattern. The second pattern is the apocalypse or apocalyptic pattern which means the final separation of life from death in which the revival of spring from winter does not mean another cycle leading to another winter as Frye says, or the end of the world and the devastation that takes place in the end of life.

Frye affirms that the Resurrection or the return of Jesus does not mean a new cyclical event. It, however, means the beginning of the apocalypse where a second coming takes the form of revolution when the present social order is overturned and the oppressed minority become exalted.

Then, our writer moves to something completely different. He moves to discuss the excretion. He claims that there is a psychological connection between excretion and dirt. Dirt, he says, is related to whatever we want to separate ourselves from. “that man is defiled by what comes out of him not by what goes into him,” Frye is now paraphrasing a verse from the book of Matthew. He means, I guess, that excretion is exactly like dirt. People try to avoid talking about excretion; they try to neglect or ignore excretion as if it is something does not belong to them. After that, he adds that there is another connection. This connection is mythical one between excretion and death in which the dead body is something to be cast off and left behind. Furthermore, death is fair and without respect of anyone whatever his/her culture, religion, or origins. Death is the end of a king as well as a beggar. It is the same thing with excretion. All human beings are equal in terms of excretion. It does not matter what is your social, religious, or cultural background when we are talking about the issue of excretion.

Some Notes from Frye's Book

2005-10-23T23:26:00.000-07:00

Frye’s four levels of writing:
-Descriptive
-Conceptual
-Ideological
-Kerugmatik

Notes from my reading in the first chapter, “Sequence and Mode”:
-The descriptive mode of writing lacks some aspects of writing that attract the attention of the reader like ambiguity, metaphor, figures of speech, or multiple meanings word. All these things are avoided in the descriptive mode.
-Nouns and verbs ought to have one meaning.
-“It is important for the reader of a descriptive verbal structure, such as, for example, a newspaper, to know whether he is getting genuine information or merely something the author has made up or heard from others,” says Fry on page 5.
-Descriptive mode of writing is considered as the most fundamental and essential mode of writing of all the other modes mentioned before.
-Conceptual writing style seeks argument while the descriptive one escapes from it.
-Conceptual mode is an aggressive and militant use of language.

Qor'an: The Holy Book of Muslims

2005-09-21T02:13:00.000-07:00

Note: The young boy in the picture, Mohammed Hussain Altabatabaee a Muslim Shiite from Iran, has memorized the whole Qor'an since he was 6 years old and he is a scholar in the Qor'an studies. Actually, many Muslims memorize the whole Qor'an or some of it. There are annual competitions for these people who memorize the Qor'an in the Islamic countries especially in Saudi Arabia. These people are rewarded and given cash prizes reach tens of thousands of dollars because of their devotion for the Qor'an.

I
Introduction
Qur’an or Koran, the holy book of Islam. For Muslims it is the very word of Allah, the absolute God of Islamic faith, and was revealed to the prophet Muhammad. The angel Gabriel is said to have spoken Allah’s words into the Prophet's ear. According to Muslim tradition, after this ecstatic experience Muhammad was able to recite exactly what he had been told. The term Qur’an, which means "recitation,” occurs several times in the text itself; the term refers either to a fragment of the revelation or to the entire collection of revelations that are known as the Qur’an.

Oral recitation of the Qur’an is believed by Muslims to be the believer’s most direct contact with the word of God. The art of recitation, known as tajwid or tartil, is consequently highly valued among Muslims. Heard day and night on the streets, in mosques (Muslim houses of worship), in homes, in taxis, and in shops, the sound of the Qur’an being recited is far more than the pervasive background music of daily life in the Islamic world. Recitation of the Qur’an is the core of religious devotion. The sound of voices reciting the holy book inspires much of Muslim religious and social life. Participation in recitation, whether as reciter or listener, is itself an act of worship, for both acts are basic to a Muslim's religion and invoke a tradition beginning with Muhammad that transcends the particular occasion.

II
The Teachings of the Qur’an
The main topic of the Qur’an is God’s relationship with humanity. The Qur’an summons humans to acknowledge God's sovereignty over their lives and invites them to submit to his will. The chief doctrines laid down in the Qur’an are that only one God and one true religion exist; that all people will undergo a final judgment, with the just being rewarded with eternal bliss and the sinners being punished; and that when humankind turned from truth, God sent prophets to lead the way back. The greatest of these prophets were Abraham, Moses, Jesus Christ, and Muhammad.

