9/24 Post-Class Blog

Barthes Mythology made me recall the studies I have done of the Bible in the past. While it is a record of a mythology in the traditional sense, collecting creation stories and parables meant to instruct the reader on the universe, the Bible itself also has the mythic meaning Barthes discusses. Without looking at the actual content of the book, there are already numerous meanings we can extrapolate from it. We swear on the Bible (as if that will make us more honest), we see how small the text and how thick the book is and assume it’s impenetrable except to a select few, children in Bible studies classes may think of it as little more than a brick, not yet able to understand what they’re reading.

The Bible has been used to justify wars, discrimination, abuse, and countless other things that seem to contradict its message. But, did its actual message ever really matter? In the hands of those who use it to justify oppression and violence, the symbol of its authority is what matters. The Bible is understood as an authoritative text, and if you claim to understand it, then its authority flows into you as well. Combined with the idea of Christian supremacy and Christian culture’s promotion of proselytizing (both ideas from select Biblical passages), you can invoke the Bible, The Word of God, even without really knowing what the words inside the book say. I doubt most Christians have actually read the Bible beyond what they hear in church, and I suspect its luster would wear off if they did. If you believe in the authorities that claim to understand the Bible and claim to be telling you its intended message, then what’s the point of reading it if you can’t possibly understand it, with its small text and high page count? Christianity is a religion obsessed with symbols, and the Bible is only one of them, but also one of its most powerful.