Author: Mason Muir

In Tobit concepts of the Christian mentality are better explained in The Pilgrim’s Progress because of the interpersonal dialogue used. In Tobit the Christian mentality is greatly exhibited; Christian mentality meaning concepts of repenting, heaven, hell, sins, following god. It is written that Tobit wants god to “Remember me, and look on me, punish me not for my sins and ignor- ances, and the sins of my fathers, who have sinned before thee: For they obeyed not thy commandments” (Tobit 3:3-4). It is a strange concept of wanting to be remembered. It doesn’t matter. Being remembered means nothing to a dead person since they won’t comprehend it. The mention of heaven exists in Christianity but only angels can interact with humans on Earth. There could be more dimensions to life but if there are then being remembered should mean even less than if there is existence past life. But what is even stranger is Tobit goes back to say “deal with me according to my sins and my fathers” (Tobit 3:5). So what is going on? He wants to not be punished for the sins of his ancestors and the sins he creates possibly in a ploy to get to heaven. But then he wants punishment for these sins, some of which he is not even responsible for. It may be a lesson for others to take responsibility for their actions. Not just theirs but also the actions of others, because god will deliver proper judgment and deliver punishment. Punishment that will lead to the correct path of life yet again. But these ideas are hard to dissect and decipher. It would be a lot easier to just follow a conversation which is exactly what The Pilgrims Progress does for a majority of the text. There is narration that reveals itself where it’s stated “Prudence thought good to ask him a few questions, and desired his answer to them” (122). But it adds a sense of curiosity that makes the reader question “what would a person say? What would Christian say?” Which then leads to the conversation where Prudence asks “Do you not think sometimes of the country from whence you came?/Christian’s thoughts of his native country/CHR. Yes, but with much shame and detestation: ‘Truly, if I had been mindful of that country from whence I came out, I might have had opportunity to have returned; but now I desire a better country, that is, an heavenly’ [Heb. 11:15,16]” (122). Going inside the head of another human and watching ideas formulate lead to heavy engagement and deeper understanding. It creates a sense of relatability and also legitimacy. Two people talking and weighing opinions is more convincing than a person who writes stuff by themselves proclaiming a man in the sky is telling them these things. The mention of “heavenly” brings back the concept of normalizing Christianity in life and making it a way of life. Casually using biblical terms allows humans to understand and appreciate these concepts to a higher extent. A technique that The Pilgrim’s Progress takes advantage of.

The King James version of Psalms is much more clear than the Sydneys Psalter version because of the modern English used. In the Sydneys Psalter version there are many miss-spellings that make the reader have to reread passages multiple times to truly understand what the meaning is. An example of this is: “The Lord receaves my cry,/ And my good ear doth give:/ Then love hym still will I” (Sydneys Psalter Psalms 116:1-4). The misspelled words “receaves” and “hym” might make a reader have to reassess their interpretation of the passage. Although one may think it is beneficial to overlook a passage multiple times it is actually the opposite in this circumstance. Rereading sentences after sentences reduces motivation to continue reading as there seems to be a disconnect to the text. Whereas in the King James version the language is much more easily understood. To prove this here is a part of the same section of Psalms but in the King James version: “Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live” (King James Bible Psalms 116:2). There are instances of more so retired English language like “hath” and “unto” but it is very legible nonetheless. It is much easier to form a connection to text that a reader can interpret and analyze quickly and consistently. From the Sydneys Psalter version where “The Lord receaves [ones] cry,/ And [ones] good ear doth give:/ Then love hym still will [a person]” (Sydneys Psalter Psalms 116:1-4) the language leads to a unique interpretation. A lord or entity receiving cries entails that a person must be in pain or fear their superiority in order for them to help them. It’s mentioned that one must give their ear and after the first sentences it seems to be almost in a literal sense even though of course it is not. While the last sentence reveals that the pain of submitting to a higher power results in unconditional love. These ideas may have made sense in the past and may have helped shape and control society. However, in modern times it just seems ridiculous to devote to a mindset of cowardice in pursuit of love. In the King James version it’s mentioned that “Because [god] hath inclined his ear unto [a person], therefore will [they] call upon him as long as [they] live” (King James Bible Psalms 116:2). Reading through that version it feels much more accepting and understanding. There is no threat of punishment and just mention of a higher power rewarding and listening to a person willing to believe in it. A person will learn of the power of the lord (personification of positive energy) and understand the power “the lord giveth” (similar to the law of attraction where energy attracts energy. Where God represents positive energy).

