Bible Study Sea Stories on the Prodigal

[Rockytopva]

The difference between a fairy tale and a sea story: a fairy tale begins with "once upon a time" and ends with "...and they lived happily ever after." The sea story begins with "this is no dirt" and ends with "...and it's been screwed up ever since." On the story of the Prodigal son we have much rooms for sea stories...

1. The prodigal son is not in the bible but is sea story terminology
2. The description of riotous living is sea story
3. The time with harlots is sea story

And even with the elder son we have one attempting to generate sea stories on his younger brother.

31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. - Luke 15

To make a point here is that sea stories are very destructive, generated mainly by elder Christians like the one in this story.

1. You can spend your lifetime doing good, mess up one time and they will forever remember it.
2. They will take the smallest events and generate large talk over it.
3. They do not wish the younger well
4. They can be very critical
5. Very ready to generate sea stories - Which can destroy a church
6. Hard workers normally looking out for their own interests
7. Very easily offended and very hard to forget about the offense

But... The Father did not wish to generate sea stories over either son, the ends were to live happily ever after.

 

[Rockytopva]

I am reading into Smith Wigglesworth. One day he had a visitor who wanted badly to see him. As the visitor approached his house Smith Wigglesworth opens the door and asks him what is under his arm. A newspaper he explains. Now Smith Wigglesworth claimed he had no books in his house save his bible. He then proceeds to tell the visitor he will not allow that paper in his house. The visitor then tosses the newspaper and enters the house for quality conversation. I must agree with this discernment, especially in our day and time, that much of the news seems to be the encouragement of sea stories with no good ending in mind.

 

[Rockytopva]

And to add one more...

1. The prodigal son is not in the bible but is sea story terminology
2. The description of riotous living is sea story
3. The time with harlots is sea story
4. Losing everything he has is sea story

(Charity) Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; - 1 Corinthians 13:6

 

[Tenchi]

And to add one more...

1. The prodigal son is not in the bible but is sea story terminology
2. The description of riotous living is sea story
3. The time with harlots is sea story
4. Losing everything he has is sea story

(Charity) Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; - 1 Corinthians 13:6

??? It'll take more than your mere say-so to convince anyone that the story of the Prodigal Son is as you assert. I find the story in the Gospel of Luke 15:11-32. How, then, is it "not in the Bible"? You may object to the details of the story out of some hyper-prudish impulse, but if Jesus did not blush at preaching the story, I'm not going to blush at reading it. In any case, the story is not actually about the son, but about the Father. He's the one who would have stood out to the Jewish audience to whom Jesus told the story. The Father's patience, grace and love would have astonished Jewish listeners; it is upon him they would have focused their attention, not upon the son. Maybe you should do the same and cease "straining at a gnat."

 

[for_his_glory]

The prodigal son is not in the bible but is sea story terminology

Not sure I am following you as the parable of the prodigal son is in Luke 15:11-32.
Jesus taught many parables/allegories that illustrates a moral or spiritual lesson

 

[Rockytopva]

Not sure I am following you as the parable of the prodigal son is in Luke 15:11-32.
Jesus taught many parables/allegories that illustrates a moral or spiritual lesson

One big favor... Look up the word "prodigal" and tell me where it is in the bible.

 

[for_his_glory]

One big favor... Look up the word "prodigal" and tell me where it is in the bible.

It's no different then the word Trinity that is not found in the Bible, but yet the definition is found in there.

 

[Rockytopva]

It's no different then the word Trinity that is not found in the Bible, but yet the definition is found in there.

The problem with the word Prodigal is that it was probably invented by an elderly son type person and the story ends up stereotyping the younger son.

Trying here to highlight the Father's mercies in that he was willing to accept back his son in apparent better conditions than before. The word prodigal, in my opinion, robs from the Father's character to accept people back in the fold as if they had never sinned.

My church used to run 300 for Sunday School. Now I drive be from visiting another church and I can only see two cars there in service. I can imagine what happened. The elderly son type people's sea talk finally came back to them and nobody is interested anymore in attending.

 

[for_his_glory]

The problem with the word Prodigal is that it was probably invented by an elderly son type person and the story ends up stereotyping the younger son.

Trying here to highlight the Father's mercies in that he was willing to accept back his son in apparent better conditions than before. The word prodigal, in my opinion, robs from the Father's character to accept people back in the fold as if they had never sinned.

My church used to run 300 for Sunday School. Now I drive be from visiting another church and I can only see two cars there in service. I can imagine what happened. The elderly son type people's sea talk finally came back to them and nobody is interested anymore in attending.

Even the word Trinity is a man made word that some man came up with the name. The younger son is a stereotype of how one can be jealous over another in how they are treated.

Did God not forgive you your sins when you repented of them knowing you needed a Savior and welcomed you with opened arms no matter what your past sins were?

As far as a church losing it's members there is always a reason we may never know.

 

[Tenchi]

One big favor... Look up the word "prodigal" and tell me where it is in the bible.

What's your point here, exactly? Many terms common to Christian belief and practice are not found in God's word: Communion, Trinity, soteriology, eschatology, identification, appropriation, etc.

The problem with the word Prodigal is that it was probably invented by an elderly son type person and the story ends up stereotyping the younger son.

This is simply straight-up speculation. Why "probably"? On what concrete grounds do you rest your assertion here?

Trying here to highlight the Father's mercies in that he was willing to accept back his son in apparent better conditions than before. The word prodigal, in my opinion, robs from the Father's character to accept people back in the fold as if they had never sinned.

Well, we've all got opinions. Why should we care what yours are - especially when they appear to be sheer speculation.

God's word makes it very clear that no one is accepted by God except through trusting in Christ as Savior and Lord. How one has behaved before trusting Christ has nothing whatever to do with whether or not one is accepted by God. He will only ever accept us because we have, by faith, trusted in His only Son and his saving work on the cross of Calvary for us.

See: Ephesians 2:1-10, Titus 3:3-8, 2 Timothy 1:9.

My church used to run 300 for Sunday School. Now I drive be from visiting another church and I can only see two cars there in service. I can imagine what happened. The elderly son type people's sea talk finally came back to them and nobody is interested anymore in attending.

Well, you're just speculating again, guessing at what has happened. Why do you feel you are justified in doing so? How would you feel if someone did this about you personally, making up stories about your motives and conduct without any concrete grounds for their stories? I doubt you'd like it and you'd be right in decrying such stories as gossip and slander. But if it's not okay for someone to do this to you, why is it okay for you to do so with God's word, or your former church?

 

[Rockytopva]

Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old. - Matthew 13:52

Sometimes a new perspective on an old story can bring forth treasures.

 

[Rockytopva]

I was trying to put the Heavenly Father in perspective as merciful.

 

[Rockytopva]

And also trying to put emphasis on how destructive church gossip can be.