• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

More Wisdom: The Bible or Aesop's Fables?

Storm

Storm

ThrUU the Looking Glass
linwood said:
Actually Picasso implied his maturity as an artist was an obstruction to his art.

He seemed to consider every child a "pure" artist while age and maturity were inhibitors of creativity.

Just another point of view.
Click to expand...
It occured to me that I implied the less sophisticated options are inferior, so let me say that's not what I meant. I actually prefer fingerpaintings to Picasso, which is why I chose him for my example. I'm just saying that they're so radically different that they can't be fairly compared.
 
Kilgore Trout

Kilgore Trout

Misanthropic Humanist
Storm said:
The structure, symbolism, layers of meaning, concepts addressed....

What an odd question. The fables are for children, the Bible more advanced. It's like comparing a kid's fingerpainting to Picasso. It's not really fair.
Click to expand...

Is it?

Perhaps I'm just dense. Please humor me and tell me what it is that the bible contains that is so advanced, and how it is useful. Just an example or two will do.

Or are you saying that the parables in the bible are not useful?
 
Storm

Storm

ThrUU the Looking Glass
atotalstranger said:
Is it?
Click to expand...
Please see post #21 for necessary clarification.

Perhaps I'm just dense. Please humor me and tell me what it is that the bible contains that is so advanced, and how it is useful. Just an example or two will do.
Click to expand...
I'm an amateur, but I'll refer you to this article, which transformed the Genesis Creation story from something loathed to beloved: Biblical Literalism: Constricting the Cosmic Dance, by Conrad Hyers

In my own words, Genesis is an exquisite mystical writing, masterfully done. It's rich and intricate and conveys many messages with a single tale. So masterful and exquisite, in fact, that its beauty and worth are easily missed, a distinct disadvantage.

Or are you saying that the parables in the bible are not useful?
Click to expand...
No. I'm saying that both are great for what they are. OTOH, the Bible is too advanced for children; the fables too simple for adults.
 
Kilgore Trout

Kilgore Trout

Misanthropic Humanist
Storm said:
Please see post #21 for necessary clarification.

I'm an amateur, but I'll refer you to this article, which transformed the Genesis Creation story from something loathed to beloved: Biblical Literalism: Constricting the Cosmic Dance, by Conrad Hyers

In my own words, Genesis is an exquisite mystical writing, masterfully done. It's rich and intricate and conveys many messages with a single tale. So masterful and exquisite, in fact, that its beauty and worth are easily missed, a distinct disadvantage.
Click to expand...

Oh, I understand. Yeah, it's never seemed very sophisticated, intricate, or masterful to me.

Storm said:
No. I'm saying that both are great for what they are. OTOH, the Bible is too advanced for children; the fables too simple for adults.
Click to expand...

I don't know - looking around at the world and seeing people's behavior, I'd say the vast majority of adults still have quite a bit to learn from Aesop's Fables. Nor am I convinced that the majority of adults would be able to provide the correct interpretation of many of Aesop's Fables upon reading them.
 
T

themadhair

Well-Known Member
I’m gonna make the case for Aesop (I think I made this in another thread recently). With Aesop you learn the reason why the moral discussed is just, whereas the bible generally goes with ‘god says so’. I find the former much more beneficial than the latter.
 
lunamoth

lunamoth

Will to love
But always for some the System does not work. In fact, it seems like the System needs to not work for some...they are the grease. Unconventional wisdom is for those for whom the System does not work. The meek, the fringe, the oppressed.
 
Kilgore Trout

Kilgore Trout

Misanthropic Humanist
lunamoth said:
But always for some the System does not work. In fact, it seems like the System needs to not work for some...they are the grease. Unconventional wisdom is for those for whom the System does not work. The meek, the fringe, the oppressed.
Click to expand...

Oh yes, atheists are definitely the System, and religious folks are the fringe. Welcome to bizzaro world.
 
Kilgore Trout

Kilgore Trout

Misanthropic Humanist
sojourner said:
The parables are constructed to appeal to our gut, not our head.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, perhaps that's the problem. My gut primarily serves to digest food to supply my body with energy. All processing of external stimuli takes place in my brain. Perhaps my physiology is incorrect.
 
sojourner

sojourner

Annoyingly Progressive Since 2006
themadhair said:
I’m gonna make the case for Aesop (I think I made this in another thread recently). With Aesop you learn the reason why the moral discussed is just, whereas the bible generally goes with ‘god says so’. I find the former much more beneficial than the latter.
Click to expand...
Again, comparing apples with oranges doesn't get us anywhere. fables and parables are two completely different types of literature with different impeti.
A fable is a moral lesson, whose purpose is to introduce the moral lesson to the unschooled. A parable is a theological lesson, whose purpose is to cause the believer to turn toward God. Since the parable is theological in nature, of course it's going to be centered in God. Parables were not intended to convince non-believers. They were intended to convince believers more deeply. Therefore, they don't seem so beneficial to the non-believer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top