Essay on The Changing Role of the Supernatural in the Bible

elaborate imagination? Could it be that God is a mythological tool used by man to manipulate the

Another example of this is the fact that not only did the Jewish people suffer at the hand of God, those around them had to suffer as well. This is similar to the wasp that Jacques mentions in the film; it lays its eggs inside a caterpillar and then eats its way out, which kills the caterpillar. Sometimes in nature, in order for one to survive, another must die. In his article “The Bible and the Legitimation of Violence,” Collins says, that the book of Deuteronomy “repeatedly tells the Israelites to be compassionate to slaves and aliens, and to remember that they were slaves in the land of Egypt.” Therefore, God’s inclination towards violence does not make sense. God wanted all of humanity to be good and preach goodness, despite whatever hardships they had faced. In His eyes, everyone was deserving of love and no one should be forced to have faith in Him. The reason for this was quite simple, if one has to be forced by threat of violence to believe and trust in a higher power, then they are not being faithful for their own sake but only out of fear. God

     Finally we see that God is His own ruler. “And when the Lord said in His heart, ‘I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done’...”(8:21) Here God is speaking to himself, laying down the rules that he will follow and abide by.

They faced starvation which in some cases caused people to do unimaginable things for instance people fought and killed others for food. He soon lost his faith in God and the justice of God because of everything he had seen. Keep in mind, he is still young and after seeing the gas chambers and crematories. I could only imagine him being scarred for life, nobody should have to go through such trauma that they question God's existence . “For the first time, I felt anger rising within me. Why should i sanctify His name? The Almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the Universe, chose to be silent. What was there to thank Him for?” (Night, Pg.33). Seeing things that can’t be unseen changed him. He didn’t see himself the same anymore. His innocence was taken, he went from a normal healthy teen to a prisoner. His head was completely shaved, he was starved, and then dressed in striped

In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the supernatural and the role they play in motivating characters is apparent throughout the duration of the play. The supernatural is what causes conflict in the play and the prophecies from the witches in act one scene three is the inciting action in the piece. The supernatural causes the future conflict by motivating Macbeth to kill Duncan so he could become king of Scotland. Through temptation, the supernatural motivates characters to think arrogantly and for their own benefit. The supernatural in Macbeth presents prophecies which tempt Macbeth and Banquo with the idea of power. This leads Macbeth to contradict his loyal and courageous personality by planning a treacherous murder on Duncan with the

And Elie thinks to himself, "Why should I sanctify His name? The Almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the Universe, chose to be silent. What was there to thank him for?" (33). People are easily manipulated when they witness horrors that go against or disprove what they believe in. And when they realize this, it deeply lowers their morale and will to live.

God’s guidance often comes in violent forms, punishing humanity for going astray of his wishes or attempting to raise themselves up to god-like status. First, in the beginning of Genesis he attempted to control Adam and Eve by withholding knowledge, telling them that

In many cases inhumanity may lead to losing faith. The memoir states, “why, but why should i bless him” (67)? The quote above indicates that Elie has lost all faith in his God because of all the torture not only he faced but also the rest of the Jewish people. Also since there no longer existed a God to Elie he asked “Where is God’s mercy? Where is God? How can I believe, how can anyone believe in this God of mercy?” (76). In the quote above Elie

In the memoir Night, the narrator Elie Wiesel recounts a moment when they were transported to another concentration camp and forced to run, “the ss officers were running as well they had orders to shoot anyone who could not sustain the pace.’’ (wiesel 85). When they were running to another concentration camp a boy named zalman got a stomach cramp, felt and got trampled by everyone. As the author describes his experiences, many other examples of inhumanity and disbelief. One theme in Night is that inhumanity can cause loss of faith to begin with Elie wiesel sometimes had long discussions with his friend because he was really religious, he frequently asked him about his faith, “And why do you pray, Moishe?’’ I asked him. “I pray to the god within me for the strength to ask him the real question.

Inhumanity can cause you to give up and lose your faith. When Elie was talking to another man at the camps, the man said to him, “it’s over. God is no longer with us” (76). In the beginning of the book, everyone believed that their God would bless them so they relied on him. This man has persuaded Elie that God is not their to support them anymore. Elie was being very sarcastic when he was thinking of a way to “bless God” because he said, “but why would i bless him? Every fiber in me rebelled… how could i say to him: … praised be Thy Holy Name, for having chosen us to be slaughtered on Thine altar?” (67). Elie doesn’t know how to handle his disbelief, so he choses to give up on God because he feels like he was betrayed. Being treated like animals can make you want to give up because you feel abandoned.

In fairy tales, children are pushed into ovens, have their hands chopped off, are forced to sleep in coal bins, and must contend with wolves who've eaten their grandmother. In myths, rape, incest, all manner of gruesome bloodshed, child abandonment, and total debauchery are standard fare. We see more of the same in Bible stories, accentuated with dire predictions of terrors and abominations in an end of the world apocalypse that is more horrifying than the human imagination can even grasp.

The verbs “appeared” and “stopped” both have supernatural connotations which suggest that something unknown and potentially dangerous is in Mr. Lavery’s house. This gives the reader a sense of danger. Chandler uses repetition of the pronoun “she” and the noun “woman” to suggest that the protagonist Marlowe is observing her and to address her as, because her identity is unknown. Marlowe further describes her using complex sentences “…too much rouge on her cheekbones, shadowed eyes.” This demonstrates danger because it connotes ideas of blood.

The book of Amos is the earliest preserved example of classic prophetic writings. It consists of nine chapters, but Amos did not write the entirety of them. “A majority of scholars think that not all of the material in Amos goes back to the prophet himself but was added later by ancient editors of the book.” The anthology contains a variation of materials: prophecies, visions and addresses from Amos to the people of Israel. Two major themes of the book are the social injustice in Israel, and the impending doom in Israel’s future.

William Rowe defines gratuitous evil as an instance of intense suffering which an omnipotent, omniscient being could have prevented without thereby losing some greater good or permitting some evil equally bad or worse.(Rowe 335) In a world with so much evil it raises the questions If God is all powerful, all knowing and all good, how can he allow bad things to happen to good people? Can God even exist in a world with so such gratuitous evil? These are questions that has afflicted humanity for a very long time and has been the question to engross theologians for centuries. The existence of evil has been the most influential and powerful reason to disprove the existence of God. It is believed among many theist that God is the creator and caretaker

The purpose of the supernatural in Literary Works The purpose of the supernatural in literature can vary in function from story to story. The supernatural can be used to create a certain mood in writing or to enhance the dramatic effect of a story. The supernatural can also be used as the reasoning behind a story and act as the theme it centers on, creating a paranormal effect and a mystical experience for the reader.