Biblical Inspiration

"The devil, as the old saying goes, can quote scripture."

- Foster p. 48

I found Fosters chapter entitled ...Or the Bible to be very interesting. Having attended a private Christian middle school, I was used to reading the Bible in class. Not only was it used in religion classes, but also in English and History. It seemed to me that no matter what students were learning, teachers always could make some connection between the subject matter and religion. I never understood how they were able to do that.

Now, after reading Foster it makes much more sense to me. Foster made very good references to works of literature with Biblical undertones or suggestions. I had read several of those works before, and was never able to pick up on them. Foster points out that not all uses of religion are obvious. Now I see how it sometimes is very important to read into things in order to pick up on what an author really means, or how they gained their inspiration.

Many people who are not religious tend to ignore or brush off the Bible if they do not believe in the message that it portrays. I feel as if Foster is saying that even though you may not believe that the Bible is a sacred text, it is a good piece of literature. It is well written, and very well known. It is something that a reader can appreciate for its content in more than one way. Some people see the stories as parables to live their lives by, while others read it for historical elements and references. Like Foster said, the stories never grow old, and it will continue to play a role in works or literature for as long as authors are writing.

http://jerz.setonhill.edu/EL267/2009/02/foster_how_to_read_literature_1/