What do you think about this analogy?
If Kindgom of God is a Theatre...
God the Father is the owner.... founder....
God the Holy Spirit is the.... stage hand.... the usher.... operator of the spotlight....
Jesus Christ is the star of the show.
(obviously all human analogies break down somewhere... )
Pastor Chryst,
ReplyDeleteIf you examine this analogy I think that you will find it to be dangerous.
I find that anytime that a person seeks to be more clever than God and what He has already revealed in the Scriptures and in the living Word, Jesus, that danger is all around.
How many parables Jesus spoke we do not know, but the Holy Spirit moved the evangelists to record certain ones. What the Holy Spirit has recorded for us we are told is sufficient for knowing God and His kingdom.
The "theatre" analogy has some inherent false doctrine. Think about what the Theatre is. It is a lie. Antonio Bandaras gave a very accurate defintion acting when he said, "I am a professional liar." To describe those who were false prophets the Lord Jesus chose the term "hypocrite," which means "pretender" or in today's terminology "actor."
To put God on the stage says something about Him that is at best not helpful. God is not putting on a show. He is giving life.
God has given us the terminology that He knows is best in the baptismal promise: in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Even these are beyond our understanding, but what we may understand from them is plain and expresses exactly what God means for us to understand. The Creed follows this example.
We always do better to stay with the "oracle Yahweh" than to try to improve upon His words.
I could expand upon this, but I am sure that as you ponder this matter you will say it better than I.
NA,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback. I realize the analogy isn't perfect (as I said - all human analogies break down).
The point is not to find correspondence for every aspect of the analogy, but to express an essential truth or two through it. These being:
- Jesus should be the focus of our attention (not the Holy Spirit)
- The Spirit helps us to pay attention to Christ
etc...
Now, I don't claim this is a better parable than any Jesus gave either. And certainly what he gave is sufficient. But even his parables can be taken beyond their intended point of comparison (and the danger of over-allegorizing has been well noted by Christian theologians)
As to theater being dishonest, first of all I don't think that's true. Everyone going there knows it's a show.
Now certainly God is not "putting on a show" but doing something real. But this is an analogy - not to be taken literally.
And even if we were to grant that theater is dishonest in some way, didn't a number of Jesus' parables contain "shady characters"? Take the Shrewd Manager, for instance.
"I can't see very well from way back here in these cheep seats !" Maybe we go back stage later, to get the Pastor's autograph. Shhhhhhhh ...Be quiet, the show is starting!
ReplyDeleteAct #1 - The Promise of the Holy Spirit, The Ascension, and Matthias is Chosen to Replace Judas
Act #2 - The Coming of the Holy Spirit, Peter's Sermon at Pentecost and the Fellowship of Believers
Act # 3 - The Lame Begger Healed and Peter Speaks in Solomon's Portico
Applause ! Applause ! Applause !
Intermission - I'll be back , I'm just going to get some buttered popcorn, a Coke and box of Milk Duds.
Sometimes I get tired of coming here every week, paying to sit in the audience with the extras, wearing my happy face mask. But who cares, no body knows who I am, if I stop coming ...someone else will just come to take my seat.