According to this sacred scripture, humankind’s fundamental role in this world is one of moral struggle. Each person will be held accountable for this struggle at the end of time. God sent the prophet Muhammad and the Qur’an to instruct humanity in how to lead a moral life. The teachings of the Qur’an are dispersed and repeated throughout the holy book rather than being organized as topics. The subjects of these teachings include God and creation, prophets and messengers from Adam to Jesus, Muhammad as a preacher and as a ruler, Islam as a faith and as a code of life, disbelief, human responsibility and judgment, and society and law. On many specific questions the Qur’an is silent, and so the life and sayings of Muhammad collected in the hadiths were necessary for the development of Islamic laws and most religious practices.

While the Qur’an itself does not instruct about the nature of humanity’s moral struggle in detail, the significance of this responsibility is emphasized by the portrayal of the Day of Judgment in some of the most powerful passages of the Qur’an. Muslims believe that on that day the world will come to an end, the dead will be resurrected, and a judgment will be pronounced on every person in accordance with his or her acts. The Qur’an vividly depicts the torment of Hell and the bliss of Paradise, the two realms to which people will be sent once judgment has been pronounced. In chapter 100, the Day of Judgment is described:

The Clatterer! What is the Clatterer? And what shall teach thee what is the Clatterer? The day that men shall be like scattered moths, And the mountains shall be like plucked wool-tufts. Then he whose deeds weigh heavy in the Balance Shall inherit a pleasing life, But he whose deeds weigh light in the Balance Shall plunge in the womb of the Pit. And what shall teach thee what is the Pit? A blazing Fire!

Although the Qur’an accepts the miracles of earlier prophets, including the prophets of the Hebrew and Christian Bibles (Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and others), it declares their teachings outdated. The central miracle of Muhammad's life is the receiving of the Qur’an itself, the like of which no human can produce.

III
The Place of the Qur’an in Muslim Life
For Muslims, the Qur’an teaches the meaning of life. Consequently, it holds a pride of place at the very center of Muslim religious life and practice. There is no more eloquent testimony to the place accorded the Qur’an in a Muslim’s life than the effort that many pious individuals make to internalize the scripture by memorizing it in its entirety. A person who has thus memorized the complete text is known as a hafiz, one who keeps the Qur’an in his or her heart.

Parts of the Qur’an are recited on many different occasions. A Muslim who observes the five daily prayers will recite several short chapters from the Qur’an each day. Passages are recited at birth to the newborn and at death to the dying. All the great events of life and the rites of passage in the Muslim world are marked by recitation of the Qur’an. Parts of the holy book are incorporated into the rites of marriages and funerals. A new venture of any kind, whether in public or private life, is inaugurated by the recitation of blessings from the Qur’an. In many Muslim countries every public meeting starts with the recitation of Qur’anic verses. It is a special mark of devotion to recite the whole of the Qur’an at least once during Ramadan, the month of fasting.

Evidence of the reverence Muslims have for the written text of the Qur’an is also apparent in the ornate design given to the text by calligraphers, illuminators, and bookbinders. The art of the calligrapher has been beautifully demonstrated in the decoration of Qur’anic text. Qur’anic verses also appear as architectural decoration on mosques, mausoleums, and other public buildings. Along with the practice of recitation, the abiding presence of the written text reflects the Muslim faith in the presence of God’s word in their lives. Muslims observe rituals for approaching and handling the sacred text. Before touching the holy book, Muslims follow rituals for purification including washing and preparing the mind, body, and spirit. Care must be taken that the Qur’an does not come into contact with any unclean substance, and it is never to be laid upon the ground.

IV
The Historical Origins of the Qur’an
The significance of the Qur’an and the Muslim understanding of its sacredness can first be understood within the story of the prophet Muhammad. According to Islamic belief, the experience of receiving the revelations transformed Muhammad, a human being like any other, into a prophet who became the leader of his people and a man who profoundly influenced the history of the world. See Spread of Islam.

Muhammad’s home, the Arab city of Mecca, was a major religious center and site of the revered sanctuary and shrine, the Kaaba. According to legend, the ancient religious patriarch of the Hebrew Bible, Abraham, and his son, Ishmael, built the shrine using foundations laid by the first human being and father of humankind, Adam. During Muhammad’s years there, from about ad 570 to 622, Mecca was also an environment of spiritual and intellectual unrest. The people of Mecca lived under an ancient system of tribes and clans; this system had evolved from their former nomadic lifestyle of herding and moving from place to place according to seasonal changes. But the moral values of this tribal social system were breaking down as the people struggled to adapt themselves to the lifestyle of Mecca, a thriving commercial town. As an orphan, dependent on his uncle for protection and a livelihood, Muhammad experienced the bitter competition and politics of his times.

Muhammad was probably exposed to both Christian and Jewish religious dialogues in Mecca. Prior to his prophetic call, Muhammad had developed the custom of retreating to a cave outside Mecca to meditate and pray. During one such retreat when he was 40 years old, he experienced the call to prophethood. The following verses (Qur’an 96:1-5) are said to be the first revelation.

