Parables

parable

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary

a usually short fictitious story that illustrates a moral attitude or religious principle.

Here is a longer definition of "parable" from the book Funk on Parables: Collected Essays, by Robert W. Funk, Polebridge Press, 2006:

Definition of Parable (from C.H. Dodd)
At its simplest the parable is a metaphor or simile drawn from nature or 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.

The best examples of such parables were given by Jesus and appear in the Bible. As these parables are found in the Bible, some scholars, including Funk, feel that later writers and scribes altered and "softened" many of them, sometimes adding an explanatory sentence or two at the end. Such an explanation would attempt to remove the "doubt about its precise application". Funk feels that such doubt is always present in true parables by Jesus.

Here are two parables that I wrote myself:

Parable: The Invisible Fence
A man had three dogs. They helped him with the work of herding and guarding on his farm. He wanted to keep the dogs from running off. Instead of fencing in the farm, he enclosed it with an electric line and put three special collars on the dogs. If they came too close to the line, they got a shock. Soon they became accustomed to this "invisible fence," and always stayed within its boundaries. Later the man's son took over the farm. The son felt sorry for the dogs and wanted to give them their freedom, even though he still needed their help with the farm. So the son disconnected the electric fence and turned off the collars of the dogs. The first dog, the youngest, immediately went into the wilderness, became lost, and perished. The second dog cautiously investigated the lands beyond the farm and loved to roam about, yet he always came back to do his work. But the third dog, the oldest, never crossed the old fence, and he spent the rest of his life inside the farm without visiting the world outside.

Parable: The Invisible Fence

A man had three dogs. They helped him with the work of herding and guarding on his farm. He wanted to keep the dogs from running off. Instead of fencing in the farm, he enclosed it with an electric line and put three special collars on the dogs. If they came too close to the line, they got a shock. Soon they became accustomed to this "invisible fence," and always stayed within its boundaries.
Later the man's son took over the farm. The son felt sorry for the dogs and wanted to give them their freedom, even though he still needed their help with the farm. So the son disconnected the electric fence and turned off the collars of the dogs.
The first dog, the youngest, immediately went into the wilderness, became lost, and perished. The second dog cautiously investigated the lands beyond the farm and loved to roam about, yet he always came back to do his work. But the third dog, the oldest, never crossed the old fence, and he spent the rest of his life inside the farm without visiting the world outside.

Parable: Will The Real Jesus Please Stand Up?
My name's Jim, a reporter for the LA Times. They sent me to cover a quiz show in downtown LA -- that standard format where three people each claim to be someone. I had a pass to let me into the audience area. After instructions and such ("show some enthusiasm, make some noise!") they started taping the show. Three guys in robes and sandals were being questioned by four pretty fancy theologians. There were damn tough questions: Did you do this? Would you do that? How do you explain such and so? Very clever and thoughtful answers, too. It was going to be hard to decide. Halfway through they had a break and I got to talk to the moderator. So I asked him which one was the real Jesus, sort of sarcastic like. He said they had to change their usual format, and just audition people who wanted to play the role. The winner would get a prize. Quite a few men, and two women, had shown up. One guy, who didn't really look the part or talk a very good line, wouldn't stay -- he just left -- went off somewhere. Well, I didn't go back after the break. I'm not much for religion, but even I can see you're not going to find Jesus that way, not by searching for him, any more than you could find the Kingdom of Heaven by looking for it. Things like that are always a big surprise when you find them.

Parable: Will The Real Jesus Please Stand Up?

My name's Jim, a reporter for the LA Times. They sent me to cover a quiz show in downtown LA -- that standard format where three people each claim to be someone. I had a pass to let me into the audience area. After instructions and such ("show some enthusiasm, make some noise!") they started taping the show. Three guys in robes and sandals were being questioned by four pretty fancy theologians. There were damn tough questions: Did you do this? Would you do that? How do you explain such and so? Very clever and thoughtful answers, too. It was going to be hard to decide.
Halfway through they had a break and I got to talk to the moderator. So I asked him which one was the real Jesus, sort of sarcastic like. He said they had to change their usual format, and just audition people who wanted to play the role. The winner would get a prize. Quite a few men, and two women, had shown up. One guy, who didn't really look the part or talk a very good line, wouldn't stay -- he just left -- went off somewhere.
Well, I didn't go back after the break. I'm not much for religion, but even I can see you're not going to find Jesus that way, not by searching for him, any more than you could find the Kingdom of Heaven by looking for it. Things like that are always a big surprise when you find them.