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....
