koberstein
Active member
In the Western tradition, especially following the Enlightenment, serious theology largely developed in
the form of ideas held together by logic (linear, syllogistic logic) and reason. The more intelligent the
theologian, the more abstract his writing became and difficult for the average person to understand.
We can term these academic systematic theologians, conceptual theologians. This is not to say conceptual
theologizing and writing is wrong or without value. But in the modern West, we have majored on the
conceptual in theological education, to the neglect of the more Hebraic concrete and narrative approach.
Yeshua by contrast, was not a conceptual theologian.
Jesus was a metaphorical theologian. That is, his primary method of creating meaning was through metaphor,
simile, parable, and dramatic action rather than through logic and reasoning. He created meaning like a dramatist
and a poet rather than a philosopher.
In fact, we are told, "He did not say a thing to them without using a parable; when he was alone with his own
talmidim (disciples) he explained everything to them" (Mark 4:34, CJB). Was Yeshua then but a simple teller of
folktales for fisherman and farmers? Hardly. Could Yeshua have given the most erudite, learned, scholarly lecture
of any of his contemporaries?...Of course he could have. When he was twelve years old he amazed the learned
rabbis in the Temple with the profundity of his knowledge and wisdom (Luke 3:46) He of course was the most
profound of theologians. But his primary teaching method was through stories, word pictures and metaphors.
A metaphor communicates in ways a rational argument cannot. Recalling C.S. Lewis' insight here that "reason is
the natural organ of truth, but imagination is the organ of meaning. Imagination, producing new metaphors or
revivifying old, is not the cause of truth, but its condition"---a word or concept takes on meaning when we have
a clear image with which to connect it. Recent studies in brain science confirms this---parts of the brain light up
when meaning happens, when words stimulate images in the brain.
And when the listener or disciple discovers meaning himself (the "aha!" moment), he or she retains that truth much
better, "owning" that truth. If facts are spoon fed by lecture or monologue to a more passive mind or a mind that
cannot connect a concept to an image (imagine it), they may "go in one ear and out the other" as the saying goes.
Yeshua's use of stories as his primary teaching method was not merely due to his cultural context; story is more
universal means of communicating. Stories are what stick in hearts and minds, because they address both right and
left brain; intellect and imagination. In short stories grip the heart, and as the proverb says, "out of the heart are the
issues of life" (Prov. 4:23).
Another major reason Yeshua's method of choice for teaching is the story is that a lecture often only speaks to the
mind; it provides data or information that may or may not affect that person's heart or will. By contrast, a story with
its characters, with which the story-hearers will identify, either positively or negatively, evokes response. The choices
of the characters evoke a heart response (emotions and conscience). Thus, the story stirs and stimulates moral responses
that can lead to change and character growth in the listener. Yeshua was after moral decisions and character transformation
in his followers.
If theology were only a matter of intellectual conceptualization, then unbelievers could be as good at teaching theology as
are people of faith and devotion to God. All one would need would be a bright mind and a will to work. But Yeshua taught
that there is a moral pre-condition or prerequisite to really understanding God and His ways. He taught this truth through
the masterful parable of the sower:
When Yeshua was alone, the people around him with the Twelve asked him about the parables. He answered them, "To you
the secret of the Kingdom of God has been given; but to those outside, everything is in parables, so that 'they may be always
looking but never seeing; always listening but never understanding. Otherwise, they might turn and be forgiven!'" [quoted from
Isa. 6:9-10] Then Yeshua said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How will you be able to understand any parable?"
(Mark 4:10-13, CJB)
Yeshua taught that this moral condition---a truth seeking heart---is the key to all theological understanding, light and truth.
Yeshua did also make propositional statements and teach concepts, but he did so with those whose hearts were inclined to
the truth. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God," he said (Matt. 5:8) Jesus gave an example of a very clear
propositional concept, actually an axiom, when he stated to the seeker Nicodemus,
And this is the judgement: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because
their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works
should be expoused. But whoever does what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have
been carried out in God. (John 3:19-21, emphasis added)
Only those who love the light and truth will come to see and understand it. As Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) deftly observed,
"Things human must be known to be loved: things divine must be loved to be known" And, "The heart has its reasons which
reason knows nothing of. ...We know the truth, not only by the reason, but also by the heart."