"Recite: In the Name of thy Lord, who created, Created Man of a blood clot. Recite: And thy Lord is the Most Generous, Who taught by the Pen, Taught Man that he knew not."

According to Islamic tradition, revelations such as this continued to come to Muhammad in Mecca for 13 years, and later in Medina, a city about 300 km (200 mi) to the north, where he migrated in 622 and lived until he died in 632. The revelations came in fragments as responses to the circumstances that he and his emerging Muslim community faced. The fragmentary nature of the revelations distinguishes the Qur’an from other sacred texts, including many books of the Hebrew Bible, which tell a coherent history or story.

V
The One True Version
There was no definitive written text of the Qur’an while Muhammad was still alive, but the structure of the suras (chapters) and their titles may have been influenced by the Prophet. Muslims generally believe that the authorized version of the Qur’an derives its text and the number and order of the chapters from the work of a commission appointed by the third caliph (Islamic political leader), Uthman ibn Affan, during the second half of his reign, roughly 20 years after Muhammad’s death.

The most widely accepted history of this Uthmanic text is that the commission relied upon a written copy of the entire text that was collected from written and oral versions within two years of the Prophet’s death during the reign of the first caliph, Abu Bakr. Written versions had been created by those who acted as Muhammad’s secretaries and wrote down the revelations as the Prophet received them. Oral versions existed because some of Muhammad’s companions had memorized several chapters. The commission thus succeeded in establishing a complete text.

Different readings of certain words and verses, however, continued for a long time. This was due to differences among dialects of Arabic and deficiencies in the script used for writing at that time. Although Arabic script shows the characteristics of a consonantal script, there are several cases where the same form of writing was used to represent more than one consonant without any distinguishing mark. Even if there were agreement on the consonants, some words could be read in different ways because the earliest copies of the Qur’an were transcribed without symbols to represent certain vowels. Diacritical marks were added to the text a few generations after its creation, but the Uthmanic text was probably not accepted as a definitive text until the beginning of the 4th century of the Islamic calendar (10th century ad). In the 20th century an Egyptian edition printed in 1924 became the official text throughout the Islamic world.

The Uthmanic or canonical text represents a different sequence than the order in which Muhammad reportedly received the revelations. The chapters, after the short opening chapter called al-Fatihah, are arranged roughly in descending order of length. Because the first revelations are the shorter chapters, they are assigned to the end. It is not known why the chapters were arranged in this way, but this order has been preserved since the Uthmanic text was established.

The Qur’an is divided into 114 chapters, or suras, each of which is further divided into a number of ayat (verses). The chapter titles were taken from images or events included in the suras. The chapters are customarily classified as either Meccan or Medinan, in reference to the two cities in which Muhammad lived and reportedly received the revelations. However, some chapters are composite, with Meccan verses inserted in the midst of a largely Medinan chapter and vice versa. For the purpose of recitation the Qur’an is divided into various schemes, such as 30 equal ajza (parts) so that it can be read in full during Ramadan, the holy month of fasting, by reciting one part per day.

The 1924 Egyptian Qur’anic text is printed with full diacritical marks and other signs that give precise guidance for the pronunciation of each word, especially for those readers who do not know Arabic. Although Arabic can be written without vowels, the meaning of Arabic words depends upon both consonants and vowels. For centuries the Qur’an was transcribed without symbols to represent the missing vowels, so that more than one reading of the text was possible. Despite the consensus among Muslim scholars on the authority of the Uthmanic text, seven or more legitimate readings of the Qur’an prevailed during the early centuries of Islam.

VI
Translation
The vast majority of Muslims in the world do not speak Arabic, so the Qur’an in its original language is not accessible to them. Nevertheless, Muslims have traditionally objected to its translation on the grounds that it is the word of God. Islamic doctrine teaches that the Qur’an is the miracle of Muhammad and neither its composition nor its contents can be imitated. However, those Islamic scholars who advocate translation argue that the Qur’anic message is universal. According to the Qur’an, they argue, God never sent a messenger who did not speak the language of the people. For these believers the very verse explaining why the Qur’an was revealed in Arabic implies an obligation to translate and transmit its message to non-Arabs. Translations of the Qur’an into other languages, for the express purpose of making the meaning of the text available to all, may have existed as early as the 9th century ad. For both ceremonial and nonceremonial purposes, however, the Qur’an must be recited in the original Arabic.

The unique Arab literary characteristics of the Qur’an, such as its chantlike rhythms and dramatic images, remain formidable obstacles to translation. The Qur’an was the first prose book in Arabic and it has remained the model of excellence for Arabic literature. As a sacred book the Qur’an has a value beyond that of literature, but it has also been judged by literary critics of the Arabic language to be artistically unequalled in its beauty. It was due to the position of the Qur’an in Arab Muslim society that Arabic became a world language.

