An Introduction to The Bible as Literature:
The King James Bible and The Perennial Philosophy
But under all this confusion of tongues and myths, of local histories and particularist doctrines, there remains a Highest Common Factor, which is the Perennial Philosophy in what may be called its chemically pure state...It is only in the act of contemplation when words and even personality are transcended, that the pure state of the Perennial Philosophy can actually be known. The records left by those who have known it in this way make it abundantly clear that all of them, whether Hindu, Buddhist, Hebrew, Taoist, Christian, or Mohammedan, were attempting to describe the same essentially indescribable Fact.
Aldous Huxley
English 104
Professor Richard Doyle
mobius@psu.edu
Fall 2024
Osmond Lab 202
Penn State University
MWF 2:30 - 3:20
Office Hours Monday 12-2 pm, Wed 11-12 pm
In person Office Hours, 8 Burrowes

The King James Bible, translated and compiled in 1611 under the direction of King James I of England, is one of the most influential and best selling English language texts of all time. In this course students will practice rhetorical analysis to explore the text of the King James Bible and its likely effects on readers, with a focus on exegesis and close reading. In parallel with our collective exegesis, we’ll explore texts and visual art - e.g. Allen Ginsberg’s Howl, William Blake’s Job, Soren Kierkegaard’s reading of Abraham and Issac - that incorporate and respond to the Bible in order to take some small measure of its influence on art, literature, philosophy and rhetoric. Along the way we’ll contextualize the Bible as a work of world literature by comparing it with passages in the Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic and Taoist traditions as we collectively and individually evaluate the hypothesis of the ‘Perennial Philosophy” - Aldous Huxley’s notion that all religions all offer texts and practices "attempting to describe the same essentially indescribable Fact.”
Requirements
Syllabus
Past Class Audio
Resources - Suggested readings and resources for going further.
Old Online Classes Here!
Comments (1)
mobius@... said
at 1:57 pm on Dec 30, 2022
This is your wiki so make it better :)
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