Messianic Jewish Orthodoxy 'The Essence of Our Faith, History and Best Practices'
Dr. Jeffrey Seif
the form of ideas held together by logic (linear, syllogistic logic) and reason. The more intelligent the
theologian, the more abstract his writing became and difficult for the average person to understand.
We can term these academic systematic theologians, conceptual theologians. This is not to say conceptual
theologizing and writing is wrong or without value. But in the modern West, we have majored on the
conceptual in theological education, to the neglect of the more Hebraic concrete and narrative approach.
Yeshua by contrast, was not a conceptual theologian.
Jesus was a metaphorical theologian. That is, his primary method of creating meaning was through metaphor,
simile, parable, and dramatic action rather than through logic and reasoning. He created meaning like a dramatist
and a poet rather than a philosopher.
In fact, we are told, "He did not say a thing to them without using a parable; when he was alone with his own
talmidim (disciples) he explained everything to them" (Mark 4:34, CJB). Was Yeshua then but a simple teller of
folktales for fisherman and farmers? Hardly. Could Yeshua have given the most erudite, learned, scholarly lecture
of any of his contemporaries?...Of course he could have. When he was twelve years old he amazed the learned
rabbis in the Temple with the profundity of his knowledge and wisdom (Luke 3:46) He of course was the most
profound of theologians. But his primary teaching method was through stories, word pictures and metaphors.
A metaphor communicates in ways a rational argument cannot. Recalling C.S. Lewis' insight here that "reason is
the natural organ of truth, but imagination is the organ of meaning. Imagination, producing new metaphors or
revivifying old, is not the cause of truth, but its condition"---a word or concept takes on meaning when we have
a clear image with which to connect it. Recent studies in brain science confirms this---parts of the brain light up
when meaning happens, when words stimulate images in the brain.
And when the listener or disciple discovers meaning himself (the "aha!" moment), he or she retains that truth much
better, "owning" that truth. If facts are spoon fed by lecture or monologue to a more passive mind or a mind that
cannot connect a concept to an image (imagine it), they may "go in one ear and out the other" as the saying goes.
Yeshua's use of stories as his primary teaching method was not merely due to his cultural context; story is more
universal means of communicating. Stories are what stick in hearts and minds, because they address both right and
left brain; intellect and imagination. In short stories grip the heart, and as the proverb says, "out of the heart are the
issues of life" (Prov. 4:23).
Another major reason Yeshua's method of choice for teaching is the story is that a lecture often only speaks to the
mind; it provides data or information that may or may not affect that person's heart or will. By contrast, a story with
its characters, with which the story-hearers will identify, either positively or negatively, evokes response. The choices
of the characters evoke a heart response (emotions and conscience). Thus, the story stirs and stimulates moral responses
that can lead to change and character growth in the listener. Yeshua was after moral decisions and character transformation
in his followers.
If theology were only a matter of intellectual conceptualization, then unbelievers could be as good at teaching theology as
are people of faith and devotion to God. All one would need would be a bright mind and a will to work. But Yeshua taught
that there is a moral pre-condition or prerequisite to really understanding God and His ways. He taught this truth through
the masterful parable of the sower:
When Yeshua was alone, the people around him with the Twelve asked him about the parables. He answered them, "To you
the secret of the Kingdom of God has been given; but to those outside, everything is in parables, so that 'they may be always
looking but never seeing; always listening but never understanding. Otherwise, they might turn and be forgiven!'" [quoted from
Isa. 6:9-10] Then Yeshua said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How will you be able to understand any parable?"
(Mark 4:10-13, CJB)
Yeshua taught that this moral condition---a truth seeking heart---is the key to all theological understanding, light and truth.
Yeshua did also make propositional statements and teach concepts, but he did so with those whose hearts were inclined to
the truth. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God," he said (Matt. 5:8) Jesus gave an example of a very clear
propositional concept, actually an axiom, when he stated to the seeker Nicodemus,
And this is the judgement: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because
their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works
should be expoused. But whoever does what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have
been carried out in God. (John 3:19-21, emphasis added)
Only those who love the light and truth will come to see and understand it. As Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) deftly observed,
"Things human must be known to be loved: things divine must be loved to be known" And, "The heart has its reasons which
reason knows nothing of. ...We know the truth, not only by the reason, but also by the heart."
Messianic Jewish Orthodoxy 'The Essence of Our Faith, History and Best Practices'
Dr. Jeffrey Seif
