The story of Theseus and the Minotaur is well-known. In the story, Theseus volunteered to enter the Labyrinth--- a maze-like structure created by Daedalus, in the Minoan capital of Knossos. Doing so was considered a death sentence. Either Theseus would be killed by the Minotaur, a creature who is half-man and half-bull who roamed the …
Tag: parable
Uncle Clem Fell Down in the Well— Two Parables
The first parable comes from the Judy Canova Show. It was a radio comedy program from the 1940s. The humor, especially little skits that are supposed to be drawn from Judy's childhood, embrace a certain "hillbilly humor." This is a story loosely based on a one-off joke in one of these skits. It is funny …
Continue reading Uncle Clem Fell Down in the Well— Two Parables
The Perfect House… A Parable
The man finally arrived at the address he was given. It was a long trip and he was cold, wet, and tired. This was his inheritance, deeded over to him. He knew he was in the will, that he would get something, but what a surprise it was to find that it was a house …
Sermon– Find us Faithful
I don't put sermons here very often, but I thought I would share one I did today at my church. Find Us Faithful Matthew 24:42-51 Chapter 24 of the Gospel According to St. Matthew is a message that Jesus gave His followers about the future. Jesus's time on earth was coming to a close. He …
Jonah– a parable
The Woodcarver saw it on the beach. It was much larger than the normal pieces he would take to be turn into wooden utensils, statues, and a variety of tchotchkes for tourists. He liked pieces of wood that had character to them--- gnarled branches, hollow logs, and even stumps with roots. But this big one …
Three Clean Fingers– A Mystery
This short story is based on a real event. But the mystery remains unanswered. Ed went to Oliver's house shortly after lunch. Both of them were dairy farmers, and Oliver asked for some help in cutting and splitting some locustwood for new posts to repair fencing in his cow pasture. They often helped each other …
The Story Wheel (Part 2)
The previous post was dedicated to the illustration of the story wheel. It is based on work by Sacks, as well as Crossan. But it seemed valuable to me to add 'antimyth.' The reason is that a myth ultimately establishes the underlying worldview of the culture. In fact all of the story types (the weakest …
The Story Wheel (Part I)
Below is the Story Wheel... loosely based on work by Sheldon Sacks and John Dominic Crossan. Will talk about it more in Part II. a Part 2 is HERE.
The Kite and the Clouds (short story)
Now I know some of you don’t believe kites can think and speak. To be honest, I don’t believe so either. However, let’s just assume that this one particular kite could, to avoid unnecessary arguments later. A family that loved to go to the park owned this particular kite. On a fine windy day, they …
A Parable: The Pilgrimmage
This story was inspired by a poem by Howard McCord ("Ontology") and by the expression "You can't see the forest for the trees." Thomas lived in the desert lands as a child. There is much beauty in such barren places, but also many important things lacking. Thomas would ask his father, “When can I see …