James Kugel at Pardes: 1 - The Very Beginnings of Biblical Interpretation

The third annual Hershdorfer-Kantrowitz-Brettler Lecture Series at Pardes.
"Has Modern Biblical Scholarship Killed the Bible?"
Four lectures presented by James Kugel.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012: "The Very Beginnings of Biblical Interpretation"
Wednesday, January 11, 2012: "The Book of Jubilees: the Oldest Commentary on the Book of Genesis"
Wednesday, January 18, 2012: "The Rise of Modern Biblical Scholarship"
Wednesday, January 25, 2012: "Has Modern Biblical Scholarship Killed the Bible?"

[@bw4025]

Just because a book falls within and as contained in 'Christian' communities does not mean that they agreed with the text of these books, such as the book of Jubilees. Instead, perhaps, the book was in their collection, so they might write against said book. The book of Jubilees, named the Book of Division, was perhaps such to the early Christians and so thus named.

[@vmeji670]

Why is 2 Peter 2:7 used as a warrant to avoid seeing the day as a normal day and not Romans 5 as a warrant to use sin and spiritual death as a valid interpretation of the first chapters of GENESIS ?

[@vgrof2315]

The contrived interpretation of the Bible goes on and on. There's more of it generated every time a preacher gives a sermon. Authors are tripping over each other writing new slants on the Bible. Witness Dennis Prager's recent "authoritative" books about Exodus and Genesis for example.
How is it that centuries of Biblical contrivance, both within scriptural text and other writings, has failed to convince the entire Judeo-Christian-Islamic religious population that the whole thing is a lot of nonsense? The whole thing, combined with the need for archeologists to spend their lives digging in the dirt to "prove" the Bible, is a lot of nonsense worthy of being dropped in the trash can. Dennis Prager should be ashamed of his unclear thinking.
If the God of the Bible truly existed and inspired scripture, He could have dictated or generated a crystal clear text without need for change or interpretation. He could have provided clear evidence in plain sight of the validity of His stories and teachings.
Listening to, and reading, Kugel, and the Bible itself, has moved me from 95 to 99% atheism.