Allegory. The allegory, to allegories, is often, and that is, especially when it comes to our day and age seen as something, which we under no circumstances will touch or move into, as it is as illegal as it comes within conservative theology. It is often perceived as that of reading something into a test which is not there, or as it often is defined as the process of finding a subtle spiritual meaning concealed in the text which lies beyond what the text itself means. Another way to describe this mentality is, that to allegories is to fantasies. Luther described it as a plague, the dirty laundry or the filthy rags. Calvin, plainly stated that it was entirely satanic. Augustine, from the very beginning of the church held as a superior principle that scripture should speak for and by itself, and that the reader and interpreter should not add something to the text’s direction which didn’t flow naturally from the text itself. He has a 12 point guiding principle for what it means to interpret, which is later picked up by Luther and Calvin and modified into their own language. Augustine say’s, in his book Christian Doctrines, that it is necessary for the interpreter to be a believer, which means the read must have the presence of the Spirit. The historical and actual meaning has to be brought out and held as absolute important. But scripture has more to it than just an unambiguous meaning, therefore the allegorical interpretation is also of great importance. He say’s, that the interpreter has to approximate himself towards the meaning and purpose of the text, and should not interpret his own small world into it. He should not read his presupposition into it. If a text is unclear, it cannot be used for doctrines. The presence of the Spirit does not work as a substitute for the need for the interpreter to build knowledge and understanding. An interpreter must know greek, hebrew and geography, and must master a range of subjects, so as to let the interpreter have the best possible cards to do a proficient job in interpreting. Everything unclear must yield to whats clear. All verses must be interpreted in their context, and revelation is progressive. Despite, Augustine laid these foundational thoughts for interpretation, he was mostly tied up by the allegorical. With Augustine as the catalyst for the allegorical, the catholic church took a direction, which very diplomatic can be expressed as a complete brain haemorrhage of a roller coaster trip through allegorical fantasy land. If there was one thing scripture did not mean, it was what it actually did said. So, the Reformation was a reaction, which in it’s own context reacted towards the way scripture was read. The Reformation is, before it is anything else, a hermeneutical interpretational reformation. It is a show down with the world it was birthed into. With the Reformation and the Renaissance in their desire to return to the greek ideals of knowledge based on observation, they withdraw from the allegorical, which Luther in his time called people, occupying themselves with the allegorical, he called them dreaming visionary fanatics, people who messes around in the sensational, emotional freaks and straight forward deranged, mantraring the same and the same until it becomes truth, and herein lay Luther’s and his likeminded desire to return to the things which in his age had become so vital, a return to knowledge by observation and common sense. He reforms Augustine’s thoughts, and disposes the allegorical that Augustine so loved, and which had made up the church up and until Luther. It is completely slaughtered and thrown off. So, there are good historical reasons as to why we today are very restrained and often hostile towards the allegorical. Luther became very hostile towards the allegorical, and took a very pragmatic and reason based focus towards the scriptures. It became absolute illegal to allegorise. And from this historical setting, allegorising is as it is today, treated as a heresy or as something people of no intellectual capacity gulps themselves into. But, allegory is a very important element in the scriptures. Jesus allegorised big time, and the apostles allegorised. It is something which the scriptures are permeated by. It is almost everywhere. Actually, the scriptures often leads the reader and the readers mind into allegorical thinking, to teach us to think in images, and to see patterns and mechanisms which the scriptures has so many of. It is there to make us see and recognise these patterns and treads which is for the reader to experience. The scriptures clearly expresses to us, that it wants us to not only have a pragmatic sense of God and the scriptures. It is very important to uphold the unambiguous sense of the immediate text, but it is also as important to, as Augustine said, that scripture has more to it than just the unambiguous sense. There is also an allegorical sense to it. Our historical constituency makes it very difficult for us to understand and to move correctly in the allegorical universe, but it was clearly a very important part of the early church, and demands our attention as it also took so much of Christ’s and the early believers attention. As a first thing I like to point out, when we speak of the allegorical, then it is not from the sense of that which initiates from the naive and sensational. It is not from the point, where someone “sees” from the imaginal importance of oneself a the pivot, as often seen in self-professed so-called prophets, which they so obviously in no way are. But, it is a gift which springs from an artistic mind, which things in images and catches the patterns and treads, and mechanisms which are at times quite evident and at times much more subtle. It is far from Luther’s description as deranged fantasies. It is a spiritual universe which balances common sense, knowledge and the pragmatic with the allegorical into the meaningful. So, the allegorical operates on several levels. The scriptures often has several acknowledge-wise senses to it, which it moves back and forth between. Just like we as humans gives words ambiguous meanings, likewise the scriptures speaks to us. For example, the reasonable obvious. When Pilate gave the choise between Barabbas and Jesus, then the iron and satire is subtle. Bar abbas, means, of his father, so the chose here for the jews are which father they will chose. They chose Barabbas, a murder, a father in the figurative sense satan rather than Jesus’s father, by the Son. For example, John is permeated by the allegorical. He takes the Logos, and joints the greek and hebrew world in their image and view of God, their understanding of creation, their concepts and salvation history, and lays the Logos into this, his stroke of genius, this solitaire as the pivot to both of them. For example, the more nuanced one, which demands effort to appropriate and understanding. Bethesda, at the sheep gate, an angel will at times make the water stir up. This story draws on the entire concept of the Angel of the Lord from the old testament and brings Jesus and the Angel, the one and same, into the story as it pivot. The Angel stirs up the water, mankind and scripture, and interprets and allegorises several things on several levels for the reader. The allegorical is an important element in the scriptures, which makes the bible to more than just a pragmatic theological setting. It opens up for that which people speaks, dreams and moves in and around, namely, images, concepts and patterns. It touches that which lies deep inside mankind’s intuitive longing for a deeper meaning. Thanks to Augustine, and thanks to Luther who by their reforms in their time and age, and the insanity they opposed of people consumed into law or deranged fantasies stood the ground. Let us embrace all of scripture. Remember, just because u don’t understand, doesn’t mean its not there. What is there, is a need for insanity to be cured.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 10:20:50 +0000
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