VII
Interpretation of the Qur’an
The unveiling of the meaning of the divine word and its correct interpretation became the subjects of a special branch of learning called tafsir. Very strict requirements were laid down for a person to become a Qur’an commentator and discuss theological and legal issues such as God’s attributes, free will, and predestination on the basis of the Qur’an. A person must be well versed in several disciplines and subdisciplines known as “the sciences of the Qur’an.” Tafsir comprises a vast body of knowledge representing all the major trends in Islamic theology and law since the classical period (7th century to 10th century). Given the nature of written Arabic, the sciences of the Qur’an extend even to the study of grammar, lexicography, and history.

reference:

"Qur’an," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2005

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/search.aspx?q=Qur%E2%80%99an

Illuminating excerpt in Frye's first chapter

2005-09-12T01:14:00.000-07:00

"For Socrates, real justice, the justice to be reached by dialectic, not talked about rhetorically, can only exist only in a different world from this. But where is such a world, if the word where in fact applies to it? Is it another world, or the world we enter at death, or this world after a revolution? Or is it simply the community of those who know that it is better to endure than to inflict injustice, because they also know that the word justice, however impotent as a word, still does have a meaning, and to acquire meaning is to acquire power, of a sort? The cause of freedom is not quite hopeless as long as someone realizes that voice of tyranny is misusing words that is, lying (page 14)."

Actually, I find this excerpt from Frye's book, Words with Power, illuminating and should be highlighted. I strongly agree with Socrates' perspective in which real justice has to be dialectic. In other words, real justice must be established by examining and discussing ideas in order to find truth not by rhetoric and eloquent way which deceives and tricks human beings. Yet, justice does not exist in this world that we live in because this world is not Utopia. I believe that Utopia, justice, and freedom are words exist in the dictionary, and they are meaningless in this world somehow.

Documentary Hypothesis

2005-09-11T23:22:00.000-07:00

The documentary hypothesis is a theory proposed by many historians and academics in the field of linguistics and literary criticism that the Five Books of Moses (the Torah) are in fact a combination of documents from different sources rather than authored by one individual. Although the hypothesis is widely accepted by scholars, it has a substantial number of critics—especially Conservative Bible scholars such as Kenneth Kitchen and Gleason Archer.

In general, the authorship of all the books of the Bible is still very much an open topic of research. Historians are interested in learning about who wrote the books of the Bible and when they were written. Modern studies on this subject began in the 19th century, and they constitute a lively field of activity even now.
(www.wikipedia.org)

Grapes of Wrath

2005-09-11T23:15:00.000-07:00

The Grapes of Wrath is a work of fiction written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 1940 and it is frequently read in American high school and college literature classes. A celebrated Hollywood film version was made in 1940, starring Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford.

Set in the Great Depression, the popular proletarian novel, in which descriptive, narrative, and philosophical passages succeed one another, tells the story of family of sharecroppers, the Joads — 'Okie' farmers driven from their land by drought and the Dust Bowl, and forced to endure the hardships of migrant workers moving West. The novel details the nearly hopeless situation of the downtrodden American farmer in the years of the Great Depression, and emphasizes communitarian solutions to the social problems brought about by industrialization.

The title is a reference to the Battle Hymn of the Republic, by Julia Ward Howe:

"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord,He has trampled out the vintage where the Grapes of Wrath are stored,He has loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible, swift sword,His Truth is marching on!"

Grapes of Wrath also refers to a passage from the Book of Revelation: "And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God" (14:19).
www.wikipedia.org

Words with Power by Frye

2005-09-04T01:10:00.000-07:00

Overall, I've found it difficult little bit to follow Frye's mode of writing. I do not know if it is because my English is my second language or because he wrote this book for certain people; I mean that he did not write his book for common people. He composed it with an eloquent and specializing language in which the reader can not get the meaning of a whole page until he/she rereads the page or the reader keeps reading until he/she gets something after reading several pages.

It sounded to me when I had read the first few pages of Frye's book that he is talking about the art of writing. In the 1st chapter "Sequence and Mode", he focuses on two modes of writing: the descriptive and conceptual writing modes. He continues explaining the descriptive & conceptual writing modes and contrasting them with other modes of writing like the historical one.

terms and definitions:

1. centripetal: trying to make sense of the words we are reading.
2. centrifugal: gathering up from memory the conventional meanings of the words used in the world of language outside the work being read.
3. polysemous: having many meanings.
4. descriptive mode: a mode of writing in which we are reading to get information about something in the world outside the book.

notes:

1. When we read, our attention goes in two direction:
a) centripetal
b) centrifugal
2. Descriptive writing has two structures:
a) the structure of what is being described.
b) the structure of the words describing the thing which is being described.