A Tale Of Two Apples
My best friend, constant companion, and partner in all things, my wife Reverend Ann, having been born and raised in these old Ozark mountains, that I so often write about, has a unique way of putting a subject in its proper perspective in the manner inherent to those who might be considered backwoods philosophers. She relates the story of how, her Mother, her older brother, as well as herself, all had the opportunity to learn an important lesson under the tutelage of an educator learned not only in the traditions of the outside world, but also in the manner of the rural philosopher. This man, long since retired from the profession of teaching, began his career in those days when one-room schoolhouses were the rule and not the exception. My Mother-in-law was one of his students in those days of one-room schoolhouses, and her children Wayne and Ann both studied under his supervision, after consolidation had created the public educational system we have now in the state of Missouri.
You see each year; this man would pose the same question to each subsequent class and continue to question them until one student would finally deliver the response he was looking for. As Ann tells this story, the teacher would hold up two Apples, a red hard apple and a yellow golden delicious. He would then ask the class, which was better variety of the two, the red, or the yellow.
Each year the students would offer their opinions of how the red hard apple was the better one as it emblematic of the principal ingredient of that esteemed bit of Americana, Mom’s homemade apple pie, the “hard” juicy consistency being more suited for cooking and canning. While others would proclaim the mealy soft texture, of the yellow apple, being the better for eating, as is, the ambiance of flavor that excites the taste buds, sweet and not too tangy.
But the answer the teacher was looking for in his student’s reply was that it was simply a matter of personal tastes not a black and white concept of who was right and who was wrong but rather it was simply the opinion of each individual. An apple is an apple and it does not matter if it is red or yellow, hard and tangy, or soft and sweet, both are wonderful products of God’s creation.
Far too often we find ourselves in a position of having to take sides in arguments that are really based upon man’s opinion. Some would create legalisms out of their own narrow beliefs.
For example, what if in the case of the two apples, the silent majority would tend to ignore the question as to which was better the red or the yellow, while a vocal minority sought to make into law and tradition that only one apple was to be produced and offered to the consumer?
What if the silent majority, felt that the debate was so mute, so ridiculous, a subject that was not even worth taking up one’s valuable time to discuss, that they the majority, ignored the debate entirely, while the leaders of the vocal minority took biblical scripture totally out of context presenting this to their followers as grounds to support their cause and those followers became so incensed with the perceived righteousness of the false doctrine their leaders presented to them, that they became proactive and lobbied lawmakers to enact legislation banning the production of the apple that they felt was inferior and an abomination in the eyes of God?
Lets say in the hypothetical situation that some in the silent majority really didn’t have an opinion regarding the supposed righteousness of the one apple over the other, but backed the vocal minority anyway simply because they never took the time to research the scriptures to discover that the basis of the argument was founded upon passages that were taken out of context, and they felt compelled to remain silent just in order to get along with their vocal neighbors. And lets say that the vocal minority labeled anyone not in lock step with their position as sinners and blasphemers, with that thought in mind I ask, who wants to be ostracized by their brothers and sisters, cast out due to a label?
Well dear friends, this hypothetical scenario plays out each and every day in our country, in our states, and even in our own back yards.
No, no one is trying to enact legislation to declare a particular variety of apple to be the official state apple, the only apple to be legally consumed in this great land, but there are a myriad of other subjects, questions of both religious as well secular nature, that a vocal minority is successfully writing into law denying the majority, their rights and freedoms of speech, religion, as well as the pursuit of happiness.
