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In Reply to: Snake a good analogy? Maybe Nazis posted by Donny on December 02, 2002 at 23:23:08:
Analogies are only representation of certain aspects but a good analogy will also go beyond that aspect to show lesser obvious similarities.
Looking at the Nazi analogy, perhaps it does not clearly show that the snake body could be seen not as the German army in general but only the Gestapo. Hmmm. Likewise, TF has its own Storm Troopers and their foot soldiers. Some in TF are the more cultic followers while others follow because of some idealistic vision they have seen in them. The Storm Troopers who guarded Hitler fought to the end, so there will always be those who will stay in as Gary, blindly following the blind.
My conclusion: the Nazi analogy can help understand TF but we must also mark the distinctions between the blind fanatic and the grass root follower.
Similarly, while the snake analogy may not be as good, it shows something else: That there is a link between the leadership and the grassroots, which cannot be eliminated and that whatever happens to the head will affect the life of the body. That was the point of the analogy.
It seems that the Nazi analogy is more exact and accurate to the detail than the snake analogy but not for the purpose stated. It may be offensive to some, even to you and me to think of people we care about as part of a snake, but I know at least another analogy where they are compared to a whore.
The point you touch in your last paragraph, about the disbanding of TF is, to me, wishful thinking. I say this with all respect to you and others who may read this post. Tares were sown in the Husbandman field, which will be collected in that day along with the good seed... you know the rest.
Meanwhile, the good seed, the body of the snake, the good people in the German army, does go through the same type of treatment as the whole field, the snake, the whole German army. There is no way to spare one from the other because they are too close together and that is why Jesus said to not go to the fields and pick out the tares. He said to leave them alone, that the angels will take care of that.
This was the point that the initial analogy was supposed to explain, that there is a confusion in the thinking of some, that exposing the family hurts the little people, the poor people, the people who work hard and hardly have anything, the people who are barely surviving the hardships of a cultic life.
Yes, it is sad that they are the ones suffering but it is also sad that they are the ones supporting and supplying needed resources to the top above. Do we want to spare unnecessary pain to those poor souls, I am sure we do. Ray is not the only one who feels for them but he is not seeing the whole picture and his incomplete view defends the snake's head.
Also, let us remember that not only the Gestapo committed atrocities. Some of the leadership in the German army also stoop down to that same Gestapo category of war criminal. Moreover, not everyone was accused in Nuremberg who should have been accused, they hid in the multitude.
There is a lot to explore with the use of analogies. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss this in a civilized manner.
