英语论文The influences of bible on english culture.docx

1、英语论文The influences of bible on english cultureThe Influences of Bible on English Culture1. Introduction In western countries, Christianity is the main type of religion. With the world widely spread, Christianity acts an enormous impact on western culture. The influences of the Bible are world-wide.

2、Its mighty power has affected every department of human activity. The contents of the Scriptures have supplied themes for the greatest poets, artists and musicians, and have been the mightiest factor of all in shaping the moral progress of the race. Let us consider a few examples of the Bibles influ

3、ences as displayed in the various realms of human enterprise. This article expounds the influences of the Bible on the English culture from several aspects.2. A general study of the Bible Knowledge of the Bible is a prerequisite to understand English culture.What exactly The Bible is? The explanatio

4、n in the encyclopedia is “Bible, term used since the fourth century to denote the Christian Scriptures and later, by extension, those of various religious traditions. This article discusses the nature of religious scripture generally and the Christian Scriptures specifically, as well as the history

5、of the translation of the Bible into English. For the composition and the canon of the Hebrew and Christian Bible, see Old Testament; New Testament; Apocrypha.”2.1 The history of how the Bible createdChristianity started in the middle of the 1st century AD, it originated from the earliest religion w

6、hich Hebrew established of the worldJudaism, the Christianity admitted and continued to use Judaisms religion idea, and developed it on this foundation. Except accepting Jehovah as God, the Christianity also believes Savior is the name of Gods son, a name of Jesus Christ who was sent by God to save

7、the people. Christians take the words recorded that how Christianity spread and develop into the New Testament. The combination of the New Testament and the scripture of Judaism” Old Testament” became the sacred writings of Christianity“Holy Bible”. During 4th century AD, the Roman Empire s Constant

8、ine made the Christianity as the nations religion, since that, Christianity started to spread all over the European area. Pope Damascus I assembled the first list of books of the Bible at the Council of Rome in 382 AD. He commissioned Saint Jerome to produce a reliable and consistent text by transla

9、ting the original Greek and Hebrew texts into Latin. This translation became known as the Latin Vulgate Bible and in 1546 at the Council of Trent was declared by the Church to be the only authentic and official Bible in the Latin rite.2.2 The versions and translations of the BibleThe Bible is often

10、described as the greatest book ever written. This is because of its unending significance and influences on people throughout the ages. No other book in history has impacted peoples and cultures like the Bible. So far, the Bible has been translated into 2,018 languages and every year more copies of

11、the Bible are sold than any other single book. In scholarly writing, ancient translations are frequently referred to as versions, with the term translation being reserved for medieval or modern translations. The Bible versions are discussed below, while The Bible translations can be found on a separ

12、ate page.The Christian Bible consists of the Hebrew Scriptures, which have been called the Old Testament, and some later writings known as the New Testament. The original texts of the Bible were in Hebrew, although some portions were in Aramaic. There are several different ancient versions of the Bi

13、ble in Hebrew, mostly differing by spelling, and the traditional Jewish version is based on the version known as Old Testament. The primary biblical text for early Christians was the Septuagint. In addition, they translated the Hebrew Bible into several other languages. Translations were made into S

14、yria, Coptic, Greek, Latin, and other languages. The Latin translations were historically the most important in the West, while the Greek-speaking Countries continued to use the Septuagint translations of the Old Testament and retain the New Testament.The earliest Latin translation was the Old Latin

15、 text, or Vetus Latin, which seems to have been made by several authors over a period of time. The Bible translations for many languages have been made through the various influences of Catholicism, Orthodox, Protestant, especially since the Protestant Reformation. The Bible has seen a notably large

16、 number of English language translations. The work of The Bible translation continues, including by Christian organizations such as Wycliffe Bible Translators, New Tribes Missions and the Bible Societies. Of the worlds 6,900 languages, 2,400 have some or the entire Bible, 1,600 (spoken by more than

