Oredola 1 Oredola, Olayinka Ms.

Crocker World Literature 21 August 2012 Think For a Minute Abstract thinking is a way of thinking most people shy away from. Something abstract is something you can not feel or see. Religion and the belief of God is totally abstract. The novel, City of God by the intelligent E.L Doctorow, showcases the abstract idea of God in ways seen by no other. City of God is not a book you read with the television on, you will do a major injustice to the book if you do so. The book is written in so many different styles, different characters, and different settings. However the wow moments in the book are the deep inner thoughts by the protagonist, Everett. In the novel, City of God , Doctorow discusses the Christian beliefs adopted by many people, with deep intellectual thoughts, specifically the second coming of Jesus Christ, and the credibility of the Bible. In Doctorows intellectual novel he always goes into random tangents about God. He covers an array of different topics, but on in particular is the second coming of Jesus Christ, or millennialism. In the book of Revelations, the Bible paints a clear picture that Jesus will come back to Earth, prior to the final judgment, and reign on Earth for a long time. This something Christians can not wait for, but how bout the other non-Christians or people of different religions? This idea is extremely abstract to even begin thinking of it. Doctorow, however, is a genius and through his character, Everett, he discusses this

Oredola 2 idea thoroughly. In the novel it is clear that Doctorow knows many people adopt Christianity as their religion to practice. This is a definite fact that Christianity is the number one religion in America, at least. In contrast how many people believe in a millennial imperative? In the novel, Doctorow really expresses his feelings, and he once says what if God is just a made up story? What if God is a fiction made by people to make them feel better about themselves. When Jesus does come back, what does that mean for other people? Do Christians really believe the after Christ reigns, and the judgment comes, every non-believer will go to hell? This includes Jews, Buddhist, and Muslims. According to the New Testament Bible, Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, no man come to the Lord but by him. However, who to say that a Mormon is better than a Jew or a Muslim. Mormons believe Jesus is the Son of God, but some also believe polygamy. So you have to ask how credible is the Bible, this is when Doctorow expresses to the reader that question. In the novel ,City of God, Everett goes on many different tangents about the credibility of the Bible. So many people cherish and live by the word of God, but the ideas are so abstract. There is little to none factual evidence that God exist, the belief in Him is mostly, if not all, driven by faith. The Bible especially is a book so different, so abstract, and so interesting. Some parts are heart warming, while other parts are frightening. However, Doctorow erases faith, and showcases to the reader to think a little concrete about the Bible. In the Bible itself, how does it explain the way it was written? Well, it clearly says that humans (males), wrote the Bible from the voice of God. In a sense these men were descent men, and credible in their time, but these men are writers if

Oredola 3 you look at it bluntly. Their writing a book in essence. Is it a known fact that writers may exaggerate the actual concrete facts to make the story better. This is one idea Doctorow discusses quite frequently. Another example of the not so credible Bible is the generation passed down story effect, and the language it was written in. When stories are passed down they often get modified. The Bible an extremely old book, may have been modified. As well as the language the Bible was written in, it was not originally written in English. The language it was written in, did not even have vowels in it. So the Bible had to be interpreted or translated. Who is to say it was not interpreted in a wrong manner? Some words may have been wrong in the English language or changed meaning in our language. The people that always interpreted the Bible were Kings of the modern English time. For example King James interpreted the Bible that is most common in todays world. In fact, the Bible is always tied with political aspects. Some-thing it has no business with. Can we trust those who interpreted the Bible? How credible is a normal human being, not to think a king or in other words a politician. The Bible is something just of faith, nothing more, nothing less. The idea of God, the Bible, and the final days of Earth is something so abstract and hard to grasp, but Doctorow really did a tremendous job of explaining to the reader. You can not touch, smell, or see God, who is to say he is real? Religion is in no way concrete, it is only driven by faith. The millennial imperative, and the credibility of the Bible has no factual evidence. Only those with strong faith believe.