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One Night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand; one belonged to him and the other to the Lord. When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you you'd walk with me all the way, but I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me." The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child, I love you and would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you." |
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I bet that tale isn't new to you. It has been told and re-told many times. It is what the Christians call a moral and uplifting story. It is also what is known as a total fabrication, or lie.
Parables, all of them, are lies. From the first word to the last. They are made-up stories of events that did not happen that are supposed to illustrate a moral message that the storyteller wants to get across to the audience.
Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Before his daring escape from prison, a black militant had been photographed from four different angles. The FBI sent copies of the pictures to police chiefs all across the USA, with orders to notify Washington the moment an arrest was made. The next day the bureau received a teletype reply from a small Southern town:
PICTURES RECEIVED STOP
ALL FOUR SHOT DEAD STOP
WHILE RESISTING ARREST
What is the difference between these two parables? Both are transparently not true and are told to make certain points. Do the stories do anything to prove the points? Of course not. However they will tend to strengthen and confirm an already established belief, but why? It is absurd to imagine that a made up story can confirm any belief.
How can made up stories illustrate truth? I can make up a story now to illustrate or prove that blondes are dumb or that drinking a particular brand of beer makes people behave intelligently. When you are making something up you have total power to prove any point you want to. You can prove that virtue will be rewarded, that God takes care of those who look after themselves or that the meek will inherit the earth just by telling the story that way.
A parable proves nothing. Jesus, assuming for the moment that the gospels are in any way reliable, told many parables. There was no Good Samaritan any more than there was a sleeping beauty, Cinderella, old woman who put her poodle in the microwave or footsteps in the sand. The story was a parable, an allegory. Like any piece of fiction it is highly suspect material to base a moral framework on or shape a view of reality. A parable is only as good as the imagination of the storyteller. If a prophet says that God is like rock or a young ram that means nothing more than the bare words. At best it describes the thoughts about God that the prophet has, but even that is assuming that the prophet is coherent and has a good turn of phrase. Separated by many generations of sycophants and the unquestioning faithful we have no idea how coherent, persuasive or sane the prophets were.
To believe that a certain prophet was genuine and told the word of God is simply a matter of faith, accepting an unproven and unproveable claim that has been supported historically, with no further evidence, by a succession of people who form a culture you respect. Only those people who form part of such an uncritical and irrational faith community would regard such unquestioning acceptance as anything approaching a virtue. This form of faith is antithetical to rationalism and the scientific method.
Whoever first told that tale of footsteps across the beach made up the whole story from start to finish. It is a fiction based round that popular fictional character Jesus. How come some people are given licence to use this character by the copyright holders? I wouldn't be allowed to tell stories about Harry Potter™ without a lot of disclaimers and such like and yet some people feel free to make up stories about Yahweh, Zeus, Jesus, the Angel Gabriel and the like with total impunity. Not only do some people attempt this sacrilege but they are often applauded for their efforts. And most bizarrely people take the newly created stories to prove something in the real world beyond the scope of the imagination. How ridiculous.