17、a billion people) has translation underway.2.3 The main formations of the BibleThe Bible as we know it today is divided into two main sections or collections of books called the Old Testament and the New Testament. The word testament literally means something that serves as proof or a personal witne

18、ss either verbally or written. So these testaments are the writings of people and the recordings of events that serve as proof. The climax or pinnacle of the Bible is Jesus - Gods coming to earth as a man (incarnate). The Old Testament is the history of Gods work through the nation of Israel (or the

19、 Hebrew people) to the world in preparation for Jesus. The New Testament is the witness of Jesus coming life, teachings, work, and the ramifications of these to the people of that time and in the future till the end of time. The bible was written from 50 A.D. or so and was completed in the second ce

20、ntury. The origins and formations of the Bible, Testaments, and books included are covered in detail in the specific Testament sections. The writers of the books of the Bible were just ordinary humans, but it is the historic Christian belief, that they wrote under the influences of the Holy Spirit,

21、that is under inspiration. This inspiration factor makes the Bible different from any other book that exists - past, present or future. It therefore bears unlimited importance for us to study and understand. Although many other books existed at that time，the Bible books were still the main choice of

22、 people . Persons spiritually guided by the Holy Spirit chose the book. This enabled them to choose what was spiritually true and what was false and therefore should or should not be included as scripture. The collection of books recognized as authoritative and divinely inspired, were canonized. Can

23、on is a Greek word which means rule or measuring line. The books that passed the canon were considered scripture. Other books that did not pass the canon, may be of interest to read, and suitable for learning, but are not regarded as on the same level as Biblical or canonical books in that they carr

24、y no authority. 3. The influences of the Bible on English cultureWhen the Bibles influences are profound in a society, it will affect all aspects of that culture in a positive way. How we dress, what we eat, what music we listen to, and what we choose for entertainment, are all reflections of how st

25、rongly the Bible affects our lives. The idea of the Bible has become firmly established in western society today. This influence has been demonstrated in all aspects of their daily life. It is considered as an important source of western language culture as well as a classical religious masterpiece.

26、 Just like how Confucius philosophy and works has affects Chineses ideas profoundly, the Bible is a foundation of ideas and principles upon which western society rests. For hundreds of years, the Bible has been penetrated deeply into western families daily life, and became the rules of peoples life.

27、 The Bible has shaped not only religious thought, but also politics, law, education, literature, culture,flavored English language with words and phrases etc. Indeed, for Americans of many denominations, the Bible was considered as the wellspring of national mythology, as the prevailing biblical sto

28、ries and imagery spread with the change of time and circumstance.3.1 The influences of the Bible on Ceremony English countries are Christian countries, both presidents and farmers go to the church every weekend. Almost all the important ceremony is held in a Christian way. Its safe to say that all t

29、he ceremonies are originated from the Bible, Such as, wedding, funeral and so on. In many countries of the western world, newly-born babies usually received the baptism. The parents bring the babies to the church, or invite the pastors to their home, to hold a simple and solemn ceremony. After the p

30、astor chanted the scripture of the Bible, he gently sprays water on the head of the baby, saying: “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and the son, and of the Holy Spirit”.3.1.1 Wedding Ceremony:Weddings are treated as a big occasion. The Bible reputes that marriage is an eternal relationship.

31、In The Bible it is described like this, “the Lord God said: it is not good for the man to be alone I will make a suitable partner for him” (Genesis 2:18). God thinks Adam is lonely when he was alone, so he took one of Adams ribs and creates Eva with it. Adam said: “This one, at last is bone of my bo

32、nes, and fresh of my fresh.-(Genesis 2:23-24)”. Husband and wife is no longer two people, but one. Christianity holds that, marriage is matched by God, and marriage should be founded on the reverence of God. People should worship God in marriage and family life. Therefore, wedding is one of the most

33、 important ceremonies of English countries. So all close families and friends would be invited to the church to witness this stately moment. With the holy music going on, the bride in a long white wedding dress and white veil takes her fathers right arm walks to the altar. And the vicar asks her father: “Who