Atheist Bible Study 1: Genesis

[Drich]

if this were true then why not build the perfect protagonist?

or one that follow the typical story arch? 

why have the protagonist keep failing the same trial over and over and over again? All it does is undermine the character of the person who is supposed to be the moral standard.. This reeks of real life people and real life failures.

If a story's protagonist fails to learn a great moral lesson over and over again yet holds himself up to be the hero, he become little more than a hypocrite.. So why is Abraham not the father of hypocrisy? if what you say is true?

How I see it:

That perfect protagonist (in the eyes of the ancient Israelites) was God. Abraham and all the others are meant to be imperfect human models of righteousness through obedience and adherence to God's laws and commands. God is supposed to be the main hero here, not Abraham and others.

Anyway, it's not like Abraham failed so many times in his accounts that he could no longer be a human model for others morally speaking. He still walked with God, and was considered righteous because Abraham believed God (Genesis 15:6).

You are describing a 'mary sue' type of protagonist like a "rey" from star wars.. where there is no story arch the character is just all powerful.  so there is no real story to be told as their is no challenge there is no obstacle to over come just a display of power. We as a people have been telling stories for a long long time even the ancient greek god followed these story arch rules, the all powerful God in story posin as there is nothing to be said or done to stop or change his will. Supermen is an example of this as he was impervious to everything so they had to invent kryptonite because he was getting boring with nothing too challenging to ever oppose him.. Again a lesson learned even by the egyptians and their God. so why oh why would the jews fall into this writers corner if what you say is true? Ultimately you make man and all examples of him a train wreck with no redeemable qualities or.. you god has to have a secrete flaw..

What story sells when are you heros are secretely the bad guys, and there is no hope and there is no redemption and nothing anyone can do?

Granted in you look at the NT and everything written you see who the hero is and how he saves the day... but 2000 years before that when this was written how could the author of genesis/moses have known how Christ would finish out the story? Unless there is a greater element to this than just a story?

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why have the protagonist keep failing the same trial over and over and over again?

You ask that question like you've never read a book....?  The inability of man to overcome their deficiencies is one of the oldest and most compelling narratives in all of human literature.

It's the fundamental narrative device of "sin", for fucks sake.....  I have never understood how the themes of a book so incredibly important to people manage to completely escape them.  Whatever else magic book is, it's a literary masterpiece...and pointing out some plot hole or problem of character development that could only -be- either thing if we were reading some third graders current news report is just beyond the pale, to me.

but as i just pointed out how could have the writter of genesis seen the larger arch that 2000 years to play out? yes I have read the book in it's completeed form but the guy writting this story in genesis didn't. so for him to lay the foundatons to an arch that would be completed 2000 year after his work was written is well more than a fluke.