Stephen W. Hiemstra's Blog, page 77

Murrow Invites Churches to be Man-friendly

David Murrow. 2011.  Why Men Hate Going to Church.  Nashville:  Thomas Nelson.

Review by Stephen W. Hiemstra

One of the big advantages that I experienced growing up in the church arose as I got older.  In college when life was forever confusing, I had a rough idea of what it meant to be a faithful and successful 21-year-old, a faithful and successful 25-year-old, a faithful and successful 30-year-old and so on.  I also learned what it means to be a godly man.

How did I know?  I knew because I had seen others in those age groups and I watched who succeeded and who did not.  I knew this first hand—my parents did not need to tell me.  My story about the 3 kinds of people—those that never learn, those that learn from their own mistakes, and those that learn from other people’s mistakes—came from observing people in church.  Healthy churches are churches where everyone—all age groups, men and women, and races/ethnicities—worships together.  Unfortunately, such churches are not the norm.

Introduction

In his book, Why Men Hate Going to Church, David Murrow writes:

“New research reveals the importance of men to congregational vitality and growth.  Almost without exception, growing church draw healthy numbers of men, while declining congregations lack male presence and participation…Men are the world’s largest unreached people group” (xii-xiii).

Why do we care?

Murrow writes:  “It’s no coincidence that the nations in which Christianity was the freely chosen religion of men are also bastions of tolerance, charity, and political stability.” (xii)

A lot is at stake in raising the issue of men’s participation in the church, but there is also a lot of resistance to talking about it.  Murrow writes an entire page listing things that the book is NOT about—at the top of the list is blame.  He refuses to spend any time blaming anyone (not men, not women, not pastors) for the gender gap—his purpose is:  “to illuminate the problem and seek solutions” (xiv).

What is the problem?

Murrow writes:

“According to polls, 90 percent of American men claim belief in God.  Five of six call themselves Christians. But just two out of six U.S. men claim to have attended church in the previous week. Some experts believe the true number is fewer than one in six.” (13).

While men and women are roughly split evenly in the population, 61 percent of those in the pews are women and only 39 percent are men (14).  For African American congregations, the numbers are even more skewed with 75 to 90 percent of those attending church being women (16).  If saving men’s souls does not inspire sufficient concern, then think about money—the absence of men hurts church giving .

Gender Gap Not New

The gender gap is not a new problem. Recent changes in gender politics in the church are accordingly not the primary reason for the problem. Citing Leon Podles, the gap has been growing since the thirteenth century, but widened dramatically in the nineteenth century when male intellectuals began: “…publically rejecting religion as superstition or myth.” Meanwhile, working class men had to leave their homes to work in industry (55-56) . What remained in the church were women, children, and elderly men (57). Pastors confronted with a female audience increasingly softened the preaching, music, and theology to suit their audience. And, of course, less manly men found their way into the pastorate. Each of these proclivities alienated men who did come to church.

Again, why do we care?

Murrow writes:

“So men avoid church [like they avoid a prostate exam]—and suffer for it.  Men are more likely than women to be arrested, die violently, commit and be victims of crimes, go to jail, and be addicted.  They also die more often on the job, have more heart attacks, commit suicide in greater numbers and live shorter lives than women…If men want to avoid these pathologies, they should go to church.  Studies indicated that churchgoers are more likely to be married and express a higher level of satisfaction with life.  Church involvement is the most important predictor of marital stability and happiness. It raises most people out of poverty.  It’s also correlated with less depression, more self-esteem, and greater family and marital happiness.” (23)

Young Women

It is interesting that my wife, who is Muslim, pushes our daughter harder than I do to attend church—hoping that she will meet “someone nice”—something never said about attending a local mosque even though either option is equally convenient.  What happens if my daughter goes to church and does not meet any “nice, eligible men”? Obviously, both the church and the family are hurt when this happens…as a father, I really do feel that pain [3].

What can be done about it?

