I am an odd duck (everyone say AMEN) but I truly dislike reading allegories. Guess it is the historian in me.
"Facts. Just the facts, ma'am", Sgt Joe Friday would say.
Pilgrim's Progress, Lord of the Rings, Narnia are not my cup-o-tea. Dislike the Sci-Fi genre, too. Star Wars, Dr Who, Star Trek, et al.
Okay, pass the hemlock to the ol' grouch.
I Hate Allegories
Discussion in 'General Baptist Discussions' started by Dr. Bob, Dec 10, 2005.
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I am with ya...I am not big on them either.
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Obviously. there's a place for many literary genres, depending on one's own tastes. To each his own (how's that for an original thought?).
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Allegories are not usually high on my list either but far worse than allegory is historical fiction!
Rob -
Narnia is not an allegory in the same sense as Pilgrim's Progress. It uses symbolism, but it is not, as a whole, allegorical.
Facts, alas, are not always the best way to convey truth. -
You're the first person I've run into in years that even knows who Dr. Who is. Mabey ya ain't so bad!!!
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God employed allegory.
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I enjoy a well written allegory.But I agree with Deacon I don't like historical fiction.The Sci-Fi genre is not one I read a whole lot except for Star Wars extended universe.
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You have cast out the nations, and planted it.
You prepared room for it,
And caused it to take deep root,
And it filled the land.
The hills were covered with its shadow,
And the mighty cedars with its boughs.
She sent out her boughs to the Sea,
And her branches to the River.
Why have You broken down her hedges,
So that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit?
The boar out of the woods uproots it,
And the wild beast of the field devours it.
Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts;
Look down from heaven and see,
And visit this vine
And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted,
And the branch that You made strong for Yourself.
It is burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.
Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.
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"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.
But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."
This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
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Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.
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And the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, "There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor.
The rich man had very many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him.
Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him."
Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity."
Nathan said to David, "You are the man!
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The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us. But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us. And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.
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rsr, thanks for the post, but you didn't give the passage citations for these, making it hard for me or anyone else to look them up. This is one of the few times on the BB that I've seen that happen.
Could you post the bible passages where these passages come from?
I think your first selection is figurative poetry. Other stuff is parable. A parable is told specifically to make one specific point and is not the same as allegory.
Jesus saying he is the good shepherd (or the vine) is not allegory; it's a figure of speech called metaphor. -
PS Some do consider parables to be a type of allegory, so in that case, the parables could be under the category of allegory.
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See Ezekiel 23 for CLEAR allegory.
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I'm all for them, I'm just too dense to get them half the time.
I read The Chronicles of Narnia over and over as a child. I also read The Hobbit series.
I even read them over in my teens and as a young adult.
It wasn't until I read an article discussing both of them that I got a clue.
I was all excited, but I also felt like the biggest moron who ever lived.
I can't stand reading about history, but I think like a historian. I love reading allegories, but don't think beyond the facts presented.
I CAN if I'm asked to, but it never occurs to me to question what I'm reading for a different meaning. I always assume people are saying what they mean.
This caused me just a SMALL bit of trouble in literature classes. I was told I made a strong argument for the authors. LOL! (in frustration I had stated that there's a line between reading a story and writing it, and that over-analyzing the stories crossed that line...blah blah blah) -
1. Psalms 80:8-18 (ESV)
2. John 10:1-15 (ESV)
3. Ephesians 6:11-18(a)(ESV)
4. 2 Samuel 12:1-7(a) (ESV)
5. Judges 9:8-15
I think your first selection is figurative poetry. Other stuff is parable. A parable is told specifically to make one specific point and is not the same as allegory.
The first selection is allegory. Each element (down to the boar) represents something else.
A parable is a form of allegory. It may have more than one point. The story of the Prodigal Son, for example, has at least two major points.
Jesus saying he is the good shepherd (or the vine) is not allegory; it's a figure of speech called metaphor.
Not in this instance. Jesus has an extended discussion about sheep, shepherds and thieves, all of them related.
This is a bit beyond the story of the woman who finds a lost coin and announces to the world that she has found or of a man who buys a pearl of great price. Those are simpler metaphors, which are also rife throughout the Bible; but the Bible is filled with allegories (including the sad case of Hosea and Gomer.) -
I really like this thread. I thought I was the only one who didn't really care for
"Pilgrim's Progress, Lord of the Rings, Narnia are not my cup-o-tea. Dislike the Sci-Fi genre, too. Star Wars, Dr Who, Star Trek, et al."
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It is unbelievable and illustrates the Gospel very plainly. -
Go see "Narnia". You'll get it. When Aslan goes to the White Witch, I believe you'll be struck, as I was, with the enormity of...well I don't want to give away the story to those who might not know but, believe me, I don't believe I've ever walked out of a movie theater thanking God before.
[edited by request of author]
[ December 10, 2005, 11:18 PM: Message edited by: Dr. Bob ]
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