Handling the Parables

We talked about the history of interpretation of the parables last night. It's incredible to hear what some of the early church fathers did with them. For example, men like Tertullian, Origen, and Augustine thought that everything in the parables was an allegorical reference to something else. While there is a certain beauty to that, it is also very arbitrary. It's hard to imagine that is what Jesus meant when He first told the stories. How could the typical first-century hearer really understand the depth of the allegory? It seems unlikely.

Of course, the parables do have allegorical elements to them. Jesus explains them as such as in the parable of the sower, for example. The point is that these stories are simpler than some of the church fathers would have us believe.

Last night I had a little bit of a revelation about what I've learned in seminary. Basically, I've learned that the Bible as a whole is much simpler than some would have you think. There are certainly some tensions and difficulties, but it is not completely inscrutable. It does require some scholarship to understand fully, but the main message is not hidden to the basic reader either.

We're talking hermeneutics tonight. I will write more about that tomorrow.