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Note: Part One of this article is found here
The Elder's meandering thoughts were called back to the present by the sudden reappearance of the Younger amid the bustling evening crowd on the patio. Seating himself once again across the table from his old friend, the Younger immediately broke into a smile as he discovered the welcome presence of curry fries and another round of ale already on the table.
"Was I gone that long?" he asked sheepishly, "or if the Barkeep just that quick?"
"Both," replied the Elder with a wink, beginning to enthusiastically delve into his helping of curry fries, "but I think I should get some credit for 'redeeming the time' while you were otherwise occupied."
"I'll ask the Barkeep to put a plaque with your name on it on this very table," countered the Younger, likewise beginning to make short work of his plate, before the spring evening air could cool the steaming food in front of him. "But, usually curry fries and another round means you're anticipating a longer discussion, am I right?"
 | The Elder paused as he sipped from his pint to counteract the heat of his food. "Well, longer or not, if you plan to explain your colours formerly known as parable the way I suspect you're going to, then the least I could do was provide a good culinary backdrop."
"Well," began the Younger, wiping his face with a napkin, "on one hand, I could say 'where do I begin', but on the other, it's probably pretty obvious, which in turn probably means that the parable isn't that effective. Assuming, that is, that a parable is supposed to make people think and have to dig a bit for understanding." |
The Elder pushed his now-empty plate to the side as he leaned forward on the table. "That's quite an uncharacteristic list of disclaimers, my friend. But still, just so it's been said, (and because I'm curious where you're going to go with this), just go ahead and tell me what the parable means."
The Younger slowly exhaled as his eyes wandered around the cafe, seeing but not seeing the other patrons. "Okay," he said at last, drawing out that brief word, "let's just throw caution to the wind." Leaning forward and speaking in quieter, almost conspiratorial tones, as if he was afraid of being overheard, he continued.
"You've probably already guessed that I'm talking about theology again. And bluntly and indelicately put, the blue circle was referring to Liberal theology and the yellow circle stands for Evangelical theology. I guess my frustration is that if we're supposed to be getting "past" these kind of labels, and seeing, appreciating, and learning from the Other, you'd think that there would be -- if not completely equal -- at least some evidence that both theologies have contributed to creating something new."
 | "But frankly, I don't see it. What I see is the beliefs "formerly known as" Liberal simply eclipsing and displacing beliefs "formerly known as" Evangelical. It's not getting "past" anything, it's not "new", and it's not about avoiding "labels". It's just one erasing the other while pretending not to do so."
Picking up steam, the Younger became more animated, although to his credit -- remembering, no doubt, the last time he and the Elder had gotten too loud for the Barkeep's liking -- he managed to keep his voice down.
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"I mean, it's simply not honest to say we're "getting past labels" like Liberal, Evangelical or whatever, and that we're all equal voices in a "conversation", when there is clearly an agenda of belief structures that sure looks like what we used to call theological liberalism." And he tossed his crumpled napkin back onto the table in frustration as he settled back into his seat, studying the wooden tabletop.
The Elder remained quiet for what seemed an eternity. "Well," he finally said with a rueful smile, "one thing is certain: When word of your parable gets out, you are definitely going to find yourself given a label!"
The Younger suddenly broke into a grin, relaxing somewhat. "Yeah, I'll probably need to go into some kind of whistle-blower protection, with a new name, identity, and maybe even some work done on my fingerprints." |  |
The Elder joined him with a laugh, "Well, I certainly hope the reaction is not that extreme!" He paused for a moment, thoughtfully gazing at the luminescence of a nearby streetlamp, before continuing more seriously. "But you'll probably get to hear some of the most recent versions of what I call 'shut-up slogans', at least from some people."
The Younger leaned forward again, sliding the recently-unburdened plate of curry fries to the edge of the table. "Now, that sure sounds like a statement with a story behind it."
"Oh, we had our fair share of bumper-sticker slogans in the charismatic movement back in the day," agreed the Elder, warming to the idea of tales of the old days. "Every time people showed indications of independent thought, or particularly if they dared to question the status quo, there was a seemingly never-ending supply of slogans that were trotted out to silence them. You've probably heard some of them."
"Slogans like, 'God offends the mind to reveal the heart', or 'you have a religious spirit', or a 'spirit of controversy', and one of my favorites -- in the negative sense, I mean -- 'Judge not'."
The Elder studied his nearly-empty pint intently as he continued. "And usually, people would throw in something about the unity of the Body, as if unity requires mindless, goose-stepping conformity." He sighed heavily, remembering. "Those slogans were remarkably effective in silencing people." And he finished off his pint in one final swallow.
 | The Younger leaned in even closer, a look of incredulity on his face. "You mean that people actually fell for those lines?" he asked. "I mean, if they were already questioning the status quo, why would a shallow, bumper-sticker slogan shut them up?" |
The Elder replaced his glass on the table, looking up in surprise. "Oh, you're completely right. I didn't mean to imply that these slogans worked on the people with the questions. No, no, no. They worked primarily with those who were desperately clinging to the status quo. The 'shut up' effect was because it gave the status quo defenders a handy way of dismissing the questioners. Sort of a religious 'tar and feather' approach."
The Elder grew simultaneously more animated and yet more tightly controlled. "And nobody seemed to notice that the status quo defenders never answered the questions. They just invented a pithy way of dismissing the questioners." The Elder puntuated his comments with jabs of his forefinger into the table. "Highly manipulative, in some places outright mocking. Desperately trying to keep control over the masses. But the most damning thing of all -- it worked like a charm."
The Younger nodded, then shook his head ruefully. "And -- getting back to your comment about me being 'labelled' for noticing that there's nothing new under the sun -- whatever the 'defenders of the new' want to protect, they'll probably just trot out a newer form of equally dismissive slogans to deal with people like me."
The Elder looked at him thoughtfully for a long moment. "Yes, and once again, it will work like a charm. But," and he hoisted his empty glass in a final salute, "you may just find yourself in a whole new conversation, after all!"
©2003-2010 Rob McAlpine
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