Lets take a look at the Christian Faith, the body of Christ. Now that in itself is an interesting way to look at this discussion, “the body of Christ,” I ask you just what are we doing to his body? Each day we see ministers and lay people alike preaching gospels of hate, saying that God, is a God of wrath and destruction. Lets back off a minute and do as Jesus would have had us to do;
In Genesis chapter 6 verses 12 and 13 we find;
And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
When God looks down upon the earth today, he sees corruption, ministers preaching materialistic gospel, others preaching God hates everyone but the members of that particular congregation, he sees political leaders justifying their ambitions of empire and riches by declaring needless wars in his name, he sees Christians building grand and glorious temples tantamount to exclusive country clubs instead of feeding the hungry and providing medicine for the underprivileged children. He sees politicians being bought by corrupt corporations enacting legislation that diverts monies from education and anti poverty entitlements and giving that money to the richest corporations in the world in the name of economic stimulus. He sees Christians building satellite systems to beam the gospel into countries where proselytizing is banned by the civil authorities. Those signals of his word beamed into some of the poorest regions of the world, and his word the word of God, drowned out by messages designed to get the viewer to tithe to multi-million dollar ministries, those viewers that can least afford it,. People being called upon to donate to support ministers that make more in one money in one day that some of these people will make in a lifetime. So what does God “SEE” now a days when he looks down upon the Earth?
And the LORD smelled a sweet savor; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
Genesis chapter 8 verse 21
“I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake” Think about that, he is saying that he will never destroy the earth due to our follies. Now lets look at the words of Christ in the book of Luke chapter 9 verse 56;
For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. ……..
And again in THE book of John chapter 3 verse 16 we are told that GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTON SON !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I ASK YOU DOES THAT SOUND LIKE A GOD OF WRATH!!!!!!!!
Does that sound like a God that would destroy tall buildings killing thousands in the process. NO it doesn’t sound like that to me, and I think that it is time that mankind take responsibility for their actions and stop blaming everything on God.
I SUGGEST TO YOU THAT IT IS HIGH TIME THAT MANKIND TURNS BACK TO THE ORIGINAL TEACHINGS OF CHRIST, AND STOP RATIONALIZING OUR GREED AND LUST FOR OUR NEIGHBORS LAND AND PROPERTY ON SOME SORT OF GOD GIVEN RIGHT! WE MUST NO LONGER BE SILENT AND ALLOW THEIR FALSE ARGUMENTS BECOME A FAÇADE OF JUSTIFICATION FOR THEM TO DO THINGS JESUS WOULD NOT HAVE EVEN DREAMED OF.
IT IS TIME TO ADMIT THAT FOLLOWING THE LAWS AND TRADITIONS OF THE CHURCH ARE LIKE THE TWO APPLES, NEITHER OF THE TWO APPLES ARE BETTER THAN THE OTHER, IT JUST A MATTER OF OPINION.
IN THE SAME RESPECT CHURCH DOCRINE NOT TAUGHT BY CHRIST IS ALSO A MATTER OF OPINION. YOU MAY INTERPRET THE GOSPELS DIFFERENT THAN I, BUT YOUR OPINION IS NO BETTER THAN MINE, NEITHER OF US WILL KNOW 100% FOR SURE WHO WAS RIGHT AND WHO WAS WRONG UNTIL JUDGEMENT DAY.
It time those of us of the silent majority, must stand up and take back our Religion from the “Bibleists” who can’t get past rules written by and for every King and ruler that underwrote the original compilation and subsequent translations. Then there are those that practice “Churcholtry” the practice of placing the church above the teachings of Christ, in essence making the Church a false idol.
We as followers of the risen Christ, the messiah, the son of God we must cry out and take back the body of Christ from those who are making a mockery of his teachings!
We must speak out and say that the body of Christ is not a façade to hide behind while committing atrocities that are tantamount to crimes against humanity. The body of Christ is not to be used to justify greed, and corruption, wars and poverty, all things that the far right is in effect doing by supporting men and women in high office drunken on lust for material possessions and monetary gain.
As in the example of the hypothetical scenario in which we discussed how a silent majority might try to enact legislation making their apple the official fruit of the land, there are those fundamentalist Christians that will tell you that their views of the Bible are just and you are a sinner for not seeing things their way. There are those that will tell you that if you don’t belong to their particular denomination, you are going to hell. And they want nothing more than for their Apple to be made the law. There are those that ignore Christ and practice Churcholatry telling that only a strict adherence to one “Apple” their particular denomination”s agenda, a singular opinion that can save your immortal soul. But remember that is just their opinion, their particular Apple.
So Brothers and Sisters, the next time some fundamentalist gets in your face and tells he is right and you are wrong, just remember the two apples and tell him you will pray for him.