Tag: Miracles

• Food for Thought (ii)

  Rather than being dismissive because of disbelief in ‘miracles’, my previous post suggested understanding gospel accounts, like the feeding of the 5000, as ‘story-parables’ rather than historical facts. But if this is a story, where might the idea originally have come from? The early followers of Jesus, being Jews, were well versed in the Hebrew…

  calgacus83

  7th Feb 2023

  Christianity, Hebrew Bible, Jesus of Nazareth, Literature, Mythology, New Testament, Old Testament, Religion

  Feeding of 5000, Gospels, Hebrew Bible, Holy Grail, Jesus, Literature, Miracles, New Testament, Parables, Psalm 23

• Food for Thought

  It troubles me that some people have no interest in reading the Gospels because they can’t take seriously some of the things they read there. An example is the “feeding of the five thousand” from five loaves and two fish. As it happens, this is an instance of occasional patriarchal prejudice. According to Matthew 14:21,…

  calgacus83

  5th Feb 2023

  Christianity, Jesus of Nazareth, Literature, Mythology, New Testament, Religion

  Feeding of 5000, Good Samaritan, Gospels, Jesus, Love, Miracles, New Testament, Parables, Patriarchy, Sharing

• Rethinking Jesus (07) Healer and Exorciser

  After his baptism and ‘time out’ in the wilderness, Jesus began his evangelistic mission. He’s said to have drawn crowds, but I think their size is over-rated. The Jewish historian Josephus tells us why Herod Antipas executed John the Baptist :  “Now many people came in crowds to John, for they were greatly moved by…

  calgacus83

  6th Feb 2022

  Christianity, Jesus of Nazareth, Literature, Mythology, New Testament, Poetry, Religion

  Exorcism, Gospels, Healing, Jesus, John the Baptist, Josephus, Miracles, Stories

• The Gospels (12) “Born Blind’

  The 6th ‘sign’ in John’s Gospel is prompted by Jesus seeing “a man who had been blind from birth”. His disciples ask him a question which might seem, to some of us, ludicrous, if not outrageous – “Rabbi, who committed the sin that caused him to be born blind, this man or his parents?” For…

  calgacus83

  12th Oct 2021

  Jesus of Nazareth, Literature, Mythology, New Testament, Philosophy, Religion

  Blind, Gospels, Jesus, Light, Miracles, Signs

• The Gospels (10) ‘Loaves and Fish, and Love’

  We’ve reached the 4th ‘sign’ in John’s Gospel, and should recall that his primary concern isn’t simply to record historical events, but to tell stories illustrating his beliefs about Jesus. Jesus was also a story teller, and used humour and exaggeration to heighten their impact. There’s the man with a plank of wood in his…

  calgacus83

  8th Oct 2021

  Jesus of Nazareth, Literature, Mythology, New Testament, Poetry, Religion

  Gospels, Hyperbole, Jesus, Love, Miracles, Sharing, Signs, Stories

• The Gospels (7) ‘A Party to end all Parties’

  In continuing to think about the Gospels as literature, let’s reflect on the fact that skilled authors employ figurative language, including allegory, metaphor and symbol, to enhance appeal and enrich meaning. Figurative language, by definition, can’t be directly equated with the factual or historical. This applies, in my view, to the Gospel writers. Obvious examples,…

  calgacus83

  2nd Oct 2021

  Jesus of Nazareth, Literature, Mythology, New Testament, Poetry, Religion

  Healing, Jesus, Metaphors, Miracles, Religion, Signs, Wedding, Wine