More on Bloom

It seems sometimes easier to note other people's published personal opinions than to write my own. Here are a few quotes from Harold Bloom's book Jesus and Yahweh.

P 24 Yahweh cannot be dismissed though I do not trust or love him, because both absent and present he is indistinguishable from reality be it ordinary or an intimation of transcendence.

P 27 Jesus is the Jewish Socrates and surpasses Plato's mentor as the supreme master of dark wisdom.

(Tyndale - Now we see in a glass - even in a dark saying.)

Bloom counts seven portraits of Jesus in the NT: Matthew, Mark, Luke-Acts, John, Paul, James and revelation. Are these composite or conflictual? and what about Hebrews?

P 36 The New Testament is a creative misreading of Tanach

Much later in the book (p238) he claims that Shakespeare evades the Holy. I think As You Like It might be one case where the Holy is present. I'm no expert on Shakespeare. (I even thought that HB - Harold Bloom that is, not Helpful Bear nor Holy Bible - might be our beloved Iyov - but I think that though there is some meeting of character and erudition, HB does not reveal quite the same love of the Word.)

On Jewish - Christian incompatibilities, he cites trust vs believe. I think Christian may have much to learn about faith and walk but his is too simplistic a submission. He calls Judaism a post-Christian religion! and notes that Akiva also rewrites Torah in Mishna and Talmud. Did/does the NT complete/answer/fulfill the TNK? Does TNKNT belong together? (Note the multi-lingual chiasm. Shall we call it Tanachanit?)

Bloom on page 37 denies without substantiating that NT fulfils TNK. He I think - remembering and interpreting my notes - speaks of the death of Torah - no no no. These words won't do. There are many places where his words won't do. If the NT misreads the TNK, I think in some places, HB is misreporting NT in his reading of Paul: 'his Yahweh shrinks to God the Father' (?) - 'Christ is cut off from the historical Jesus' (? in the minds of many that may be true - but is there a reading that makes it false?) Resurrection - entirely spiritual (? so? what is spiritual? and how does the Anointing and the Anointed relate to that Reality that he does not trust or love (in his own words).

He quotes Emerson: there is no history, only biography. Our prayers are diseases of the will, our creeds diseases of the intellect. (There's a meme to develop.)

Bloom needs a complete reframing of all perspective : Christianity needs a similar reframing of Anointing.

I will continue later - these random thoughts do have an end (both termination and purpose).