[Kevin] Interesting interpretation, but highly unorthodox. Jesus was not talking about physical possibilities and probabilities. He was talking about inner abilities (i.e., recognizing wisdom and seeing quality) and choice; "He who has ears, let him hear." Read on and you'll find the following.
[Snip Jesus explanation of the Parable of the Sower] A message or two ago we were talking about Other and external and internal perspectives. There was a time not too long ago when I would have told you that the inward journey was nothing more than seeing one's reflection in a mirror. [Case] It was not my intent to engage in biblical exegesis but if it suites you the ideas still hold. Consider 'the word' or any idea as a nugget of possibility. It too dies or thrives based on the environment into which it falls. Is a hard hearted person born hard hearted? There is a genetic component certainly. Each individual is uniquely tuned from the sensitivity of their nerves to the rate of their metabolism to integrate sensation. Two individuals may respond differently to similar stimulation. But the environment throws unique stimulation to each of us. Our angle of view, our distance from a heat source... Both our internal makeup and the space we occupy influence what we sense and how we respond. All Jesus is pointing out is that our internal make up and our histories predispose us to understand new ideas differently from one another. If an idea does not resonate with our existing structure it will not "take root" if it does it will bear fruit "an hundredfold". One gets the impression from the Parable of the Sower that Jesus is only talking about the "Good News" in his parable. In just the same way the Pirsig paints us a picture of Quality has aiming toward "betterness." But Jesus' parable applies equally well to "bad" ideas. National Socialism planted in the stony hearts of post WWI Germans took root and threatened to over run the world. The randomly flung seeds of racism, nationalism, and chauvinism are as likely to find fertile soil as are their more hopeful opposites. Ideas too are nuggets of possibility bounded by probability. [Kevin] I thank God for helping me to break through and see beyond the mirror. [Case] To see the light is a beautiful thing. But does being born again mean that one should no longer question the meaning of scripture? Does this experience demand that one accept the political stance of the religious right? Does the revelation of Nirvana mean that all of the Hindu and Buddhist doctrine attached to it are automatically validated? A religious revelation is not a free pass into wonderland. Its insights must still be integrated into the world of samsara. Much has been made of the idea of "higher consciousness" and yet what can be made of such a term? "Higher" at least in Wilber's account means levels of emergence out of lower levels. Reason, rational thought is said to be a later development. We have every reason to suppose that mystical revelations are common to our most primitive ancestors and yet we call these "higher" states of consciousness? I am suggesting that this is reversed. Rational thought is the higher level. And from it expand even higher levels, the spoken word, the written word. Not the word made flesh but the word digitized. moq_discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
