Defining Parable
In session 3, we define what parable is. We get the definitions from different sources as comparison.
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The vision of Ozark Christian College is to glorify God by evangelizing the lost and edifying Christians worldwide. The mission of Ozark Christian College is to train men and women for Christian service as a degree-granting institution of biblical higher education.
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One sure way to go boring in the first part of a lesson is to say, “Webster says…” But we have to risk that here.
Parable (parabole) = throw beside. Thus, a “comparison.”
It’s an “anecdotal” comparison—earthly story with heavenly
meaning, and longer than the rabbis. In this light it goes back to narrative prophets. It’s more anecdotal due to being from the Hebrew word, “mashal” (closer to proverb or riddle).
It’s a true-to-life comparison—McQuilkin’s thought. Not fairy tales— at least at first.
It’s a true-to-life comparison that can leave you dumbfounded but open to the way of God in the world.
It’s a true-to-life comparison that can break out into fiction. Watch for this because something strange is happening. It might indicate the invasion of the grace of God.
Dodd, “At its simplest the parable is a metaphor or simile drawn from nature of common life, arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness, and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise application to tease it into active thought.”
Finally, Herzog helps us by adding that parables are subverted comparisons.