Book reviewed: Stories Jesus Told: How to Read a Parable Paperback, by Greg Carey

The principals of Dharma found in the Parables of Jesus

Would you believe that Jesus preached something besides love, forgiveness and peace? In fact, one-third of Jesus' words in the Synoptic Gospels are parables, which are enigmatic and oracular but still constitutes the only form of his teachings. In this book, the author says that by devoting a significant time to study parables, one can learn how to interpret them. Historically, millesimal number of Biblical scholars have read and re-read parables, and the literature filled with both scholarly and faith based commentaries that change the perspectives of millions who believe that Jesus is the son of God who died for the sins of his believers.

Parables have more value from a literary and cultural point of view than pulpit interpretations. They illustrate parallels with rabbinic teachings. The first-century Judaism was not merely the backdrop for Jesus' teachings but that was the center stage from which Jesus delivered his message. His ethics and theology are from Old Testament, Jewish laws, and the Greco-Roman history. The metaphoric and polyvalence of the parables offer challenges in reconstructing the historical Jesus. The three apostles used the parables within the literary and theological frameworks of their gospels. However, it is also confounding that the book of John does not have any parables, and the Gospel of Thomas, excluded from Bible, is very different in tone and structure from other New Testament apocrypha and the four Canonical Gospels. It is not a narrative account of life of Jesus; instead, it consists of sayings attributed to him, sometimes stand-alone, sometimes embedded in short dialogues. The text contains a possible allusion to the death of Jesus but does not mention his crucifixion, his resurrection, or the final judgment; nor does it mention a messianic understanding of Jesus. There is no mention of Jesus having performed miracles. Instead, Jesus provides insight about our true self and offers a way of salvation. For Thomas, resurrection is a cognitive event of spiritual attainment, one even involving a certain discipline or asceticism. This is contrasting to John's bodily resurrection, which is an indispensable part of Christian faith. According to Thomas, Jesus’ teachings align with that of Buddha, and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, both of which remain outside the canonical boundaries.

Most of Jesus' ethics are grounded in Buddhism. Buddha attained enlightenment while meditating under the Bodhi tree, then he remined silent and fasted before he started preaching with five of his former companions, the ascetics with whom he shared six years of hardship. Buddha gave the first presentation of the Four Noble Truths, which are his foundational teaching that lead one's liberation from suffering in life. The wheel of dharma leads to enlightenment. Similarly, the Sermon on the Mount is a collection of teachings of Jesus that emphasizes morality found in the Gospel of Matthew (Chapters 5, 6, and 7). This is after he was baptized by John the Baptist, Jesus goes fasting and performs meditation in the desert, and then begins to preach in Galilee at the Mount of Beatitudes with widely recited Lord's Prayer.

Jesus Seminar, a group of Biblical scholars and academics re-created gospels and evaluated the historical Jesus. Among other things, they asserted that the Gospel of Thomas is more authentic than the Gospel of John. The authors of synoptic gospels used oral and written traditions of first century to re-create their work, and sightings of risen Jesus is visionary experience rather than physical encounters.

The author of this book uses an academic approach to re-define and review the parables rather than a faith-based approach. Hence, this book is interesting and intellectually stimulating than a book written by those who preach from the pulpit.