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From: marty@ism780c.UUCP (Marty Smith)
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc,net.religion.christian
Subject: Re: From Fig to finding a Candy Man
Message-ID: <3764@ism780c.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 6-Oct-86 13:37:32 EDT
Article-I.D.: ism780c.3764
Posted: Mon Oct  6 13:37:32 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 11-Oct-86 10:41:43 EDT
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Reply-To: marty@ism780c.UUCP (Marty Smith)
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Xref: linus talk.religion.misc:439 net.religion.christian:4847

In article <2724@burdvax.UUCP> devonst@burdvax.UUCP (Tom Albrecht) writes:
>marty@ism780c.UUCP (Marty Smith) writes:

[I questioned why Jesus spoke in parables]

>First of all, don't confuse the meaning of the verse with the application.
>Each scripture passage has only one correct interpretation, but may have 
>many different applications.  You learn that in Hermeneutics 101.  You can't 
>interpret a verse one way and someone else interpret it another way and have 
>both interpretations be correct.  One must be wrong; both may be wrong.  

A good point, Tom.  You should have stopped there.

>Secondly, why don't you read the Bible to find out why Christ spoke in parables?
>In Matthew 13 the disciples ASKED Him, "Why do you speak to the people in
>parables?" and He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of
>heaven has been given to you, but not to them.  Whoever has will be given
>more, and will have a abundance.  Whoever does not have, even what he has
>will be taken from him.  This is why I speak to them in parables:
>	Though seeing, they do not see;
>	though hearing, they do not hear or understand. ..."
>
>That OT quote by Christ is from Isaiah.
>
>It seems pretty clear that the reason Christ spoke in parables was to keep
>hidden from unbelievers those truths which only the children of God could
>understand.  It merely emphasizes the blindness of unbelief.

This seems ludicrous.  You're saying Christ deliberately withheld the word of
God from all people who couldn't understand what he was saying.  It is my
belief that Christ wanted to reach everybody.  But, apparently, because I
don't interpretate these parables correctly (as you claim there is but one
absolutely correct interpretation), I have thus been condemned by Christ
right out of the gate.

>In many
>places Jesus uses physical blindness as a picture of the state of the
>unbeliever.  It's only when the Son of Man comes and removes the scales
>from one's eyes that one can believe in Christ and receive His salvation.

The scales from ones eyes?  I hope you didn't get that metaphor from the
Bible.  But anyway, you can't have it both ways.  First you say I
cannot be saved, because Christ is deliberately not speaking to me.  Then
you say I can be saved, if I will only open my eyes.  It is the unbelievers
who need the saving.  Why withhold the truth from them?

>>That snapping noise you just heard was the rubber band of your analogy.
>>
>>						Marty Smith
>
>It never ceases to amaze me how so many people can be such experts
>about Christ and His teachings and yet be so unfamiliar with His Word.

I hope you're not accusing me of claiming to be an expert on Christ.  Anyway,
your argument has done nothing to dispel my belief that my unfamiliarity
with His Word is partly due to his speaking in parables.  But, of course,
that just proves your point:  I don't understand, so therefore I'm not
meant to.

						Marty Smith