There is debate over whether...
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There is debate over whether Jesus used parables to conceal or to reveal the truth. Whichever is the case, our Lord knew that parables provide entree when direct discourse sometimes cannot. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, nineteenth century British poet and philosopher, once used the same device to good effect. He was locked in debate with a protagonist who insisted that children should not be given any formal religious instruction of any kind. Argued the gentleman, this would enable youngsters to make their own choices when they reached the age of discretion. Sometime later Coleridge invited this same individual to his home to walk with him in his badly neglected garden. The visitor was appalled with its appearance. He exclaimed, "Do you call this a garden? There is nothing but weeds here!" Said Coleridge, "I did not wish to infringe upon the liberty of the garden in any way. I was merely giving it the opportunity to express itself and to choose its own production." -- Sherer
