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24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ 28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ 29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
Comments
field and sowing weeds there? Who does that? What's his next dastardly
scheme, breaking into the sower's house and scattering dust all over
the place? Breaking into the fridge and swapping the good food for
mouldy food?
Oh my. A dastardly scheme indeed!
But yes, it does sound somewhat deterministic, and also implies that "bad people" are actually created by something other than god.
Basically, Jesus was saying "Don't worry, guys, we're on top of the whole evil-people thing, and we'll fix it when we're ready. Just sit tight, OK?"
Not his best parable, though.
More to the point, though, what's the deal with the enemy going into a field and sowing weeds there? Who does that?
The Devil.
What's his next dastardly scheme, breaking into the sower's house and scattering dust all over the place? Breaking into the fridge and swapping the good food for mouldy food?
From God's point of view, the devil is a Harmless Villain.
I guess that if anything, it's an explanation for the non-intervention policy of the Divine. Them actively fighting evil in the world as-is would cause too much collateral damage, so it's best to wait until the End of Days to sort things out.
The Bible shows what happens when God adopts a pro-intervention policy at Sodom and Gamorra, as well as the flood.
development from murderous, judgmental dick to tolerable deity through
his interactions with humanity.
That's the point of view that would make it much more acceptable for this one
But as far as this one knows, God is supposed to never change
Uh. It is possible to over-extend a metaphor to the point of breaking it.
But as far as this one knows, God is supposed to never change
How would He? In idealist terms, God is pure being, not becoming.
A God who undergoes character development would have to be Hobbes' omnipotent material being who lives somewhere in the cosmos.
So my theory is right, and God really was a complete dick in the beginning for no clear reason? WOO, SUCK IT CHRISTIANS!