Parables and fables - any difference?

1. 0

   Baileybearposted 14 years ago

   Some say that the Bible is full of parables.
   
   My understanding is that both use a short story to illustrate a moral.  Fables usually use animals.  Both are fiction?

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   1. 54

      Kamzezuruposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      While fables are usually unashamedly made up stories, parables are more in the nature of examples from real life situations past and present. Jesus used everyday examples mainly from his time to teach lessons. In contrast to that the Genesis cosmogony draws heavily on historic legends to make its statements about the unknown. e.g. the Assyrian mythological epics of Gilgamish, the Creation and Astrahasis. The story of Noah is based on a merchant called Uti-Napishtim from the town of Shuruppak on the Euphrates River. He plied his trade up and down the river on a barge on which he carried domestic animals. As happens with legends they get more and more embellished with each generation until truth is buried in fiction. No matter because God can use it to great advantage and effect in the hands of a skilled story teller and prophet. Imagine a massive flood like the current one in Pakistan only bigger, with water as far as one can see. Add a few wild animals common to those parts and you have the makings of a very good parable, not so much of God's judgement over the wicked, but of salvation from inevitable loss. In this Noah is a type of the promised Messiah who comes to our rescue, and the boat is a type of the true Church through, and in which the rescue takes place. The sacrifice offered by Noah on Mt Ararat speaks of Christ's sacrifice on Mt Zion and God's satisfaction with that is His rescindment of the curse that affects everyone not in close communion with Him. The sacrifice is the means whereby we are accepted back into God's family because it wipes our slate clean for a fresh beginning. God is purer than to behold evil, so we must be made pure and we are covered in Christ's purity by faith. His righteousness is imputed to us. The miracle is that God places his spirit into us, evolved animals, to be his own family. "Behold what love the Father has for us that we should be called children of God!"
      The whole creation thing is clever beyond belief. The purpose of my existence is to be God's child and He made the whole universe just for that, wow! Some universe, some King!
      Reading these forums I see people have a lot of trouble with Adam and Eve etc. That's because they don't know Assyrian mythology and how Moses plagiarised it to such great advantage. It meant a lot to the old Israelites because it was their 'dreamtime'. So it was very relevant to them. It only becomes relevant to us when we see what is behind it all.

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   2. 59

      Beelzedadposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      It is interesting that the dictionary provides both of these as definitions for 'parable.'
      
      - A short moral story (often with animal characters)
      - (New Testament) any of the stories told by Jesus to convey his religious message
      
      
      It's pretty obvious the 'parables' in the bible are fiction written by men of the time.

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2. 61

   Jeramiposted 14 years ago

   I am sure that a second year trigonometry student would use a parable to explain how X times Y comes out to being  M. when discusing this concept to a first grader.
      First grade school teachers use parables in order to explain a lot of things.
     The parable itself may not be true but the message that it is attempting to get across is true.
   
     A Fable ?  can be a lot of things depending upon why it is being told.
   
     If we connect these two explanations together into one story? it MIGHT? be a parable?,

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