Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Out of Egypt by Anne Rice

Out of Egypt is a book by Anne Rice in biblical times. It is a historical fiction book, which Mrs. Rice wrote from the first person perspective of Jesus. It begins when he and his family move to Egypt to escape King Herod, who wants to kill him. He grows up there and becomes connected to his friends and teachers. When he is 7, they prepare to leave since King Herod is dead. It is painful for him to leave Egypt, since he has known nothing else. That is why the book is called Out of Egypt. When he returns to Jerusalem, it is a new life, where he must make new friends and learn new things. As he gets older, he learns about his birth and his power. He doesn't know what it all means, and it takes time for him to realize who he really is. He is told all the stories leading up to his birth, why they had to move, and why he must return. It was a very interesting book to be told from this perspective.

1. Do you think it is right for someone to tell a story and be Jesus? No one can ever be him, no one is God or sinless. Do you think it is morally right and okay, or is it sinful and immoral to tell a story like you know what went through his mind?

2. As he realizes he is the Son of God and has power, he realizes he cannot misuse it, and he does use it for many good things and miracles throughout his life. If you had the ability to do anything, what would you do as long as you could not sin?

32 comments:

Ashley B. 1-2 said...

I hope I would be able to use my power for the good things in life and to help other people and as for question number one I think it depends on what you believe in. How can anyone today actually know what went through his head. None of us were there while he was alive so all we can do is believe.

Nicole H. 7-8 said...

I agree with Ashley it's all about what you believe. I also hope I would be able to use my powers to make everyone's day a little better; to do that huge acts of kindness are not always nesecary.

Sarah N. 7-8 said...

1. There is not much about Jesus's early life recorded, so I think it really depends on how the author writes the story. Many people may interpret what that individual rights as the truth. Since there is not many records, it would also be difficult to know his thoughts. I also think that any book one writes surrounding a religious figure would always be controversial.

Brandon Messner said...

1. I don't see a problem with pretending to be Jesus as long as you are well aware that you are not and express that point as well.

2. I would do nothing with the power. No man that has lived, is living, or ever will live is not worthy of smart enough to have the power of Jesus and I know that no matter what I did, I would just screw over the planet. So, I'd just leave things as they are.

Sydney M 7-8 said...

1. I agree with Brandon. If you are potraying Jesus in a bad way or not acting as if he was, then it would be wrong. And like Sarah said there isn't all that much that you could go off of. It is peoples way of interpreting Jesus and what the storys of the Bible mean and so forth.

Megan M 1-2 said...

1. I agree with Syd, if you are acting as Jesus or pretending to be Him as long as it is okay and not mocking Him in anyway then it is alright but it is your personal belief on how He is as a person since no one has ever met Him.
2. I would try to use it for the good of everyone, whether that was the cure for cancer, autism or world hunger, as long as it was for the benefit of everyone that's what I would try to do.

Josie D 7/8 said...

1. I agree with Megan, there's nothing wrong with trying to understand the way Jesus felt during His life. As long as they are not mocking Him, but really trying to portray Him as who He really was.
2. I would try to use my abilities to solve problems, not make them. I'm not really sure what I would do though, it would be hard to decide between what is good and what is going to far.

Hannah K. 1-2 said...

1) I believe that people have the right to write about whatever subjects they want to. Deities are commonly used as characters in books, so it is not an unusual occurrence.
2) I would try to help people- finding cures for diseases, and eliminating hatred in the world. However, using that power for personal gain sometimes would, I think, be too hard to resist.

Lisa T. 1-2 said...

1. I agree with Nicole and Ashley- I think it really depends on what you believe is sinful and immoral. Everyone is entitled to their own interpretation, so as long as the author understood their point of view may not be the truth to every reader, there's nothing wrong with expressing their ideas.
2. Hannah made a good point about the temptation of power. It takes a lot to ignore being humanly selfish, but I think that's also what makes Jesus the figure that he has become- he was able to overcome that nature. Personally, I feel that because of that, he is in a way above many people, including myself, as I don't know that I could handle the responsibility to use my power for the selfless deeds that he had.

Ashlyn W. 7-8 said...

1) I think that if she was telling the story of Jesus to inform other about The story of Jesus, its not bad. But if she told the story pretending to be him, that is not good.

Avi D. 7/8 said...

1. I agree with Ashlyn. If the author was telling the story to inform non-Christians about Jesus who are too lazy to read the Bible she is doing no wrong. The only part I found slightly bad is the way she is telling the thoughts in his head.

2. Limitless Power! Oh wait I can't sin. I agree with Brandon, I would not do anything with such power. I would screw the world up some way or another. However, I would change little things in life. I think the movie "Bruce Almighty" will give me a good preview. I should watch it again.

Natesa W. 7-8 said...