The film J.B. provides a modern take on the Book of Jobs because it alters the setting giving a 1950s perspective on the bible. In the book of Jobs the chapter starts off with a statement saying: if job has ever done anything inherently wrong then others should take advantage of him. He actually encourages it. It’s a pretty abnormal perspective in comparison to the ideals of most people today. Not many people like to take responsibility for their actions when they mess up and would much rather brush their mistakes under the carpet. But Job’s system of justice is similar to “an eye for an eye” where he fully accepts responsibility for all of his actions (maily highlighting the consequences of negative actions). He goes on to say “If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour’s door; Then let my wife grind unto an- other, and let others bow down upon her” (Book of Jobs 31: 9-10). Rarely is it ever written that a man would want to be punished for cheating on his wife. In most instances men try to hide any relations that they have with others. It’s not necessarily stated that Job would want to reveal to his wife his actions but he would encourage God to let her act in a way that would make him feel punished for his actions. In the film J.B. J.B. (Job) encounters Zuss and Nickles. Nickles (which is the portrayal of the devil) urges him to commit suicide in order to spite God for stripping him of his wealth and putting him out on the streets. Alternatively Zuss offers Job to have his old life back as long as he promises to obey God. J.B. ends up rejecting them both instead finding comfort in his wife Sarah which is where the play ends. Forcing Job into a modern perspective allows for more people to better understand the bible. He holds strong to his beliefs because he put all his faith in God. But what does that actually mean? Why do people say that they have given their life to god? What does it mean to give “Jesus the wheel”? It means that they believe positive energy will deliver them to heaven. That they don’t need to take responsibility for their actions since God has a plan for them. That any bad event will build them up and any good event is a reward for their rightdoing. It is essentially the mindset of a “perfect human.” Job does not fear having his eyes on others since he knows that God will not allow anything bad to happen to him. If he is to do that then it’s for a reason, maybe she would end up hurting him even worse or he could bring even more pain to her.

The implementation of Kings was considered the act of god because his followers always tailor a story to fit the narrative. King James wrote a portion into his bible that basically let everyone know that kings are super and important and pretty much a way of life. God will always be something that the bible tries to make sense of. When God is not prevalent it’s because he is doing it to teach us something. When he is helping humanity we are being rewarded but saying all of that isn’t fair. Thinking that “the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire: but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice” (1 Kings 19:11-12) is giving god too much credit. When the lord is not present when some of the worst imaginable things happen then he is not a god. If he loves his people he wouldn’t let them murder each other and suffocate to death under the ashes of a volcano or died in crumbling buildigs from earthquakes. There are no sins to atone for that deserve that measure, according to christianity. Christianity is based on being forgiven for sins. In ancient times the voice in one’s head was considered god. Then developed the idea that god is enormously powerful and all must fear him/it. However, there soon was a religion that allowed people to no longer fear god. It allowed them to make human mistakes, show remorse, and still arrive in paradise. That is the appeal of christianity- that no matter what you do you can always become a good person again if one truly changes their heart. So where did that idea go? Why is god not preventing earthquakes, forest fires and instead showing as a subtle whisper? It’s clear humans don’t believe enough in themselves that’s why religion exists. It helps them displace their own behaviors and actions to some abstract entity that controls them. Freeing them of the stress of controlling their life and blaming all good and all bad things on god. With the idea that even when bad things happen it’s because it’s by god’s design. Devoting oneself to faith is kinda like becoming a modernized caveman. The concern for social media, monetary values, and modern wants dissipates; while the desire for intrinsic desires and spiritual goals increases. People become most intune with the world and with the universe when they decide that they don’t actually have control over their lives, but they are happy because they know it will work out.