Murrow focuses on giving “men opportunities to use their skills and gifts” (202).  The typical church, in his opinion, focuses on offering men opportunities to join in activities that women are more comfortable with (201).  He makes his point by offering the following hypothetic church announcement:

“As of next month…we are canceling the nursery and Sunday school. We will no longer offer weddings, baptisms, baby showers, or funerals [feeling not doing events].  We will be dropping our choir and pulling out of our partnership with the soup kitchen.  Instead, we’re going to minister in a new way.  Our children’s ministry will be based on sports leagues. We will offer free automotive repairs to the working poor.  We will provide carpentry, plumbing, and electrical upgrades to senior’s homes.  We will deploy our member as security ambassadors, walking the streets of high crime neighborhoods. And our mission team will dig wells in Honduras.” (201).

He then asks how women might feel about such changes.

Suggestions for Ministry

Murrow offers a boat load of suggestions on how to refocus to make men feel more like part of the church team. Interestingly, nowhere does he say that the pastor has to be a man. Instead, he suggests a boy band up front in worship, male parking attendants, male ushers, wide-screen television, prayer huddles [not circles], signs [men hate asking direction], and get rid of the banners [they bring a nursery setting to mind] and robes—real men don’t cross-dress or want to. Some of these suggestions lean into working-class, male stereotypes a bit but the point is valid—the church should not alienate men unnecessarily.

Author

Author David Murrow is a marketing professional and has studied anthropology.  He has worked in as a television producer, writer, speaker and government spokesperson. He is not a pastor. At the time of writing, he was from Alaska (where else?) His book is divided into  25 chapters and 3 parts:

Where are the men? (1-45),
Church Culture versus man culture (53-115), and
Calling the church back to men (125-219).

These chapters are preceded by an introduction and followed by notes.

Why Did I Read This Book?

This book was recommended to me by my homiletics professor [6] who was at one point active in Promise Keepers (a recent group attempting to fire up men for the Gospel) . The homiletics connection is that pastors cannot preach a generic sermon to generic churchgoers—we all come to the Gospel with a different identity, which includes gender.

Wake Up Call

For me, this book was a wake-up call—churches that do not strive to maintain a balanced demographic may not be around in the future. For Murrow, balance means taking men’s sensitives and talents into account.  In his final chapter—a church for everyone—he talks about a female pastor in Illinois who actually had a church with more men than women. In talking about how she managed to cultivate this outcome, she said:

“Other than the Bible, your book has shifted the way I do ministry more than any other book…As I write liturgy and prayers and sermons, I’m thinking, How would a guy like a bricklayer, a farmer, a mechanic, or a line work hear this?” (220-221)

I am not sure that her church is a church that I would choose to attend, but it is interesting that Murrow’s work has born such obvious fruit. This book is a great read and may expand your understanding of how your church can reach more people—even men.

Footnotes

Murrow quotes an honest pastor:  “When Sally comes to church and Sam doesn’t, you get the tithe off the grocery money.  When they come together, you get the tithe off the paycheck.” (26). While the analogy is a bit dated, the underlying concept remains valid.

By 1830, Charles Finney noted that the majority of church members were women. (56)

[3] Murrow candidly remarks that young men today are especially challenged attending church today because in our highly sexualized culture, attending church is a de facto admission that you are “not getting any”.

 http://bit.ly/1EkC9C7

[5] Dr. Rodney Cooper.  From 1995-1997, Dr. Cooper served as the National Director of Promise Keepers.  (http://bit.ly/1P3fqdE)

 https://PromiseKeepers.org.

References

Podles, Leon . 1999. The Church Impotent:  The Feminization of Christianity. Dallas:  Spence Publishing.

Murrow Invites Churches to be Man-friendly
Also see:
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:

Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
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Pharisees: Monday Monologues (podcast), November 14, 2022

 By Stephen W. Hiemstra

This morning I will share a prayer and reflect on Pharisees and Tax Collectors. After listening, please click here to take a brief listener survey (10 questions).

To listen, click on this link.

Hear the words; Walk the steps; Experience the joy!

