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From: arndt@lymph.dec.com
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc,net.religion.christian
Subject: A Fig for 'what's his name'.
Message-ID: <5369@decwrl.DEC.COM>
Date: Mon, 15-Sep-86 18:12:24 EDT
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Posted: Mon Sep 15 18:12:24 1986
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Someone, I can't remember who (I'm losing the battle of the desk top here
and about to put a match to the whole thing and start over) and I can't find
the posting, brought up Christ cursing the fig tree as an example of 'God having
a snit' and who could believe in a God who goes around cursing trees, etc.etc.

In my mind's eye I can see a long line of guys like him standing before God at
the Last Judgement saying things like, "How was I to know?" and expecting to
make a favorable impression.  What I mean is one would think it might be 
reasonable to expect someone to realize that an account of something that
happened two thousand years ago in a different culture involving an item
(figs) which we in our culture only see wrapped in plastic on a food mart
shelf, . . . it might be reasonable to expect them to suspect more than meets
the 20th century reading eye!  But then when the average public schooler can
only read on the 4th or 5th grade level what else is new?  

One sees the same kind of tripe expressed over and over on the nets - rabid
unconscious ethnocentric rantings.  The true mark of a public school pagan!  
Especially about things Christian and the Bible.  I wonder do they tell their
doctor how to examine them?  Or advise authoritatively the auto mechanic who
works on their car?  Or do they realize that perhaps there may be some areas 
in which a little probing beyond the 'obvious' might be in order before offering
an opinion with such a 'know it all' tone.  And I confess that, unfortunately,
I have seen the same kind of thing among Christians sometimes when holding
forth about what the scripture says or doesn't say!!  Perhaps it's a function
of the crazy American corruption of the idea that every man's opinion should
be heard into every man's opinion has weight.  Shoot first and think later!
But shoot!

Anyway, on to the figs.  The incident is related by Mark and Matthew.  Jesus
went to the fig tree and found nothing but leaves and Mark relates that it was
not the season for figs.  Then Jesus cursed the tree saying, "May no one ever
eat fruit from you again", (Mark 11:14).  Next morning passing the tree again
the disciples were amazed to find the tree dead.

Now if you and I are talking and I say, "My son works on Wall Street", you know
I mean he works with stocks and bonds.  Or if I had said Madison Ave. you would
have understood something.  Would anyone two thousand years from now???  Or in
the time of Jesus??  Perhaps not.  They might think I was mentioning only
the street on which my son worked - not at what job he was employed.  One could
think of a hundred other examples.  I can't write for ALL readers in time.  No
one DOES!  We HAVE to take into account the cultural context of an historical
document!!  There ARE, boys and girls, some things in the scripture that we
STILL don't know what is referenced.  Just so with ANY document of age.  Just so
the fig tree!  Matthew and Mark weren't writing with the 20th Century pagans, 
who only see plastic wrapped figs, in mind!!

W.M. Christe, a Church of Scotland (thank God for the glorious Church of 
Scotland!) minister in Palestine during the British Mandate regime pointed out
the time of year the incident was said to have taken place, given that Jesus
was crucified in early April, means that "Towards the end of March the leaves
begin to appear, and in about a week the foliage coating is complete.  Coin-
cident with this, and sometimes even before, there appears quite a crop of 
small knobs, not the real figs, but a kind of early forerunner.  They grow to
the size of green almonds, in which condition they are eaten by peasants and
others when hungry.  When they come to their own indefinite maturity they drop
off."  W.M. Christie, PALESTINE CALLING, London,1939, pp.118-120.

F.F. Bruce, quoting Christie as above in THE HARD SAYINGS OF JESUS, 
InterVarsity Press, 1983, pp 208-9, remarks that these precursors of the true
fig are called TAQSH in Palestinian Arabic.  If the leaves appear with no
TAQSH it is a sign that there will be no figs!

Remember, God's curse is upon a mal-formed world, a broken world.  A world
not as he made it, 'good', and not the way it 'ought' to be.  In fact God
has promised to DESTROY this world and replace it with another that is
'good' again.  In light of this understanding it is perfectly natural,
reasonable, and wonderful that Jesus should 'curse' the barren fig tree
which should have provided food for them when they were very hungry!!
The way you or I might curse the death of an infant!  (Theological turtles
will here see some problem because they cannot conceive of God creating 
beings/things not an extension of himself and therefore all the 'blame' and
accountability for a 'broken' world must rest at God's door and it is somehow
unfair of God to require payment for 'sins' from a sinner since God created the
sinner, blah, blah, blah.)

Remember Jesus at the tomb of his friend Lasarus weeping because of death?
Or weeping over the lack of belief of the Jews to receive him as Messiah?
God hates death and hates our angst just as we do!  But he can and has done
something about it!  Whereas we are powerless without him.

I believe that the cursing of the fig tree should be seen in this light and
was recorded for us by two apostles to express this very thought.  I don't 
know about you, but it gives me chills to think of Jesus placing his curse
upon what is wrong with/in the world.  My curse is merely an expression.  I
shake my fist at death, etc. and nothing happens.  His curse, his expression
like mine that the world is 'broken' results in judgment!  People are falling
all over themselves to save the whales/seals/children (strange, but it often
seems to be in that order) and one really wonders if ANYTHING really lasting
is accomplished.  

In light of the above, how silly indeed is the 'God in a snit' explanation
for this recorded event!  How much is lost by not looking further.

Well, keep chargin'

Ken Arndt