What does one really need to know from the Bible?

Cafe Society
1

In Western culture, reference to Bible stories occurs somewhat frequently. In fact, a TV reference to the ‘Road to Damascus’ sent me first to Wikipedia and now to post this topic. To some extent, the educated person is expected to know and understand these references. So: what are the most commonly references and most important Biblical stories to understand? Please, let’s treat this thread objectively/historically, as we might treat one asking ‘Which are the key Greek myths and mythological figures,’ or ‘What are the tenets of Islam?’

I’ll start off with a few, perhaps representing what a secular observer could pick up from observing popular American culture. Please forgive and correct any mistakes or misconceptions, and feel free to add details, as this is an area where I feel painfully ignorant:

Old Testament / relevant to Judaism and Christianity
-Genesis, the creation of Earth in seven days, the creation of Eve from Adam’s rib, the temptation of Adam in the Garden of Eden (with the serpent and the apple)
-Moses/Exodus: Led the Jews out of slavery in Egypt, which involved parting the Red Sea. Received the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai. The story of Passover, where his followers put blood on their doors and thus, unlike the (Egyptians?), did not lose their firstborn sons.
-Job: God did horrible things to him to test his faith, but Job never relented
-David and Goliath: the puny David overcame the beastly Goliath, killing him with a slung rock
-King Solomon: two women brought a baby to him, both claiming to be the mother. The one who was aghast at the suggestion that the baby be divided (cut) equally between them was the true mother, by his wisdom.
-The Flood: Noah built a huge Ark, despite everyone else in the world thinking he was crazy. Brought two of every animal aboard and rode out the Great Flood for forty days, managing to repopulate the world.

New Testament / relevant to Christianity
-Judas: one of Jesus’ followers, gave him up to the Romans
-Pontius Pilate: Roman leader who had something to do with persecuting the early Christians and ordered Jesus’ crucifixion
-Jesus: whose crucifixion wiped out the sins of man; was subsequently reanimated. The Golden Rule–treat others as you would want to be treated.
-The Holy Trinity / Jesus, God, the Holy Ghost. One and the same somehow. Catholicism?
-Peter, Paul, other Apostles: ?

2

Some random ideas, apologies for this lay-person’s lame ideas:

Old Testament books:

Genesis: The life story of Abram/Abraham, including his first son Ishmael, the covenant with Isaac, the (near) sacrifice of Isaac, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. These stories are important to not only Judaism and Christianity, but Islam as well.

Book of Daniel: Daniel’s various interpretations of signs/omens/dreams: the writing on the wall, the fiery furnace, Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams; Daniel in the lion’s den. References to these occur frequently in pop culture, though I imagine many people who say “the writing’s on the wall” have no idea why it means something bad is about to happen.

New Testament:

Jesus’s parables and miracles throughout the gospels, which elaborate on Jesus’s philosophies, often explain claims made now by Christian denominations, and (like the stories in Daniel above) are referenced often in culture. Also of note is the “Great Commission,” or the point where post-resurrection Jesus commanded his disciples to spread the word; this is the impetus for proselytes, and is in the four gospels as well as Acts.

Acts: the Pentecost. Of historical interest to many Christians, of particular and current interest to Pentecostals and charismatic denominations.

The life and letters of Paul; you already have read up on his conversion on the Road to Damascus. Paul is pretty much responsible for the transformation of Christianity from a small cult into a major force so his story is interesting reading for historical reasons, and his letters to various churches (often addressing interpersonal problems members were having) are now looked upon by many churches as law. The modern controversy of women in positions of power in some denominations often hinges on how they interpret Paul’s letters.

Revelation: the apocalypse-- prophecy, thinly disguised criticism of then-current situations, acid trip? Worth reading when one keeps in mind that the book is accepted as wholly factual by a number of people, and that this affects politics and military policy.

3

Actually, Genesis 6-8 say it rained for 40 days, the Earth soaked for 150 days, then Noah waited an additional 40+ days before God told Noah to let the animals go repopulate the Earth. The timeframe ranges from “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened” to “the twenty-seventh day of the second month [of Noah’s six hundred and first year] the earth was completely dry.” So the total adventure was a year and ten days.

4

I first the Bible at age 23 and found an almost endless supply of stories, quotes, and images that appear all over the culture of western civilization: in stories, novels, poems, music, artwork, advertisements, and just about everywhere else you can imagine. For example, most rocks fans are surely familiar with this Led Zeppelin lyric:

yet I’m sure that many people have heard it a thousand times without knowing the two biblical references in there. It references Psalm 46:

and Isaiah, chapter 60:

Or for another example, everyone’s familiar with When the Saints Go Marching In, but have you ever asked yourself, “When, exactly, do the Saints go marching in?” It’s in the book of Revelations.

If I had to list the portions of the Bible that are most commonly referenced, I would say Genesis, Exodus, Psalms, Proverbs, the Gospels, Acts, and Romans. In the final analysis, though, the best course is to read the entire Bible, because that way you won’t miss anything.

5

[Slightly offtopic]I go to a catholic university that requires some theology courses in order to graduate. My roommate and I both took the intro course (different sections, though) this semester. It was quite interesting for me to see how he (for all intents and purposes an atheist) responded to the subject matter. There are quite a few biblical stories that I guess I always assumed everyone knew like the stories of Gideon, Samson, and Ahab/Jezebel. That is very not so.[/so]

6

A few things that come to mind:

The story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25 - 37).

Pontius Pilate’s (mentioned in the OP) washing of his hands.

The 23rd Psalm.

RR

7

From the Old Testament, Sodom and Gommorah.

From the New Testament, the Prodigal Son.

8

Growing up Southern Baptist and going to Sunday school every week before church - Well, I pretty much read the whole Bible by the end of Jr. High. I find I recognize references to the Bible stories and Bible quotes all over the place: for example, The title The Sun Also Rises is from Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament, which has a lot of familiar and haunting quotes. I forget which book "To Everything there is a Season"sung by the Byrds, etc., is from (Eclesiastes again? Psalms?).
It’s really hard to limit which books to read if you are looking for common cultural references. Along with Shakespeare and the classic fairy tales, it is referenced everywhere in Western culture.

9

Genesis: the story of Cain and Abel serves as an archetype of extreme sibling rivalry, gave a name and many plot points to East of Eden, and “mark of Cain” is a fairly common expression.
Exodus: the Ark of the Covenant (as in “Raiders of the Lost…”), the golden calf (which has come to symbolize all false idols), and manna from heaven (spiritual nourishment; an unexpected, unearned bonus).

Eh, just read the whole thing. As others have said, it’s chock-a-block with stories and symbols that have become ubiquitous in western culture. And if you skip over the lists of begettings and pages of legal stuff, parts of it make for a pretty good read.

BTW: Trinitarianism is not just a Roman Catholic creed. It is believed in the great majority of Christians sects, although some emphasis it more than others.

10

Or you can cheat and just read the Brick Testament, which is the whole Bible (I think) illustrated out of Legos. Much more colorful and amusing (in my opinion, anyway) than just reading it.

11

Incredibly astute. If they all had to be boiled down to one for each, you’ve nailed the ones.