Pharisees: Monday Monologues (podcast), November 14, 2022
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com





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Prayer for the Hard of Hearing

By Stephen W. Hiemstra

Blessed Lord Jesus,

All power and dominion, glory and honor, truth and justice are yours, because you speak to us with stories that we cannot help but repeat to display God’s nature.

Forgive us when we fail to get it or refuse to acknowledge what our hearts and minds tell us is obviously true.

Thank you for your patience with us, offering us mercy rather than justice when we clearly do not deserve mercy and cannot stand in the face of true justice.

In the power of your Holy Spirit, give us open hearts, teachable minds, and helping hands that we might grow more like Jesus every day.

In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Prayer for the Hard of Hearing
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:

Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com



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The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

By Stephen W. Hiemstra

Evangelist Charles Finney (1792-1875), sometimes called the father of revivalism, was trained as a lawyer and was known to preach fire and brimstone ( Galli and Olsen 2000, 67). He intuitively understood the  judicial context of mercy and the critical role played by original sin. He wrote:

“The guilty man, if he desires to have mercy from the executive, must admit the rightness of the law and of the penalty. Others he arrays himself against the law and cannot be trusted in the community.” (Finney 1999, 151)

For the accused, pleading guilty satisfies the judicial requirement for mercy because pleading not guilty implies the argument that no law has been broken. In the legal context, pleading guilty relieves the prosecutor of the burden of proving guilt and a lengthy trial, which reduces public expense.

Original sin is the doctrine that argues that although we were created sinless, sin enter the human race when Adam and Eve in eating the forbidden fruit (Gen 3:6). This is collective sin where the sin of the fathers is passed on to the children (Exod 34:7). The cycle of collective sin was broken when a sinless Christ died on the cross, paying the penalty of sin for us all. Atonement for collective sin, an event foretold by the Prophet Jeremiah (31:29-30), could only be made with a divine sacrifice.

The argument that we are all basically good (that is, are not guilty of original sin) negates the principle work of Christ, who is argued throughout the New Testament to have died for our sins (e.g. 1 Cor 15:3). No sin; no need of salvation. It also implies that Christ is not divine because Christ could not have been a sinless sacrifice for us all unless he were also God. Consequently, God’s attribute of being merciful stands as a critical argument in understanding central tenants of the Christian faith. As an attorney and evangelist, Finney played a key role in raising the common understanding of our Christian faith as well as helping found the Evangelical movement in the nineteenth century.

Lest anyone argue that the judicial understanding of mercy was a nineteenth century innovation, remember that law plays a larger role in Judaism, which provide the backdrop for the New Testament. New Testament writers wrote about Gospel in a cultural context where the legal arguments dominated everyday life.

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Jesus distinguished pleas of guilty versus not guilt play a key role in this parable:

”Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get. But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner! I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Lk 18:9-14)

In this story, the Pharisee clearly believes that he is not guilty of having transgressed Mosaic law, while the Tax Collector sees himself as guilty. Here God plays the role of a judge who renders a verdict of justified to the Tax Collector, but not to the Pharisee. Implicit in this story is the concept of original sin because both men are judged, which is presented as culturally unexpected.

This parable focuses on the word, δικαιόω (BDAG 2005), which translates as justified. The two primary definitions have a legal context, meaning: 1.to take up a legal cause, show justice, do justice, take up a cause τινά or 2. to render a favorable verdict, vindicate. While the judge in this parable renders the verdict, no penalty is mentioned.

The absence of a penalty is interesting because this parable focuses on two devout men in the temple, which excludes secular people not in the temple whose penalty for non-worship would be culturally more obvious. The type men are explicit archetypes, one proud and the other humble. We might compare these two men with Cain and his brother Abel, who presented their gifts to God before the altar. Cain’s gift is rejected, while Abel’s is accepted by God in his unexplained, sovereign decision.

Casting two devout men in the context of worship, one accepted and the other rejected, might be taken as a first-century, literary trope, perhaps embarrassing for Pharisees or humorous to others. Before I started my career in government, I used to tell political jokes, substituting politicians’ names into airplane jokes or. even knock-knock jokes. Jesus may have done something similar here with the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector that the Gospel writers later cleaned up for a more general audience. Noting a humorous context humanizes Jesus and reinforces the focus on attitude that is given in the parable’s introduction.

