A Pragmatic-Cognitive Analysis Of The Synoptic Parables

Cognitive linguistic theories and pragmatic principles enable us to gain deeper insight into parables in the Synoptic Gospels. The Kingdom Of God is a central theme of both the parable stories and the synoptic gospels. The popular conception of this Kingdom in the first century is greatly different from that held by the parable creator Jesus. The former is influenced by the Jewish tradition which emphasizes justice, righteousness and law, whereas the latter argues for a new order characterized by love, faith and forgiveness.The first technical problem to be solved is how to put parable within the theoretical frameworks mainly constructed for metaphor interpretation. Through a systematic analysis of the interaction metaphor theory, the structure of a metaphor can be extended to include the structure of parable. The synoptic parables are divided into three types according to their formal and thematic features. Those relevant to our present study are the simile parables and complete parables, which share the common theme of the Kingdom of God.Conceptual metaphor theory and conceptual blending theory provide terms and frameworks for a cognitive analysis of the parable. The result of this analysis provides evidence to support the assumption that parable qua metaphor has cognitive values in understanding abstract religious ideas. Moreover, the specific cognitive function of the simile parable lies in the possibility it creates in establishing a conceptual metaphor which can help to expand understanding of a certain cognitive domain; the specific cognitive function of the complete parable lies in its potential function of transforming or correcting people's old belief systems. The contrastive study also shows that the conceptual metaphor theory is not as powerful as the blending theory in analyzing the complete parables.Seen as a communicative event between Jesus and his audience, a parable can be regarded as an illocutionary act demanding people to change their old belief and accept a new one. The parable audience's response to the message is rather difficult to capture due to the theorization of felicity conditions are based on the literal meaning of sentences. The violation of maxims of the cooperative principle points to historical factors specific to the religious traditions of the Jewish people: parable as well as other forms of figurative language is a time-honored way of religious communication. Emphasis on oral tradition is another factor that might lead to the choice of parable as a preferred form to discuss and pass on religious wisdom.