Comments | t_h_mitchell: #4 = The Parable of the Parable

t_h_mitchell

#4 = The Parable of the Parable

Apr 29, 2008 21:50

The Parable of the Parable1. There once was a group of people who did not want to hear one specific thing. Whenever they heard even the slightest inkling regarding THE FORBIDDEN TOPIC X, they became instantaneously irrational. They were otherwise perfectly normal, decent people ( Read more... )

Comments 19

noneuklid April 30 2008, 02:02:32 UTC

Err, sorry. I don't always pay attention to everything I should. What's this #4 of?

Also, there are no forbidden topics! How dare you insinuate that anyone in this community could possibly be closed-minded! OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!

tcpip April 30 2008, 03:05:31 UTC

Item #4 on the list is the actual parable of the parable.

noneuklid April 30 2008, 03:24:19 UTC

Ooohhhhh. Right, then.

t_h_mitchell May 1 2008, 12:44:37 UTC

What's this #4 of?

It's my 4th parable. There are links to the other 3 on my User Info.

Thread 5

iworshipsatin April 30 2008, 02:29:32 UTC

We need to make plans sooner than later.

grappleyo April 30 2008, 02:35:13 UTC

I don't even know if this counts as a parable. Then again, I'm reading it in a very pro-Christian way and, given your atheist record, makes me think I'm reading it differently than you intended, hah.

noneuklid April 30 2008, 17:38:17 UTC

Mitchell's atheist record? Hmm. You have a very skewed way of looking at things, sometimes. It's interesting.

grappleyo May 1 2008, 05:50:21 UTC

His userinfo has an essay called "Why I am an Atheist" from 2000 and again in 2007. And he helped create the "Atheist Cartoon Network" and he belongs to atheist. I'd say that's a significant atheist record, but maybe I am looking at it a little skewed, who knows.

t_h_mitchell May 1 2008, 12:45:51 UTC

You always have the most interesting comments. :)

I'm reading it in a very pro-Christian way

What do you see as "pro-Christian" about it?

Thread 6

tcpip April 30 2008, 03:06:14 UTC

It's amazing how much mileage can be gained from metaphor and metonym when exact phrases are prohibited or socially dangerous.

pooperman May 2 2008, 13:35:43 UTC

I like these. I always appreciate the creativity. In this one, I think you know that in my case you are preaching to the choir.

I wish I had more to add. I guess I could ask a question:

Taking a Christian read of this thing, what was THE FORBIDDEN TOPIC X that would cause people to kill those who would speak about it? Forgiveness of sins? God is within you therefore you don't need an ecclesiastical authority to interpret God's word to you? Don't feed the priests with your sacrificial offerings at the temple? Could you point to someone who was killed because they were speaking of this topic? Silver platter guy seems to be referring to John the Baptist, but he was killed for a slightly different reason (regarding marriage of Herod to Herodias, and I seem to remember some story about Herod's wife wanting to sleep with him and him denying her the pleasure, so she asked for his head).

t_h_mitchell May 2 2008, 15:01:33 UTC

I like these. I always appreciate the creativity.

Thanks, poopeyface. :) You're probably the only LJer who could help me make more of these... I've got a lot of ideas for more, just no time to sit down and write them. :-\

what was THE FORBIDDEN TOPIC X that would cause people to kill those who would speak about it?

I think the Romans hated and killed the early Jews/Christians because they wouldn't serve the Roman gods (that was blasphemy to the Romans). Christians were called atheists for denying their gods. That's why I think John the Baptist (and people like him) were killed by the Romans (even if that is a more apocryphal reading than anything in the gospels).

But like I said to grappleyo in a comment above, it doesn't actually matter what topic X is. You can insert any number of things into placeholder X and derive a story applicable to any time and place. (Hence the idea of a parable about parables.) :)