References

Finney, Charles. 1999. The Spirit-Filled Life (Orig pub 1845-1861). New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House.

Galli, Mark and Ted Olsen. 2000. 131 Christians Everyone Should Know. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com





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MacArthur Exposits the Parables

By Stephen W. Hiemstr

Macarthur, John. 2015. Parables: The Mysteries of God’s Kingdom Revealed Through the Stories Jesus Told. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Review by Stephen W. Hiemstra

One method for determining the theology of a Christian author is to start by reviewing the scriptural index. Polemical writers often neglect to offer a scriptural index because they hold the authority of scripture lightly. A popular school of thought among biblically inclined authors called biblical theology is obvious by a balanced distribution of citations across the biblical text. Old Testament scholars will cite mostly from the Old Testament; likewise, New Testament scholars will cite mostly from the New Testament.

Introduction

John MacArthur’s Parable: The Mysteries of God’s Kingdom Revealed Through the Stories Jesus Told cites scripture from across the biblical text with emphasis on the New Testament. This is an important insight because MacArthur offers no obvious objective in writing, as would be the case for academic authors. The book’s back-cover states:

“Master expositor and Bible commentator John MaArthur has spent a lifetime explaining the Word of God in clear and comprehensible terms. In Parables, he helps Christians understand the essential lessons Jesus had for his people, lessons contained in the most famous and influential short stories the world has ever known.”

These lessons explain what disciples need to know about a dozen of Jesus’ parables and related teaching (xxiv).

Background and Organization

John MacArthur (1939 -) was born into a family of pastors. He attended Bob Jones College and the Free Methodist Church’s Los Angeles Pacific College. He earned a master’s of divinity from Talbot Theological Seminary, where was also granted an honorary Doctor of Divinity. He also received an honorary Doctor of Divinity from Grace Graduate School in Winona Lake, Indiana. He is a pastor and a televangelist. He is an author of numerous books, of which The MacArthur Study Bible is especially popular. In the text, he references: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary (xxiv).

 MacArthur writes in ten chapters preceded by an introduction and followed by acknowledgments, an appendix, notes, indices, and a short biography. The chapters are:

Introduction

One Ominous Day in Galilee
A Lesson about Receiving the Word
A Lesson about the Cost of Discipleship
A Lesson about Justice and Grace
A Lesson about Neighborly Love
A Lesson about Justification by Faith
A Lesson about Faithfulness
A Lesson about Serpentine Wisdom
A Lesson about Heaven and Hell
A Lesson about Persistence in Prayer (ix-xi)

From the chapters titles we see an emphasis on expository teaching. MacArthur’s scholarly acumen becomes obvious as he translates key phrases from the Greek and Hebrew.

Definition of a Parable

MacArthur (xxiv-xxix) offers a detailed series of definitions of a parable, recognizing that no one definition suits all of Jesus’ parables. One such definition focused on the New Testament is: “A parable extends [a] comparison into a longer story or more complex metaphor, and the meaning (always a point of spiritual truth) is not necessarily obvious.” (xxiv) Another draws on the Old Testament use of the Hebrew, mashal, “which can refer to a prophetic saying, a proverb, a riddle, a discourse, a poem, a short story, a similitude—almost any kind of pithy maxim or anecdote.” (xxv)

What generally sets Jesus’ parables apart from Rabbinic parables is the focus on the kingdom of God rather explaining a verse of scripture (Blomberg 2012, 76).

Turning Point

MacArthur points to a specific day recorded in Matthew 12 when Jesus began teaching in parables. Jesus’ disciples were chastised by the Pharisees for eating grains of wheat on the Sabbath. When Jesus then enters their synagogue to teach, the Pharisees confront Jesus with a man with a withered hand and ask him if it is lawful to heal on Sabbath. After Jesus heals the man, the Pharisees begin to conspire to kill him (Matt 12:14). Recognizing the threat posed, Jesus begins to teach with parables, as recorded in Matthew 13. His first parable is the parable of the Sower.

