Modern Parables: Methodology

The Methodology

Basics | Uses | Structure | Pastors | Methodology

Modern Parables is the culmination of a number of different theological, philosophical,and aesthetic ideas. The primary goal of each film is to parallel the Biblical text using contemporary emotional and cultural signifiers. This recontextualization is intended to reproduce narrative experiences similar to those experienced by the original audience.

A few principles were adhered to in the creation of the entire set:

Primacy of the Biblical Text - Instead of taking a broad,general look at the original text, we dug as far as possible into thebest parable scholarship, choosing to go deep instead of wide. Thescripts adhere as tightly as possible to the original Biblicalstructures; the study materials rely entirely on the authority of theBiblical witnesses; and the learning style engages students tounderstand the original text from a multitude of pedagogical methods(e.g., narrative, expository, discussion, etc).

Enjoyment of the Learning Process - Following the poet Horace, our educational style is intended to "please and instruct." The films are enjoyable to watch and yet contain basic exegeticalelements of the parables. Ours is supposed to be an invisible systemof teaching: one begins to understand simply by watching the films. That initial understanding creates a growing sense of delight as onerealizes the depths within the text. Learning about the Bible soonbecomes pleasing and enjoyable in and of itself, the film falling awayas the text takes its place.

Continuum between Knowing and Doing - The tendency among Christians to know and yet not to act on what they know is a troubling aspect of the modern Church. By linking exegesis of the parables to application of the parables, the study hopes to show the necessary movement from knowing theology to doing theology - something Jesus Himself said He expected of His followers. One must always be putting the Bible to work in the real world through real choices and real actions.

Relevance of the Kingdom - Jesus began and ended His ministry preaching about the Kingdom of God. It is the motival theme that runs through all the parables and is the requirement for understanding their interpretation, interrelation, and application. The parables fit into the structure of Kingdom theology as taught by Jesus, and to try to use them outside that theology jerks away the very foundation holding them up. The relevance of the Kingdom to parabolic interpretation cannot be underestimated.

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