Alastair on the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Alastair has some great thoughts on Jesus' parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, particularly on the inadequacy of using this parable as a polemic against simple legalism. He also raises some excellent questions about the bigger picture of the Scriptures:

The problem has to do with the role that we see the narrative to be playing. Is the narrative the important thing, or is the narrative merely designed to illustrate timeless and abstract truths that exists independent of it? Is the Bible concerned with the narrative of God’s salvation and maturation of humanity and the cosmos, or is its chief concern conveying a timeless form of religion and way by which individuals can get saved? Is the story of Israel merely given as a set of examples and a repository of helpful metaphors for some reality outside of it, or is the story of Israel God’s great historical plan of salvation already in action? Do we find ourselves within the story told by Scripture, or is the story of Scripture to be reduced to serving us with nice parallels and illustrations that help us to live our lives, which are quite detached from it?

Read the whole thing here.