2. The Book of Genesis: Now Look What We’ve Done. . .
Book
Genesis: Translation and Commentary, Robert Alter, W. W. Norton & Company, 1997, ISBN: 039331670X
Program Description
In the beginning there was a spirit of inquiry in Classical Pursuits and it created a seminar on Genesis. Our minds were void and without form. And it said, “let’s have some light on the matter,” and lo, there was light, and the participants saw that it was
pretty good, and the facilitator helped to divide the light from the darkness and it was called the first morning meeting. And the
spirit said, let there be a discussion of the stories and metaphors used in Genesis and let us divide those elements from the historical and scientific contexts of the book. And it was so. And the discussion thereof was the second morning. And it said, “let the relationships between the stories be gathered together and be called typologies, and let those typologies teach us something about our primary concerns as human beings.” And it was so.
And the discussion thereof was the third day. And it said, “let
our discussions bring forth an understanding of how Genesis is related to the Bible as a whole, and let that understanding yield significant insights into why these stories are with us still.”
And the insights were the fourth morning. And it said, “let the summary discussions bring forth abundantly a better understanding of how our spiritual concerns interconnect with our social and scientific involvements, our need for purpose, place, and direction, our desire for artistic expression, and further how our literature is suffused with the stories of Genesis and how they are being told still.” And the summary discussion was the fifth day. And the spirit blessed these morning gatherings and said to them, be fruitful and multiply among the loves and lives of our participants as they return to their homes. And on the sixth day, the spirit was curled up asleep on the bench in front of Brennan Hall....
Discussion Leader
Jeffery Donaldson is a poet teaching in the English department at McMaster University in Hamilton. He has edited a collection of essays on the Bible and the writings of Northrop Frye. He suffers from Philo-Genesis, a chronic ailment the pain of which is only eased by discussion.
