My theology class with a bunch of Unitarians

[Ziploc Surprise]

I am part of a theology class with a bunch of Unitarians and other very liberal Christians. At the last class they were discussing parables and had an interesting take on the Parable of the Good Samaritan. first of all they said (and I have not verified this so it may be crap) that in the Jewish religion everything is metaphorical. Parables have a more open meaning. With this in mind here's their interpretation.

The Good Samaritan: (It's not necessary to read the parable if you know it already. I'm just pasting it for convenience)
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

They said that both the priest and the Levite couldn't touch the man to see if he was dead because if he was dead touching him would defile them. If they had been defiled by touching the dead body then they wouldn't have been able to perform their temple duties. In other words (actually the Unitarian's words) these people were too burdened down by religion to help someone in need.

I chuckled at this thinking "ya know, with this interpretation the Good Samaritan could have been an atheist.

[Minimalist]

Your theology class should learn a little history.

Samaritans were not considered Jews by Judaeans.

http://www.bible-history.com/Samaritans/...ritans.htm

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

Your theology class should learn a little history.

Samaritans were not considered Jews by Judaeans.

http://www.bible-history.com/Samaritans/...ritans.htm

Indeed but they were (and are)by everyone else. There are still around 3000 Samaritans..


It's silly (what a surprise) that parable is still taught. Seems to me that few Christians have any idea of the depth of animosity between orthodox Jews and Samaritans.

Jesus told the story in answer to the question "Who is my neighbour?" answer:"everyone".

Surely the story would have more impact if updated?

EG set in the deep rural South;black sharecropper helps injured white redneck. Or perhaps set in New York:rich stockbroker helps injured and very smelly homeless person

[Ziploc Surprise]

Your theology class should learn a little history.

Samaritans were not considered Jews by Judaeans.

http://www.bible-history.com/Samaritans/...ritans.htm

Perhaps I should have been more clear. The Samaritian may have been Jewish but he wasn't overly burdened with religion. He didn't have to worry about not being able to perform temple duties because he touched a dead person. He still would have been unclean but it wasn't as big of a problem in his lifestyle. Take this a bit farther and make the Samaritian someone who isn't burdened with religion at all and there's the reason for my chuckle. I like irony.

As for the theology class, yes they could use a little history but I still find it a refreshing change from fundamentalism.

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

The Samaritan may have been Jewish but he wasn't overly burdened with religion.

Incorrect. He may not have been burdened with meaningless ritual, but Samaritans tended to be very devout Jews. Saying Samaritans are not "real" Jews is like saying say Copts are not "real' Christians..

The Samaritans (Hebrew: שומרונים‎ Shomronim, Arabic: السامريون‎ as-Sāmariyyūn) are an ethnoreligious group of the Levant. Religiously the Samaritans are adherents of Samaritanism, an Abrahamic religion closely related to Judaism. Based on the Samaritan Torah, Samaritans claim their worship is the true religion of the ancient Israelites prior to the Babylonian Exile, preserved by those who remained in the Land of Israel, as opposed to Judaism, which they assert is a related but altered and amended religion brought back by those returning from exile.

Religious beliefs

There is one God, YHWH, the same God recognized by the Hebrew prophets.
The Torah was given by God to Moses.
Mount Gerizim, not Jerusalem, is the one true sanctuary chosen by Israel's God.
Many Samaritans believe that at the end of days, the dead will be resurrected by Taheb, a restorer (possibly a prophet, some say Moses).
Paradise (heaven).
The priests are the interpreters of the law and the keepers of tradition; scholars are secondary to the priesthood.
The authority of post-Torah sections of the Tanakh, and classical Jewish rabbinical works (the Talmud, comprising the Mishnah and the Gemara) is rejected.
They have a significantly different version of the Ten Commandments (for example, their 10th commandment is about the sanctity of Mount Gerizim).

The Samaritans retained the Ancient Hebrew script, the high priesthood, animal sacrifices, the eating of lambs at Passover, and the celebration of Aviv in spring as the New Year. Yom Teruah (the biblical name for Rosh Hashanah), at the beginning of Tishrei, is not considered a new year as it is in Judaism. Their main Torah text differs from the Masoretic Text, as well. Some differences are doctrinal: for example, their Torah explicitly states that Mount Gerizim is "the place that God has chosen" for the Temple, as opposed to the Jewish Torah that refers to "the place that God will choose". Other differences are minor and seem more or less accidental.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaritan


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaritan

[Minimalist]

Even the bible tells the story ( horseshit that it is) of how the Assyrians deported the population of "Israel" and replaced it with people from elsewhere in the Assyrian empire. In fact, it appears that the Assyrians mainly deported the upper classes and replaced them with others. "Israel" comprised Galilee and Samaria and these areas remained separate from Judaea during Assyrian, Persian, and Greek rule. It was not until the end of the 2d century BC that John Hyrcanus and Alexander Jannai overran these regions and forcibly converted them to Judaism. One must question the devotion of the Samarians and Galileans to Judaism especially as the Romans overran the area a mere 40 years after it was allegedly "jewified."

Further, the gospel in question ( this particular bullshit story only appears in "Luke") is the one most clearly written for a non-Jewish audience which means that what you have here may well be a way of saying "fuck the Jews" with their phony religion.