The explanation of the parable of the Sower speaks to the purpose of parabolic stories: “This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” (Matt 13:13). In other words, the parable is used to judge a person’s heart: believers understand; unbelievers refuse to. The parable of the wheat and tares addresses this heart issue. MacArthur writes: “By deliberately rejecting the truth [Jesus’ healing by way of the Holy Spirit], the sworn enemies of Christ had lost the privilege of hearing any more plain truth from His lips.” (14)

This turning point in Jesus’ ministry is immediately applicable today. Because of mass media, virtually the entire planet has heard of Jesus Christ and his teaching. Because of the predominant philosophy of materialism today, postmodern people have trouble with anything transcendent and fill their hearts with divine substitutes (idols), primarily ecstatic experiences of various kinds. These include drugs, hypersexuality, unnecessary risk taken, workaholism, and just plain partying. The transcendence of God pointed to by Jesus’ parables are defined away.

 Assessment

 John MacArthur’s Parable: The Mysteries of God’s Kingdom Revealed Through the Stories Jesus is a plainspoken guide to studying Jesus’ parables focused on the needs of disciples. Anyone serious about their study of Jesus’ ministry should find this book helpful.

 References

Blomberg, Craig L. 2012. Interpreting the Parables. Downers Grove: IVP Academic.

Footnotes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ma...

MacArthur Exposits the Parables
Also see:
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
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Barren Trees: Monday Monologues (podcast), November 7, 2022

 By Stephen W. Hiemstra

This morning I will share a prayer and reflect on Barren Fig Trees. After listening, please click here to take a brief listener survey (10 questions).

To listen, click on this link.

Hear the words; Walk the steps; Experience the joy!

Barren Trees: Monday Monologues (podcast), November 7, 2022
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com





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Prayer for Barren Fig Trees

By Stephen W. Hiemstra

Almighty father,

All praise and honor, power and dominion, truth and justice are yours, because you taught us the meaning of mercy and practiced forgiveness before we had any idea of either.

We confess that we are slow learners, especially when it requires us to forgive others. Forgive our hardened hearts, slothful minds, and lazy hands that never seem to get it right.

Thank you for the sacrifice of Jesus of Nazareth on the cross. Teach us to emulate his sacrifice for those around  us.

In the power of your Holy Spirit, grant us strength to endure sacrifice, grace to share with others, and the peace that passes all understanding.

In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Prayer for Barren Fig Trees
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:

Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com



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The Barren Fig Tree

For no good tree bears bad fruit, 

nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 

for each tree is known by its own fruit. 

(Lk 6:43-44)

By Stephen W. Hiemstra

Jesus talked frequently about fruit as a mark of identity. Just as a tree is known for its fruit, the heart is known by its actions. He said: “Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.” (Matt. 7:20) Believers and prophets alike are to be measured by their fruits. John the Baptist was even more direct, measuring repentance by the actions that followed—presumably penance—in the context of divine judgment (Matt 3:8).

The Apostle Paul also talked about fruit: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Gal. 5:22-23) He contrasted the fruit of the spirit with the desires of the flesh and the works that follow:

“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.” (Gal 5:19-21)

The controlling idea here is that the desires of the heart are revealed in the actions of the body. The Apostle James underscored this same relationship and tied to the patience of a farmer who had to wait after planting seed for the rains to come and the plants to grow (Jam 5:7).

Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

Jesus told this parable:

“A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground? And he answered him, Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.” (Lk 13:6-9)

Notice the three actors in this parable: a landowner, a vinedresser, and a fig tree. The conversation here is like a discussion between God the Father (the landowner) and Jesus Christ (the vinedresser) about a certain person (the fig tree). Here the vinedresser is arguing for more time for the fig tree to yield fruit and offering to weed and fertilize the tree. The tree has no inherent value other than to yield fruit and it is not currently yielding fruit.

