Does one need to have extensive biblical knowledge in order to

You need to know the OT genealogies and the Pauline epistles. You should know this stuff anyway otherwise ur a pleb

>>9242048
Nope. The narrative only covers the first three chapters of Genesis. And most of the content is, shall we say, less than canonical.

>>9242048
Everyone thinks they know the "gist" of the Bible. Read through it, again if you already have. Even if just for the mythology.

>>9242776
This, though New Testament and few prophets are optional, since it nonetheless includes the Son of God.

http://oyc.yale.edu/english/engl-220
Course on Milton with all the lectures up for download

>>9243314
I got my BA in Biblical Literature. Almost no one knows shit about the Bible.

When my BA comes up, people say stuff like "Wow I can't believe there are no strong women characters in the Bible" or "Crazy that the people in the Bible were so devout." What?? Women in the Bible often drive the narrative, and by the Bible's own account the Israelites were terrible.

>>9243338
Can you recommend an interesting and fun, but very factul book on the Bible in general?

>>9243709
>factual
back to ribbit

>>9243714
??

>>9242048
Nah. Read Genesis 1-3, Isaiah 14 and a wiki summary of Revelation and you have enough to start making your way. Obviously there's lotsinthe text that you'd spot if you knew the Bible, but the basics I've mentioned is enough to start with.

>>9242776
You also should read revelations. Milton has a, possibly idiosyncratic; though very intentional, view of biblical time as occurring all at once, outside of human time.

He places the war in heaven from revelations before genesis. Jesus is depicted as existing eternally as a distinct part of god, and offers himself up as a blood sacrifice prior to the fall. He also positions lesser dieties as fallen members of the empyrean, meaning their cults among men arose after their ousting.

Why would you not read the Bible? Like seriously, it's objectively the most important book in history, how do you not start with it?

>>9243709
The Historical Figure of Jesus by Sanders is a great book. It position Jesus and his mystic cult as one of many figures/cults formed by/around itinerate magician preachers.

The main thing that stuck with me is the idea that the preformative miracles, and miraculousness in general, were common currency and tropes of the prophetic trade at the time, not something specific to Jesus.

>>9243877
as a non-Christian Ive tried but its just agonizing, like reading a phonebook. i know religious texts aren't supposed to be read like a novel but I dont have a spare 30 years to go and receive it in bitesize chunks each sunday from my local child molester