What's modern equivalent of "Samaritan"?

Southern Baptist? No. Just kidding!

I have no idea, and I don't think about such things. Besides, I don't see Jesus calling too many "Good Samaritans" today, He was referring to the Son of Man/ Himself.

 

Modern day Samaritans? Good one! I think it would be those that we look at and think "he's not really a Christian because..." Whether it's someone liberal, catholic, Mormon or something else it reminds us that Jesus sees and knows the heart! It puts our "doctrinal differences" in perspective.

 

Ah! BUT! The "good Samaritan" is never actually described as any more than just a Samaritan, a well to do Samaritan at that. I believe you might be adding something to the passage with a hint of displeasure towards those who hold standards of moral conduct and dress. The indication of the "Pharisee" could very easily be turned around and say that the "passers-by" are actually liberals, and the "good Samaritan" being a man rich in the things of God, i.e., morality/godliness, and those who only give lip service to our Lord and not serve Him with the whole heart.

I do want to add this here, Never is the Word of God to be used as a weapon against our brethren, but only as a scalpel to cut away and remove those things which hinder our walk with Christ.

It's like the word "love"/ charity, it is often used in the act of accusation/an axe toward those whom we tend to disagree, (as in a lack of love) but Charity is an attribute of God, not an axe we grab at will to chop away at our dear brethren.

Now if this topic is headed in that direction, I thought it best top "deal" with and chop the root, but if not, then please excuse me, but I at least took the liberty to offer that to everyone as a simple truth.

 

Precepts,

Good point, very ture. And many of those whom I mentioned may NOT necessarily be "good samaritans" in the eyes of Christ. But the passage does serve to remind us that the heart IS the most important. "Standards of moral conduct and dress" are not bad as long as they do not become more important than the heart.

CM

 

In all of my years teaching Sunday School, we have always used this lesson the way Jesus did - to answer the question "Who is my neighbor?" The parallel most often drawn is that the "Samaritian" in the story is like someone who is different from you (race, origin, language) or who you don't necessarily agree with (religion, politics). Someone you think would be less likely to help you if you were in need. Surely the injured Jew in the story, as well as the Jew who was listening to it being told, would have thought the priest or Levite more likely to help him. But it was the Samaritian. Everyone is our neighbor.

 

There must be many of these "recastings" of the story. One way would be to say the man, of your race, ethnicity and station in life was beaten in the street by a gang. A minister of the same group goes by and does not help, a deacon goes by and does not help. But then an average person of some other group, say, a Muslim from Iraq, finds him and cares for him, taking him to the hospital. That Iraqi would be his neighbor, whom he was to love as he loved himself.

 

Bob,

"Don't get theology from a parable?"



I'd say we should look more than anything to Jesus' parables for "theology". Parables are the simplest of the simple - right from Jesus' mouth. But I'd agree on the GOOD samaritan thing - that's OUR theology!!

 

Samaritans were NOT a cult as we think of cults today. They were a mixed blood people, from the time of the Assyrian captivity. They were considered impure and not allowed to worship in the Temple in Jerusalem. An excellent summary of who they were and the history behind their enmity with the 'pure' Jews as well as the link to the parable of the Good Samaitan may be found here:
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mgoodsamaritan.html

It's easy and interesting to read and not long at all.

Who is a Samaritan today? Perhaps someone who means to be worshiping God but is pretty confused about what is true and what is not? I remember when I was in my early twenties and was trying to combine Christian theology with all manner garbage, such as reincarnation, the non-lethal nature of sin, etc.

But I think the actual point of Jesus' parable is just what we have been taught since we were tykes in Sunday School -- all beliefs and nationalities and ethnicities aside, we are to do good when we can to whom we can any way we can. We will always be a "Samaritan" to someone who thinks their belief system or way of going about it to be more 'pure' than ours. But that is not to stand in the way of us allowing Christ to work through us in reaching out to a sick and dying world.

 

The point was Christ didn't say "Good Samaritan".
The Samaritan could have been lost and just doing a good deed. Christ's point was everyone is our "neighbor". Those that we look down on, that look down on us(Jews to the Samaritan), we disagree with, everyone. The Jews hated the Samaritans yet this one helped the Jew, even though he didnt live beside him(my usual concept of neighbor) or know him. The Jew would have passed on the other side if the Samaritan had been in the road, but the Samaritan helped the Jew, anyway. It is the same as me helping a Muslim or Catholic though we disagree in religion and the Muslim if we were in Iran might kill me. Or a Muslim or Catholic helping me if the same situation had occurred to me.

 

Jesus had a discussion concerning the theology of worship with a Samaritan woman. So, I would say that the modern day equivalent is anyone from a religious body of belief with whom we have serious differences in theological opinion and/or interpretations of Scripture.

e.g. Baptists and JWs, Mormons, Catholics...

My opinion of course.

HankD

[ February 19, 2004, 10:39 AM: Message edited by: HankD ]

 

perhaps they cld be considered a cult on the following grounds:

1. they rejected the Scriptures--only the Pentateuch is considered canonical; the Prophets n the Writings r excluded. we sola-scripturists wld consider sects that reject parts of the Bible cultic, wldn't we?

2. they rejected the ordained place of worship, Jerusalem. of course, with Christ the time has come when people wld worship God not by geographic location but in spirit n in truth. but back then, rejecting God's holy mountain was serious.

but back to the question, wld an equivalent of "Samaritan" be NAZI or the other N word, referring to a hyphenated American ethnic group?

 

The difference was not primarily a theological one for the ancient Jews--it was a racial and socio-politial one. The Samaritan was a hated member of a people group that was hated for being of mixed racial descent--the religious difference was a side note. The point of Jesus' story is a turning upside-down of the original question posed to him--"who is my neighbor?" Jesus says that the better question is "who's neighbor are you?"

I have always thought that a homosexual would be a good contemporary example for Baptists--most baptists hate or fear homosexuals (the gut reaction is what Jesus is going for).