Our world is currently in the midst of what has been termed a pandemic. To some it has appeared as pandemonium. You can look up the origins of those words. It has brought us to a time of reconsidering much in our lives, what is important, what is not important. It has been, at least temporarily, a slow-down.
To me, a curious, but sad thing about the pandemic cum pandemonium has been the finger-pointing, the politicization, the polarization that it has caused. True, it surely has brought out the best in many, helping neighbors who are struggling. Many thanks to those of you have risen to that call. To others, it has been a time of circling the wagons and seeing anyone not within the circle as someone to be feared, an “enemy.” In a way, it is like Dickens••• Best of times, Worst of times.
Back in the earlier section of the website (Posts 02, 04, 06), we spoke of reading side-by-side different versions/translations of the Bible so that you would begin to get a “feel” for: ① Bible translation is not an easy business, ② there are numerous ways to interpret passages, and ③ the traditions, backgrounds of the translators have an impact upon the result. It was to help you begin to see the need for delving into the original languages.
Today, I would like to share an old parable with you, not from Scripture, but one that has been seen in a number of different traditions in the world, and then tie it back to our website, to Scripture, and to my Challenge for You. I chose the particular version of this parable specifically because there is one line in the poem that makes the point I want to get across. I have highlighted that point below, in the body of the poem. Many versions of the parable do not give “the moral,” but rather leave it as many Scriptural parables do, for the reader to discern the message.
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_poems_of_John_Godfrey_Saxe/The_Blind_Men_and_the_Elephant
THE BLIND MEN AND THE ELEPHANT.
A HINDOO FABLE.
I.
IT was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.
II.
The First approached the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
“God bless me!—but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!”
III.
The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried: “Ho!—what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me ‘t is mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!”
IV.
The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant
Is very like a snake!”
V.
The Fourth reached out his eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
“What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain,” quoth he;
“‘T is clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!”
VI.
The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: “E’en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!”
VII.
The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Than, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant
Is very like a rope!”
VIII.
And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!
MORAL.
So, oft in theologic wars
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!
⦁ ⦁ ⦁ ⦁ ⦁ ⦁ ⦁
The point that I want to bring out is our lack of understanding of what others mean/believe. And the Challenge is an idea of taking some baby steps toward remedying that.
[[Disclosure: Saxe here calls this a Hindu fable, which it may be, though I have heard it described as from other traditions, as well. My disclosure is that I have only minimal knowledge of religions outside the Judeo-Christian realm, those based upon the Bible. I disclosed in a section in the Main Menu titled Background that I have training across the spectrum of Judeo-Christian faiths and have no intention to steer anyone toward any of the many thousands of denominations or sects within that scope. Indeed, it is my previously stated hope that people can begin to come together more, rather than divide more. The point is made in the Bible, as well, that is made here in the poem. Let us try to understand “what each other mean.”]]
Look at some Scripture to help understand the point. Read Luke 10:25-37, a well-known parable, with the knowledge that the Hebrews and the Samaritans despised one another. And Jesus/Yeshua affirms the “moral of the story” is that there is a universal language of understanding, the language of Mercy toward our fellow human beings.
Similarly, if you know the history of the Israelites and the Moabites, there was hatred, fear, and mistrust between the peoples. There were “curses” and attempted curses upon one another. Yet the Book of Ruth is an amazing story of a Moabite woman Ruth who has great mercy on Naomi, an Israelite woman, and gives up her beliefs and her homeland for Naomi. In recognition of this, she is married by an Israelite man, Boaz, and indeed they are in the genealogy of Yeshua given in Matthew 1. Ruth is a short book and worth the read.
I’ve heard the question asked before when the Blind Men and the Elephant was discussed, so who can possibly consider himself/herself worthy to tell each of the blind ones what the elephant is really like? Certainly not I. I am just as blind as the next person. I get a view from my perspective.
What then, is the solution? The solution, I would propose is to work toward overcoming that “utter ignorance” of “what each other mean.” As a blind one, I may never know what the elephant is really like. But if I reach out to a blind one next to me, and we get to know one another and then, having done so, are able to speak of what each of us has personally identified about the nature of the elephant is, we will broaden our understanding. And perhaps after a time we might reach out to another blind one in kindness and mercy. Mercy is a universal language that overcomes judgment. [[A very personal message here – Oswald and Nathan can testify to this.]]
So, there are two parts to the Challenge. ① The first is homework here on the LogAndSpeck.com website. ② The second is to read a little bit in a book that is written by someone with a perspective different from yours. I will spell each of these out. And if you meet these two parts of the Challenge, my guess would be that God will bring across your path an opportunity to spend some time with someone from a different background than your own.
① I Challenge you to read one of the most challenging of the posts on the website. If you have read little to none of what precedes it, you may find yourself having to go back to fill in some background. Post 14 Synthetic Grasp of Life is long, for one thing. But the discussion requires you to wrap your mind around one piece of what it means, that in the Hebrew Bible, God is One. Everything is linked together, actions and consequences. This is how the authors of Scripture saw Creation. All is “synthesized” into one, thus the title. As you draw near the end of the Post, you will see how, more and more, science is beginning to see with much the same perspective, all is one. Set aside some time. It will open some new pathways in your mind. When you get toward the end, you may begin to see why the coronavirus pandemic brings up this discussion. Always feel free to dig deeper on your own. Never simply take my word for anything here.
② I do not know your background. I hope there are many readers from many different backgrounds here. I Challenge you to read a little bit from a book that comes from a different background from yours. Don’t be afraid. It is just a book, and no one is forcing you to believe anything different. All that is being asked is that you read far enough to recognize that there are things that do not fit with the tradition in which you grew up, but there are many similarities as well. All are, indeed, speaking of this One God we have been discussing. They may be coming from one perspective, a perspective different from yours, but none of us can truly see the elephant, only the part to which we have been exposed.
I have photos of the covers of five books here. They are random, but ones I know will give you some perspective. One comes from a Jewish background, two from Catholic background, and two from Protestant. You could buy all five for less than fifty dollars in electronic version. I’m not asking you to do that. If you are Jewish, pick one that is Catholic or one that is Protestant. If you are Catholic, choose Jewish or Protestant. If you are Protestant, choose Jewish or Catholic. And you are not committing to reading the entire book. Read enough to get a flavor. Realize that you can recognize where you agree and where you disagree, and no one is forcing you to believe their way. You are reaching out in Mercy to learn about a neighbor. And no doubt, God will send you a “neighbor.”
And, obviously these are only a few of many hundreds of books available. Just sources I know are reliable, but choose for yourself.
As you read through Post 14, I hope you were able to see the connection to Lorenz’s work and how a pesky virus from a bat 🦇 on the other side of the world could impact our own personal world here.
And I hope, that by opening yourself a bit to the Challenges I have posed here, you can see how your small flapping of a butterfly wing 🦋 might indeed have a real effect on our world.
May our wings be those of butterflies 🦋and not bats 🦇. Not that the goal is to cause hurricanes, but perhaps a h7307. רוּחַ rûaḥ. The רוּחַ rûaḥ is a breeze, a wind, and also the Spirit of God.
Genesis 3:8
8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the breeze (h7307. רוּחַ rûaḥ) of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
Rather than hide in fear, let us walk together in the spirit of the day. A universal language is Mercy.
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