The cave analogy at the beginning of book VII was a nice change of pace for me to read in this book. While reading this I couldn't help but think about what my pastor preached yesterday about Christians being persecuted by the world. Like the prisoner that was freed, we as Christians are freed from our prison of sin into the truth of Jesus. As Christians we know the truth, and we should want to tell those who don't know the truth. Like the prisoner, many times we are persecuted by the lost because we know the truth. This is what persecution is. Remember, persecution should be an encouragement to use. It means we are doing what we are supposed to do as Christians. Jesus told us that we would be persecuted. Like that prisoner that went back to the cave, we might be laughed at, or mocked, or even killed. That's all right though; because in the end, we as Christians win.
I commented on Caroline Tucker's and Lily Caswell's post
I do agree, but I want to point out two connections I noticed. One, I know this can seem dark but the "because in the end, we as Christians win." was one of the things Hitler used consistently to rally the Nazi party ( I am not calling you or anyone a Nazi of course, simply showing the hidden danger in something). Secondly, your connection is accurate and Socrates even uses the word "crucify" in the text. This was even before Jesus was crucified, which is mind boggling! So also as Socrates says, if you are a perfectly just man, you must strive to seem unjust. You should use your knowledge to help people come to the light, but not share it around or you're just going to get persecuted. Which isn't the most effective way of saving people.
ReplyDeleteHi Braylan! I definitely agree with your post. I think it is important to remember that we are called to return to the cave (metaphorically speaking) and help those who are lost. After all, we were once just like the other prisoners. I think another thing to remember is that when we are persecuted, it is by those who can't see clearly; those who are still living in darkness. We should lovingly pull them toward the light.
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ReplyDeleteThat is fantastic. There is so much depth that can be dived into there because those in darkness aren't aware of what utter darkness they dwell in because it is all they have known. In a similar way those of us within the grasp of sin nature don't know anything better until we meet the blood of Jesus Christ. I know from my personal experience sometimes we can inundate ourselves with worldly influence so much so that we start to forget the light we were shown. Even Christians can still fall back to sin but we definitely have to be more aware.