Stories for the Waiting Room
"Stories for the Waiting Room" examines the existential value of Jesus' parables for living in today's complex society. The podcast's host, Dr. Mark A. Proctor, holds a Ph.D. in Religion from Baylor University with an emphasis in New Testament Studies. Dr. Proctor has published a handful of scholarly articles on the parables, and their content has provided meaningful subject matter for his graduate and undergraduate courses. "Stories for the Waiting Room" examines the parables in light of their first-century cultural milieu with an eye toward applying their timeless content and challenges to our own contemporary context.
Stories for the Waiting Room
Tackling the Question of Genre: What Are Jesus' Parables
•
Dr. Mark A. Proctor
•
Season 1
•
Episode 2
In the second episode of "Stories for the Waiting Room," Dr. Proctor uses the text of Ecclesiastes 9:14-15 to illustrate some of the basic narrative qualities of Jesus' parables. In addition to being terse accounts of status quo people in stereotypical life situations, the parables frequently insert unexpected "twists" that encourage readers to engage in the interpretive process. Paying attention to the contexts of the parables can frequently assist readers in their efforts to unravel Jesus' meaning. Episode two closes with C. H. Dodd's famous definition of "parable" in his book, The Parables of the Kingdom.