30
Apr
08

It’s a Metaphor

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By unitedwelay1
Categories: Religion

If literary devices have been traced back to literature as ancient as the Iliad, I don’t know why people assume that the religious texts are the direct word of god unless it is labeled within the text as a parable.  Doesn’t it stand to reason that allegory and metaphor were used just as often and for the same reasons as we use them today?  The ideas of rebirth and reincarnation are nice ones, but I’m not sure we can take it literally.  Is it possible that these ideas are metaphors for the philosophical rebirth that occurs when we enter a new phase in life or learn something that completely changes the way we think about the world?  Why do we continually close our minds off to the possibilities that what we’ve always been taught may not be the only answers out there?

3 Responses to “It’s a Metaphor”

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  1. 1 daveawayfromhome May 1, 2008 at 5:35 am

    I have some real problems with religion when it’s taken literally. As metaphore though, I think it has the potential to be quite beautiful, as well as instructive. Too bad the literalists control things.

  2. 2 unitedwelay1 May 1, 2008 at 7:00 am

    I agree. I teach a month long Didactic Literature lesson in my class which allows me to trace certain parables back and across all cultures. It’s a really interesting lesson and gets my kids talking. We always have to preface the lesson with the disclaimer that I am not supporting or excluding any religion or philosophy and that these parables do not reflect my own views. It’s the only way to get the kids to see the beauty in the language and actually discuss the message without the influence of religion.

  3. 3 Flimsy Sanity May 1, 2008 at 8:35 am

    I hope you introduce the little twirps to the flying spaghetti monster.

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