1. I think it is wrong to tell a story from Jesus's perspective. I don't think it is sinful, but it is morally wrong. No one could ever be him and it is wrong to try to pretend to be him. But I do also agree with Aslyn. If they are using it to teach about the real Jesus then it would be okay.
2. I would like to think that I would try to make the world a better place with my power. But with great power comes great responsibility. I hope that I would do the right thing, and not be tempted with the power.

Hannah J. 7-8 said...

1.Morally i don't think it is necessarliy right for someone to try and protray Jesus. Since this was a book written fictionally for entertainment and not to mock Jesus i don't think it can be taken very offensively.
2.I would probably travel the world.

Sara D. 7-8 said...

2) I would try to do small things that would only have a positive affect. Though, I would just leave the bigger issues alone, because, as Brandon mentioned, no person will ever match the intelligence of Jesus. I might just make thongs a lot worse.

Laura P 7-8 said...

2.) I would hope that I could help people who needed assistance if I had that much power.

Heather B. 1-2 said...

1.) I also think it depends on someone's own beliefs. I think that by writing the book from a certain perspective the author may have been trying to make it more relateable to readers.

2.) I would try and help people. Obviously there are a lot of wrong-doings in our world, and I would hope that I would have the strength to make a difference.

Mia G. 1-2 said...

1. writing a book as jesus is 100% legit. they are not disrespecting him or being stupid joking about it, they are simply telling a story in a non-conventional and actually interesting way. i dont really believe in god, or jesus, and i still think it would be cool to read a book from this prospective.

2. help my family, friends, and prove the existence of god! duh!

jessica b 1/2 said...

1. Like everyone else, I think that there's nothing wrong with trying to understand the way Jesus felt during His life as long as they are not mocking Him.

2. Also, if I had these powers I would try to use my abilities to solve problems, while not abusing them.

Kyle N.1-2 said...

1. Hannah made a nice point. You are allowed to write on anything you like, it is one of our rights. I too think it's okay because I haven't found anything detrimental in the book to contradict anything about Jesus.
2. Brandon also I agree with. He said that he wouldn't do anything with power because no one could handle it. Everyone sins, face it, and in those weak moments, that power would be misused.

Unknown said...

1. I think it is okay to tell people about his story but if someone were to pretend to be him I dont think it is okay.

Spencer P. 1-2 said...

1. Since the book is classified as historical FICTION, I think it is okay.
2. I would like to think that I would help people with my abilities.

Morgan O 7-8 said...

I agree with Spencer. There are other books where the author has told another persons story through the first person. It is not as if the author is trying to say that she knows what was going through his head, but she was suggesting a version of what may have been going through his head, and since it was marked as fiction i do not think it was sinful or morally wrong of her.

Leah K. 7-8 said...

1. I think that if she is pretending to be Jesus then that is not good because it's like she is pretending to be him. If she is trying to tell people about his life and how she thinks it might have been then that is okay as long as she's not trying to pretend she is him.
2. I would try to help anyone that needed help. Hopefully I would have enough self control to not use it for stupid things.

Freddy B. 7-8 said...

1. I think it would be morally okay to tell a story about how they believed Jesus lived.

Abby M. 1-2 said...

1. To be honest I am not quite sure how I feel about telling a story from Jesus' perspective. I think though that from a spiritual perspective it could help people to try to understand Him better and therefore understand their own faith better if they believe in Him. From a non-spiritual perspective it could educate people about the life of the man who started Christianity. So if told in the right way it is not wrong. I think how you feel about it really depends on how you feel about Jesus Himself.

Adam B. 7-8 said...

1. I think that it is okay to tell a story from this point of view because she is doing it for entertainment purposes and isn't trying to make a point or put her views upon the reader.

Kyle N.1-2 said...

Everyone is right, because it is in everyone's own opinion whether it is right or wrong. It is how your beliefs go, so there is no right or wrong answer.

Sevgim A.1-2 said...

1. I think it is alright for the author to have written the book from the view point of Jesus. Everyone has their own opinion on things and if she thinks that is what happened to Jesus then that is what she thinks.

Millie W. 7/8 said...

1) I don't believe it is right to play Jesus in a book, many people could take the book to fact, and it will probably confuse other people who have just converted.

Nathan S. 7-8 said...

1) For all we know this could be the most accurate account of Jesus' life. Our only records of him are the bible, a book that has been translated thousands of times through thousands of languages. It would be ridiculous for anyone to argue the facts of a persons life when the jury's still out on whether he existed.

Jacob C. 1-2 said...

1. I'm not a religious person, so I'd say it's perfectly fine. The author interpreted what they thought Jesus may have thought and went through, and made a story out of it.

2. I find it hard to put myself in the position of thinking what I would do with powers, so I can't really answer this question because I would only know what I would do if I actually had them.

Mrs. Sherwood said...

Thread graded: closed