Introduction
The Bible has always been regarded as the main book of human existence. However, although it is the most frequently translated book, the Bible’s perception remains difficult for many people. For this reason, an outstanding number of modern authors take the gist of the book and interpret it to make the main ideas available to an average reader. It is also crucial regarding the fact that most belles-lettres works, songs, and feature films use allusions from the Bible with the hope that the recipient will understand the reference. One of the most famous Bible-oriented writers of the 21st century is Nancy Guthrie, with her book Even Better Than Eden in particular. The main objective of this essay is to examine various reflections of the ideas expressed in the book mentioned above in sermons, literature, and music.
Main body
The widespread usage of references from the Bible has always been an integral part of literature. Even though it may seem that the era of Biblical allusions ended with Dostoyevsky’s works, modern authors also use motives from the Bible. Still, they are not as apparent as previously. A great example would be the novels by Stephen King and especially his book The Stand. The plot is centered on the story of the post-apocalyptic world, where the humans themselves provoked a collapse (King).
The story is full of references from the Bible, where the protagonist is called Mother Abigail. The woman of faith often opens a discussion of various Bible motives, claiming that there will always be a battle of evil and good in the world. Thus, Guthrie’s work, where she describes how various Biblical topics develop throughout scriptures, is crucial in terms of understanding the greatest book of all times and its appearance in many life aspects.
Among all the nine chapters in Even Better Than Eden, I would single out the chapter called “The Story of a Dwelling Place” (Guthrie 108). The section seems to be of crucial importance for people, especially the youth, because of its relevance. The story dwells upon the topic of actual connection with God and His intention to live among the people. Nowadays, people very often lose or doubt their faith because they do not feel the connection with the Creator and hence, lose the sense of belonging to the common purpose. According to the chapter, this purpose implies creating a world where God could finally keep His promise to settle down among His people.
Sometimes people do not realize or tend to forget about this promise. Rather than making the world we live in a better place, they desperately wish to flee from the harsh reality and find a place for themselves in the Garden of Eden. However, the primary purpose will always be to create Eden on earth and eventually connect with God when He comes down to the people to dwell among them.
Various modern interpretations of the ideas expressed in the Bible are presented to a broad audience nowadays. Biblical allusions appear in music, film, and literature fields. It goes without saying that various sermons also bring Biblical doctrines to the masses. For example, the speech of Matt Chandler, held in 2017, voiced the idea of a human need for the presence of God in their lives. According to Chandler, it is normal and natural for people to strive for success or happiness (“The God of Mercy and Glory”). However, real happiness can be achieved only through the presence of God, which is the lust for the vast majority of people.
The music industry and some specific songwriters also tend to turn to the Bible in the songs’ lyrics. For instance, the song “Better” by Pat Barret expresses the notion of the superiority of God’s blessings over all the people’s materialistic necessities (Barret). Another song, called “Till I Found You” by Phil Whickham, tells about the reincarnation of a human’s soul after it eventually finds the place for God in itself (Wickham). Hence, all of them are somehow related to the topic of religion and God, although the context may vary.
Considering the examples discussed above, it is evident that the idea of God and the Bible repeatedly appears in various forms. If to compare, for example, a sermon and a pop song, the ways of introducing information to the audience are rather different. However, there is one thing that unites all of these examples – the concept of God’s presence in people’s lives and the idea of how this shift can turn thousands of them for the better.
Conclusion
To sum everything up, the ideas of Biblical reflections find their implementation in numerous religion-based books, films, sermons, and songs. As long as Christian people see the sense of existence in religion, media and literary sources will interpret the messages voiced in the Bible to convey them to the broader audience. The stories revealed in Nancy Guthrie’s Even Better Than Eden only emphasize the theory of the human need to understand the notions from the Bible. In such a way, they might implement them in daily life and hence, turn the place they live in into the true Garden of Eden.
Works Cited
Barret, Pat. “Better (Acoustic Video).” YouTube, uploaded by Pat Barret, 2018. Web.
Chandler, Matt. “The God of Mercy and Glory.” The Village Church. 2017. Web.
Guthrie, Nancy. Even Better Than Eden: Nine Ways the Bible’s Story Changes Everything about Your Story. Good News Publishers, 2018.
King, Stephen. The Stand. Anchor, 2011.
Wickham, Phil. “Till I Found You (Official Video).” YouTube, uploaded by Phil Wickham Music, 2018. Web.