The Bible is obviously one of the fundamentals of the Western canon, but I can't face/don't think it's a particularly good use of my time reading all of it. Are there a smallish number of particular books that I could go on alone? Or are there any introductory works on Biblical allusion in Western literature?
I'm pretty sure I know most of the basics (Genesis, Moses, Abraham, Job, most of Jesus' life) but I come across references that I would not have recognised if not for notes fairly often.
>>7847290
I'd say the whole thing is pretty dope but I'll limit it to the fundementals:
Read the Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Number, Deuteronomy.
Read the beautiful stuff: Ecclesiastes, Job, Song of Solomon
Read Isaiah, the only prophetic work required to fully understand the weight of the NT
Read all of the Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Read Acts.
Primary Epistles: Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians, Timothy, Hebrews, 1/2/3 John
And of course read Revelation.
I would say that you should probably just man up and read the whole thing through, but if for some reason that's hard, in my humble opinion the top picks maybe would be Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Daniel, and Isaiah off the top of my head. Just go ahead and read the entire New Testament honestly, it's not that long and shouldn't take you all that much time. Maybe drop Acts if you must.
>>7847407
This is a good list
>>7847290
The Book of John is the greatest piece of writing ever conceived; all the better since it is true.
>>7847407
yeah, really good
you miss out on Psalms and most of the stories of the prophets though... and fuck me Kings is a much better read than Levitivus, Numbers, or Deuteronomy, Christ
>>7847532
Psalms is one of those things that I tend to read randomly, on and off, in no particular order. To sit down and read all of the Psalms can become extremely repetitive.
why should i read bible, and not quran or bhagavadgita?
>>7847815
Because reading one doesn't conflict with reading the others you fucking retard.
>>7847815
because the bible holds TRUTH
make sure to get get a hold of the king james version for MAXIMUM TRUTH and often beautiful prose
>>7847815
bc theres no western canon benefit to any religious text other than the Bibile
>>7847407
this should be enough to get all the allusions to christianity in english lit right?
>>7847407
OP should also be familiar with Samuel and Kings probably
>>7847815
You should read all of them.
>>7847290
I'm sure you could read it in one week during your next vacation, or over the course of three months reading an hour a day. Don't be lazy.
>>7847815
Because you need to poo in the loo.
>>7847815
You should read all three, but the Bible is more critical to Western literature than either of the other two.
