Spirituality - Thoughts

Metaphor And Its Role

I do not “believe in” the Bible. I “believe in” the worship of God. The Bible is a collection of man-made writings, largely inspired by God, but consisting of, mostly, metaphorical stories. Some of them are history, but even the best, most strict history tends to be metaphorical. Humans see what interests them, find what they think backs up their version of it, and relate it to others; yet it is still only a version of the truth, often related through translation, not absolute truth. Bible worship is, in my opinion, idolatry, plain and simple.

The Bible brings us stories, ideas, visions, versions, and interpretations, all no doubt inspired by God, but not related by God. What is related by God is something subjective, internal, “from the source”; it is the thing that spoke to the authors of what is written in scripture. And authors are often, one might say, inevitably, even notoriously, replete with error. And that is fine. It is not their job to be perfect, but to simply relate their experience, however God-inspired, imaginary, sincere, or erroneous it might be . . . as best they can.

Reading anything, be it the Bible or whatever scripture or theology, never exempts anyone from listening to the voice of God within them! Only through that voice, heard in good conscience with good intent, and in all sincerity can one even hope to find the Truth; and once you have found the Truth, it is almost a given that you got it wrong!

Even if you are told the Truth, the telling of it will inevitably introduce errors. Often, in fact, we do not hear what we are told, so hearing the Truth is not necessarily going to do a lot of good. Nonetheless, it is good to listen, just not indiscriminately. Far too often it is the hearing of the word of God that is in error, far more often than the writing of it.

Much of scripture (and anything worth hearing) is permeated with metaphor. I usually think of St. Paul as the first Christian theologian. He was not God, nor was he a Perfect Spokesman for God. Any theologian is going to use metaphor, and a lot of it. It is their stock and trade. Most of what Paul says in the New Testament must be taken with a grain of salt.

I feel certain that this is true of even Jesus; He did not think of us as actual sheep, for instance, that need to be sheared every year for His benefit, and for you to walk around saying only, “baaaaaah, baah”! Every parable was metaphorical in its very nature.

Still, everything needs to be listened to with a discerning heart and mind. “Thou shalt not Kill”; does that apply in every instance? When does it apply? What about if this man is lunging at my wife with a knife? Abortion, capitol punishment, war mercy killing, killing a cat or dog, bird or ant, intentionally or accidentally? All require some degree of discernment. Even if they are not metaphorical admonishments.

Do we take Paul's and Jesus' Biblical admonitions to the extent of condoning the Salem Witch Burnings, as some Puritans obviously did? Would Paul have intended that? Did he do that? Would God intend, or do, that? We can think of stories in the bible where he did; but are those metaphorical stories, told to make a point, rather than to relate history? And if they were historical, were they the history of God's actions, or of men thinking they were acting on God's behalf?

Metaphors are used to help you relate to something, conceptually or emotionally. "Biblical" & "theological speak” is like that in this way. The metaphor speaks to things as being similar or alike (i.e. as similes), . . . but it states them in terms that equate, rather than compare. Biblically it is dangerous if you are expecting literal truth (something that cannot, really, be communicated). Still, when listened to in the spirit of the truth, it can nonetheless be effective.

Metaphor, when used in the arts, is usually meant to be a tool to wake up your attention; it presupposes that critical listening is employed by the listener. It is not trying to trick you into embracing a lie, but to convey, or alert, a feeling in you that echoes a feeling in the speaker..

In poetry, it is almost always effective. Consider:

“A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. “

from I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
— William Wordsworth

“Not all Pianos in the Woods
Had power to mangle me— “

from I dreaded that first Robin, so

— Emily Dickinson

. . . and so on.

Metaphors are potent and powerful; dangerous when reading scripture (of any religion) in advertising, devastating in propaganda (political or otherwise), yet ideally suited to poetry and art.