Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Master of the Metaphor

Metaphor ~ noun
     1. A figure of speach in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.
     2. A thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else, especially something abstract.

Jesus is indisputably the King of Everything.  Which, fortunately for this post, includes metaphor.  He used them all the time, often to describe Himself: "I am the vine;" "I am the door."  Or others used them to describe Him: "He is the lamb of God;" "He is the morning star."  

This is surely a kindness of God, knowing as He does that our finite minds cannot fathom Him.  Doors we can grasp!  Vines we can comprehend!

This being the case I recently reasoned that if I could understand more about the metaphors, I might understand more about the God.  After all, He created the things beforehand, knowing He would use them to describe Himself-- they must be a perfect examples.

Enter Science.

This is not a subject at which I excelled in school.  Bill Nye the Science Guy gave me the basics about the general behavior of the universe, but the rest of my "education" has been left to Stargate and Doctor Who (dubious professors at best, nefarious purveyors of downright falsehood at worst), and the long-suffering Kersten Peterson, the only bio-chem nerd I know who can yet speak real English, not to mention the dialect "Girl" thereof.

But my ignorance of the subject may prove to be my greatest resource as I tackle this "Bible study", for in knowing nothing I come to the table with very few preconceived notions and biases, many, many questions, and bucket loads of Wonderment.

To keep myself honest I write only this introductory preface today, stating in it my intent to investigate at least the following subjects:

*Water
*Light
*Bread
*Doors
*Vines
*Salt
*Stars
*Lambs

If you discover other "Jesus Metaphors" in your readings, or have a favorite science fact about any of the above, please post them as comments below; eventually I would love for this to turn into an actual Bible study, or what about a science primer for homeschoolers?  I'm really looking forward to meeting the Master of the Metaphor in His textbook of Creation.

1 comment:

Debbie said...

Cool! I look forward to more!