Pair-o-bells

The ringing of a bell is a signal.

“The bells… I can hear the bells!” -Quasimodo

“Whenever a bell rings, an angel gets its wings!” – Zuzu Bailey

Yes, a play on words. Yes, the quotes are from fictional characters. What I am really thinking about is the parables of Jesus. I have written a few related posts, and I was thinking of looking at a whole series since there are so many. Here are some links to the previous posts:

http://heresyman.com/the-story-of-the-loving-father

http://heresyman.com/still-going-on-about-prodigals-brother

http://heresyman.com/this-may-shock-some-of-you

I am astounded at people who refuse to read or listen to fiction. Fiction is not only an escape at times, it is a tool which can be used for good or evil. Some deeper truths are often hidden in stories. Jonathan Swift used stories to take digs at the politics of the day. John Bunyan’s books spread deeper Christian truths in a heretical way. The pen is truly mightier than the sword.

http://heresyman.com/story-telling-is-an-art-and-a-science

But, I digress… I am interested in what parables Jesus taught with.

So, I did a bit of research to see if I can learn a bit more about the parables. On one site:

I found if we include apocryphal books, we will have at least 27 different stories. With this many, I am sure they are easily grouped by type. So, I did another quick search and found this question asked and answered on Quora:

In this question and answer, they focus on the THREE types of parables. This is obviously a fixation on the Trinity again. I suppose I can see why they would want to group things this way.

Of course, when I look at the answer, I see FOUR types of parables. I mean, seriously… here is what was written:

The three types of parables — ‘didactic’, ‘evangelical’, and, ‘prophetic and judicial’ — they address such topics as: Kingdom, Service, Prayer, Humility, Love of Neighbor, God’s concern for the lost, Gratitude of the redeemed, Preparedness for Christ’s return, Judgement on Israel, Judgement, and Judgment within the kingdom.

Now, it may just be me… but there are actually four things listed there, don’t you think? Here is what I see:

Four types of parables:

Didactic – intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive.

Evangelical – of or according to the teaching of the gospel or the Christian religion.

Prophetic – relating to or characteristic of a prophet or prophecy.

Judicial – of, by, or appropriate to a court or judge.

This, of course, fits in nicely with the tetrahedral view of everything… “the Four Views of I” is reflected in many levels of the universe, at least in my mind. I will set my intention to study the parables of Jesus and share what I discover.