tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post3361131395848429238..comments2024-03-27T03:19:11.216-04:00Comments on Assistant Village Idiot: The Wheat & The TaresAssistant Village Idiothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-22974433445674626202007-08-21T22:23:00.000-04:002007-08-21T22:23:00.000-04:00Very interesting take, dilys. I am glad to ponder...Very interesting take, dilys. I am glad to ponder this.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-40446287832266541192007-08-21T09:32:00.000-04:002007-08-21T09:32:00.000-04:00For years I have pondered the 7 "Parables of ...For years I have pondered the 7 "Parables of the Kingdom" in Matthew 13. I think the Wheat&Tares is almost completely ignored, and has a point very different from the usual "don't judge." <BR/><BR/>The text suggests clearly that <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%2013:26;&version=49;" REL="nofollow">the servants are accurately identifying the Tares</A>, but that Tares cannot be decisively uprooted without <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%2013:29;&version=49;" REL="nofollow">damaging the Wheat</A>. The evaluation of the situation is clear, but the subtlety of the enemy is that no action is cost-beneficial. So tend the Wheat with the care it needs so you have a harvest, otherwise pay the Tares no attention. <BR/><BR/>No need to mis-classify the evident Tares, or to savage your insight. <EM>Applied in these situations</EM>, "don't judge" is a kind of disinformation. Mucking with our minds, "oh, well, you may not know," which serves the muddle-headed or meretricious power structure all too well.<BR/><BR/>Often, we perceive with some degree of reliability. The more psychologically practical understanding of "don't judge" is "Don't mount the judge's dais in your own mind. Occupy it with something better." Not to doubt our perceptions, which will be confirmed or rebutted in due course.<BR/><BR/>In general, the <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%2013:33;&version=31;" REL="nofollow">"mixed"</A> nature of the <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%2013:47;&version=31;" REL="nofollow">world</A> is something commended to our forebearance. A real grasp of that fact is the antidote toward a kind of tyrannical utopian purity which appears on both the Right and the Left. Very much <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%202:46-47;&version=31;" REL="nofollow">in line</A>, BTW, with the teachings in <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/Thirteen-Petalled-Rose-Discourse-Existence/dp/0465082726/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-0915683-2763200?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187702494&sr=1-1" REL="nofollow">Jewish mysticism</A> of the nature and function of evil.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-83310535646207946492007-08-20T21:14:00.000-04:002007-08-20T21:14:00.000-04:00I have to comment on this post simply because my b...I have to comment on this post simply because my blog title is "Wheat Among Tares." <BR/><BR/>The parable is specifically dealing with the spiritual state of people. Of course, the angels and God recognize what has happened as soon as the growth of the two plants is prominent. They know who are wheat and who are tares.<BR/><BR/>A common problem with the interpretation of the parable is that many try to use it to judge those who don't line up with the theology of the judger(i know that's not a real word)....they miss the point.<BR/><BR/>We are not to make judgments about the spiritual state of people. We can't look at someone and declare their salvation false. We are to leave that job to God. Trying to pick through the field in our own wisdom just kills everything.<BR/><BR/>That being said, we are to judge circumstances. We can look at a situation and decide whether it lines up with how God has told us to function as a church and as individuals. We can say, <B>that</B> is not the way we are supposed to live, <B>this</B> is what we must do.<BR/><BR/>As far as John The Baptist goes, Jesus said that there was no one greater who was born of a woman. I guess if someone thinks they might stack up to that pedigree, maybe they are entitled to make judgments.<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately too many want the job of John the Baptist and Paul, without the qualifications necessary.terrihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12399706958844399216noreply@blogger.com