Sent: July 11, 2005 09:37
Subject: Re: [TruthTalk] Communicating
& Understanding....Joint participants in a story
Well, sort of like LOR, Judy. Good observation. But, Jesus'
parables (stories) certainly come closer.
What is your understanding of the parables,
Judy?
The parables are no different, they are given to
illustrate spiritual realities to which common understanding
is blind.
When the disciples question Jesus about why he spake
in parables he said nothing about "common understanding"
In fact he used them as a
type of judgment ie "Because it is given unto you (disciples) to know the
mysteries of the
kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For
whosoever hath to him shall be given and he shall have more
abundance but whosoever hath not, from him shall be
taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in
parables because they seeing see not and hearing they
hear not, neither do they understand.... (Matt 13:10-17)
As an aside, Judy. Feel free not to pursue the 'content of
TFT'. Just make an attemp not to critique him out of hand in the future,
please?
What do you mean by "out of hand?"
Lance Muir wrote:
Each living person draws upon two quite distinct
sources of meaning. The current 'vulgate' or
common understanding. This is that which enables us to communicate with one another.
Hidden beneath this is a 'private thesaurus'. What any two people mean
when they speak or hear will overlap only to a certain extent by
virtue of their sharing the 'vulgate' of a
particular human group.
The above is myth. No person ever receives
revelation from God through "cultural or common vulgate/understanding"
and the Bible is a closed book to those who possess that
alone.
No reader comes to a text as a
'cultural virgin'. Our readings are affected at the outset by
pre-understanding and private thesaurus.The meaning which we retrieve
from a text will never be absolutely identical with the meaning which
it had for its author or, for any other reader.
Thoughts of a "natural man" Lance.
Doesn't matter how many cultures one understands the issue is natural
vs spiritual when it comes to understanding
God's Word. One is life the other is death. Oh and BTW
this is not just a "story" it is life vs death.
Meaning is something which 'happens' when we read
the text and which is like the knowledge of the Lord in which the
Psalmist rejoiced, new every morning. This is
not a transparent text through which we view something else. It
is like a stained glass window depicting a story. It is 'the story we
find ourselves in'.
Sure Lance, it's just like Lord of the
Rings....