The landowner offers mercy to the fig tree in the form of additional growing time, but this mercy has limits—one more year to grow. In the parable of the unforgiving servant, the mercy offered was also limited—the servant whose debt was forgiven was expected to offer similar mercy to his own debtors, a kind of fruit of repentance as John the Baptist required (Matt 3:8).

Mercy as a Divine Attribute

As described above, mercy serves as a test of those receiving it with the implication that judgment will follow for those that fail the test. God’s mercy is not carte blanc: It describes who he is, but it also comes in the context of obligations and limits on our own behavior.

In law, we find two kinds of justice: Criminal justice and restorative justice. Criminal justice serves to punish offenders and leaves it up to them to abide by the law in the future by weighing the costs (suffering penalties under law) and benefits (avoiding the penalties) of compliance. Restorative justice focuses on reforming the offender. Typically, juveniles face restorative justice, while adults face criminal justice.

The Bible presents God as generally offering restorative justice. The story of Cain and Abel is an example of this restorative justice. When Cain gets angry with his brother, Abel, God advices him to deal with his anger (Gen 4:6-7). When Cain then kills Abel, God curses him to be a wanderer (4:12). When Cain complains that he cannot bare his punishment, God protects him from the revenge of other men by placing a mark on him (Gen 4:15). Had God imposed the penalty of death on Cain, it would have been criminal justice (Gen 9:6). As it was, Cain received restorative justice even though he never actually reformed.

In the parable of the Barren Fig Tree, I have always wondered how many years the vinedresser didn’t argue with the landowner for the fig tree. In our backyard we have a barren persimmon tree. I have for years argued to cut it down and for years my wife has told me: Give it one more year. Knowing the heart of God, I expect that a similar outcome would follow.

The Barren Fig Tree
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:

Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com



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Blomberg Faithfully Interprets the Parables

Craig L. Blomberg. 2012. Interpreting the Parables. Downers Grove: IVP Academic.

Review by Stephen W. Hiemstra

In editing my writing project, Image and Illumination, I discovered a hole in my argument. I realized that the New Testament offered three views of the image of God: The person of Jesus, Jesus’ parables of the kingdom (a circumlocution for God the Father), and the founding of the church by the Holy Spirit. This insight encouraged me to look more closely at Jesus’ parables.

Introduction

Craig L. Blomberg’s Interpreting the Parables sets forth this purpose

“This volume, therefore, brings a state-of-the-art report on parable scholarship in a form intended to be useful as an update for pastors and scholars, a basic textbook for students in colleges and seminaries, and an introduction to the field for the layperson willing to wrestle in some detail with scholarly concerns.” (18)

This book also argues that: “The dominant approaches of the twentieth century to the interpretation of the parables were misguided and require rethinking.” (18) Blomberg’s argument is salient because much of biblical interpretation today is built on a materialist worldview that precludes transcendence and deconstructs the bible rather than trying to understand its message.

Background and Organization

Blomberg is a graduate of Augustana College in Rock Island Illinois, received his master’s of divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, and wrote his Ph.D. at Aberdeen, Scotland. He has written a number of books on the New Testament and is a professor emeritus at Denver Seminary.

Blomberg writes in nine chapters divided into two parts:

Preface

Introduction

PART ONE: Methods & Controversies in Interpreting the Parables

Parable & Allegory
Form Criticism & the Parables
Redaction Criticism of the Parables
New Literary & Hermeneutical Methods

PART TWO: The Meaning & Significance of Individual Parables

Simple Three-Point Parables
Complex Three-Point Parables
Two-Point & One-Point Parables
The Theology of the Parables: The Kingdom & the Christ (v-viii)

These chapters are preceded by abbreviations and followed by indices.

Consensus and Rebuttal

The parables of Jesus uniquely point to God, a characteristic that separates them from Rabbinic parables and other literary forms. Modern and postmodern critics anxious to reduce their uniqueness and to explain them away have largely failed. Instead, critical analysis reinforces the view that the parables point to the authentic voice, not just the words, of Jesus (193). It’s like we have been given Jesus’ fingerprints.

