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From: smk@cbosgd.ATT.COM (Stephen Kennedy)
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc,net.religion.christian
Subject: Re: From Fig to finding a Candy Man
Message-ID: <2648@cbosgd.ATT.COM>
Date: Wed, 1-Oct-86 00:03:56 EDT
Article-I.D.: cbosgd.2648
Posted: Wed Oct  1 00:03:56 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 2-Oct-86 19:58:16 EDT
References: <5369@decwrl.DEC.COM> <1150@cybvax0.UUCP>
Reply-To: smk@cbosgd.UUCP (Steve Kennedy)
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Columbus
Lines: 44
Xref: linus talk.religion.misc:334 net.religion.christian:4793

In article <6336@think.COM> craig@godot.think.com.UUCP (Craig Stanfill) writes:
>Mikki completely misses several points.  First, the story of the fig tree
>has given biblical scholars trouble for a long time.  It is strongly
>suspected that the story is garbled in some fashion.  Part of it may be
>missing, or two stories may have been run together.  There is plenty of
>precedent for both in other parts of the scripture.  Interpreting this
>story is difficult.
>
Ooooo, Mikki!  Thirty lashes with a wet noodle for missing point #1: "the
story of the fig tree has given biblical scholars trouble for a long time".
Or was it "Interpreting this story is difficult"?

>Second, Jesus spoke an parables and often acted in parables.  The
>essence of a parable is that it MUST be interpreted on the symbolic
>level.  Mikki ignores this.  As I interpret it, the fig tree that bears
>no fruit is the disciple who does no good.  When Jesus gives the tree
>more time to show fruit, he is showing mercy.  When Jesus chops down the
>tree, the day of judgement has arrived and Jesus will disown the
>fruitless disciple as a hypocrite.
>
When in doubt, call it a parable and invent an interpretation, right?
It's just got to make sense, it's just got to, someway, somehow, huh?
You're simply speculating.  You don't really know any more about the true
meaning/intension of this story than Mikki does.  If you want to play
the "missing the point" game, then you're missing the point that Jesus
also "symbolically" shows in this story a lack of patience and a williness
to sacrifice a fig tree just to make a point.  By the way, I'd like to
point out that a fig tree, whether producing figs or not, is still an
important part of its ecological system.

>Third, since Mikki misses the symbolism of the interpretation, his
>criticism is way off the mark: God created the fig tree (disciple) with
>free will, the choice of whether to bear fruit or not.
>
>			-Craig

Fig trees have free will?  Fig trees make choices?  Please explain...

---
Steve Kennedy

President, Rich Rosen Fan Club

Disclaimer: I don't speak for Bell Labs (unless threatened)