Neither Have You Tasted My Jesus

Kenny, enjoy:

Bring It On

Kenny, check this thread out. You will appreciate it most. If the rest of you are interested in my dialogue with Mormons please follow.

Now, on to what I really want to talk about: James Dobson setting himself (and his brand of Fundamentalism) up for doozy a fall. My old pal Selwyn Duke was always fond of endlessly repeating ‘Pride goeth before a fall’ like the old biddy he is, but this is one of those cases where it’s the appropriate sentiment. Here is the speech that Dobson describes as a ‘deliberate distortion’ of the Bible.

I frequently interact with people who are prevented by their various delusions or misplaced convictions from having an accurate perception of either the world at large or who they are in it. I never fail to feel compassion for these people because it is terrifying to live in a world that one does not comprehend; uncertainty and confusion are terrifying and I can relate to that. Many of them cling to beliefs and rituals that seem incomprehensible until you realize that these beliefs and rituals keep demons that are terrifyingly real to them away.

Sometimes a person finds themselves clinging to the demon that haunts them most. This creature of fear and anger becomes the voice of God for them, filling them with misunderstanding and a confusion of love with hate. They become locked in a shell of certainty, invulnerable to truth and wisdom and cut off from contradiction. They follow their demons where they lead which is to a fall of their own devising.

James Dobson is a demagouge without the theological sophistication to even keep his own childish beliefs straight. His arguments are unhinged; his unjustified accusations reveal his arrogant belief that his understanding of Scripture is the only correct one and that his understanding is deeply flawed and self-serving as well. This bully has been shouting intolerance and hate in Jesus’ name for too long. I signed the petition at James Dobson Doesn’t Speak For Me and I urge my readers to do so as well. It confounds the scoundrels when we stick together.           

the sower

Shirley writes:
Jesus was the Master Teacher, and His parables will no doubt endure through the ages. Ever read the 4th chapter of Mark verse 12? I can’t get a handle on that, for it is impossible that it means what I understand it to say.

Shirley,
I couldn’t agree more with the idea that Jesus is the Master Teacher. I understand your confoundment with Mark 4:12. Taken as it is, Jesus is saying he taught in parables
‘12so that,
   ” ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
      and ever hearing but never understanding;
   otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'”
This would seem to indicate that the Master Teacher is either being deliberately obtuse with his teachings to the people or incredibly sarcastic to his disciples. In either case, it doesn’t quite seem to jibe with the whole Master Teacher thing, which certainly should be troubling. However, when put into the context of the larger passage, which is the tale of the Parable of the Sower, the rebuke seems to make more sense:

Mark 4: 1Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.” 
 9Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 
 10When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12so that,
   ” ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
      and ever hearing but never understanding;
   otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'” 
 13Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14The farmer sows the word. 15Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.”

But still, even in the larger context of the entirety of the passage, Jesus seems to be saying that he teaches in parables to conceal the truth from the crowds. This is why the existence of four Gospels is of particular significance and benefit to us. The Gospels are distinctly individual documents produced by people who certainly knew the Apostles at the very least, though it’s impossible to say who exactly wrote them, with the exception of Luke. He is obviously the author of Acts and Luke, but in his introduction to the Gospel of Luke he makes it exceedingly clear that he is not one of the original Apostles who personally knew Jesus.

Luke 1: 1Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

In any case, when reading the Parable of the Sower in Mark, it is most beneficial to read the Parable of the Sower in Matthew. Here it is in it’s entirety. Pay particular attention to verses 10-17:

Matthew 13: 1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9He who has ears, let him hear.” 
 10The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” 
 11He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 13This is why I speak to them in parables:
   “Though seeing, they do not see;
      though hearing, they do not hear or understand. 14In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
   ” ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
      you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
 15For this people’s heart has become calloused;
      they hardly hear with their ears,
      and they have closed their eyes.
   Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
      hear with their ears,
      understand with their hearts
   and turn, and I would heal them.’16But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it. 
 18“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. 22The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. 23But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

For me, Matthew makes more sense and Mark becomes clearer. When one looks at Luke 8, which contains his version of the Parable of the Sower, it is obvious that he looked to Mark to get his version of the story. The story cannot be found at all in John, which should not be surprising as this is the most radically different and most likely last of the Gospels to be written. The version in Matthew is actually one of my favorite passages for a variety of reasons, but not the least of which is that Jesus quotes Isaiah in it. (If nothing else, it makes me feel better about using Scripture to explain Scripture.) In Matthew, it becomes clear that Jesus is not saying that he teaches in parables to make people blind and deaf to the truth, but that people were already blind and deaf to the truth and that teaching in parables was a way to get around these obstacles. Jesus knew that simply speaking the truth was not enough. Consider it this way; God, Truth and Heaven are words that everybody knows but inside of us we all have different definitions of what they mean. Everyone listening to Jesus knows what seed, soil, and harvest means. The direct truth when spoken aloud can sound like unbottled madness or blasphemy to an uncareful ear but a clever and clear story can make the listener wiser without them even realizing they’ve been schooled. Jesus clearly understood that if only one person in any given multitude really understood the message, than ultimately many more times that multitude would get the Good News. That you and I are discussing the words He spoke that day He sat in a boat and lectured the crowd on the shore is proof that He was right.
God bless you,
Winston