In his introduction, Blomberg (19-22) cites five consensus views that are probably wrong:

Throughout the history of the church, most Christians interpreted the parables as allegories.
Modern scholarship has rightly rejected allegorical interpretation, instead favoring an approach that allows for each parable to make only one main point.
Nevertheless, the parables as they appear in the Gospels do have a few undeniably allegorical elements, but these are the exception and not the rule.
Thus, the occasional explicit interpretation of parables in the Gospels are additional exceptions to Jesus’ usual practice, and they too are not to be taken as normative.
Apart from this small amount of allegory, most of the parables and most parts of each parable are among the most indisputably authentic sayings of Jesus in the Gospel.

These observations do not account for Jesus’ comment:

“And he said to them, to you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.” (Mark 4:11-12)

Over time this veiled view of the parables has been described as the Messianic Secret, but even today one observes that people living in repressive societies are much more likely to use indirect speech than those living in more open societies.

In response to these five consensus views, Blomberg (24-25) offers a summary of emerging alternative views:

The parables, as they stand in the Gospels, are much more allegorical than is usually acknowledged.
If the parables are fairly uniformly allegorical in nature, then they are likely to be either even more entirely authentic than the consensus admits or much more inauthentic.
Many parables probably make more than one main point.

Stories that invite the reader into the story, as parables do, tend to be allegorical in nature in much the same way as variables in a mathematic equation invite the user to substitute in different numbers. While the number of allegories attributable to Jesus’ parable is potentially infinite, the context in which he spoke suggests stock interpretations, like the father in the Prodigal Son is God (Luke 15), that make his meaning fairly transparent.

Example of Interpretation

Blomberg classifies Jesus’ parables by their structure, not their content. He begins with an analysis of parables, like the Prodigal Son, writing:

“Many of Jesus’ parables have three main characters. Quite frequently, these include an authority figure and two contrasting subordinates. The authority figure, usually a king or master, judges between the two subordinates, who in turn exhibit contrasting behavior. These have been called monarchic parables.” (197)

In the case of the Prodigal Son, the authority figure is a father who has two sons (198). Blomberg sees one point for each character:

“(1) Even as the prodigal always had the option of repenting and returning home, so also all sinners, however, wicked, may confess their sins and turn to God in contrition. (2) Even as the father went to elaborate lengths to offer reconciliation to the prodigal, so also God offers all people, however undeserving, lavish forgiveness of sins if they are willing to accept it. (3) Even as the older brother should not have begrudged his brother’s reinstatement but rather rejoiced in it, so those who claim to be God’s people should be glad and not mad that he extends his grace even to the most undeserving.” (200-201)

The extraordinary grace of the father is unexpected, which serves as a hint that the parable is allegorical, not just a sweet story (204). The grace offered by the father is also unconditioned, contrary to Jewish tradition. Death by stoning is prescribed for stubborn and rebellious sons (Deut 21:18-21), another hint that this parable would be shocking to a first-century Jewish audience.

Blomberg runs through a number of similar parables to make his points about interpretation and his exegesis. Simpler parables, he argues, actually can be seen as a special case of the three-character structure.

Assessment

Craig L. Blomberg’s Interpreting the Parables is a fascinating read. He clearly meets his objective of providing “an update for pastors and scholars, a basic textbook for students in colleges and seminaries, and an introduction to the field for the layperson” (18).

Footnotes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_B....

Blomberg Faithfully Interprets the Parables
Also see:
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com





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Undeserving Servant: Monday Monologues (podcast), October 31, 2022

 By Stephen W. Hiemstra

This morning I will share a prayer and reflect on the Undeserving Servant. After listening, please click here to take a brief listener survey (10 questions).

To listen, click on this link.

Hear the words; Walk the steps; Experience the joy!

Undeserving Servant: Monday Monologues (podcast), October 31, 2022
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com





Newsletter at: https://bit.ly/Fall_xx22, Signup

 



 

The post Undeserving Servant: Monday Monologues (podcast), October 31, 2022 appeared first on T2Pneuma.net.