The concept of a fighter is a really interesting subject to bring up with how it is intertwined with religion, specifically and example of this is in Psalm 18. It could be as simple as religion is one of the oldest sources for storytelling, and within stories there is often the element of a heroic figure which is often proven he is a hero by being a "fighter". If you can follow me that far with this idea then what I'm getting as is maybe God is interpreted as a "fighter" because in a storytelling structure that makes him therefore proven a hero. A Hero of his people and the world you might say. Another interpretation i had for this concept was the historical element of people have respected and admired glorious fighters in battles which makes this figure easier to understand and appreciate if they can put it to a context like that. So in my opinion i don't find the fighter image scary at all in the Psalm because i think its meant to represent something beyond the physical environment of a battle, but a fighter in life and a respected figure for one to admire. Psalms for me are often a message about God that is from the people, and the language and images they put God into are more metaphorical images, not meant to be taken as a literal image to imagine God within.
That's an interesting point about God being a heroic figure for storytelling. I think you can find that in a lot of histories, especially Greek and Roman history (think about the Trojan war and the larger-than-life heroes, like Achilles).
ReplyDeleteI have never thought of the Psalms as storytelling, even though it makes a lot of sense. It is safe to say that every story has a hero, and in the Psalms this hero is God. There is always a high respect for the hero in every story, from a hero fighting in a war to a hero helping the elderly. This way of looking at the Psalms makes it clear that God is the hero!
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