Ok, so why the allegory??

I did a paper/presentation on Art and Allegory as part of my FC proficiency work back in April. Among other things I wanted to ask: Why? Why not just come out and say what you mean instead of veiling it in allegory? I never expect to get a definitive answer to these questions when I start reading up on them, but in this case I did! Or at least I got an answer that satisfied me.

It all starts with protecting thought that could get you in trouble. Makes sense....you could be burned at the stake up until the 1400s for suggesting the earth revolves around the sun, so we have allegories like the 12 Labors of Hercules which is an allegory for the earth transitioning through the 12 signs of the zodiac. It tells a story and conveys a truth we all understand today...and it was written in 600B.C.

The next thing is language. Language changes every few generations if not sooner. One just has to read Shakespeare to see this is true, or ask a senior citizen to decipher texting language today to see that it is changing even faster!! LOL

So my final question was: Is there room for allegory in our modern society today, outside of the craft? The answer I got back was: Yeah, probably. Case in point, there is a specific field of obscure science called nuclear semiotics. This field is concerned with protecting nuclear waste sites from being inadvertently compromised by future generations. Just like words like cool, dope, sweet etc. have slang meanings perhaps in 100 years Danger! could mean something else. I can't help by think of the movie Idiocracy. One potential solution to this problem is the creation of a "Nuclear Priesthood" where allegories, ritual etc. may be created to convey this truth to those in the know for generations to come regardless of how our language and society change. Interesting huh? I also find it interesting that one concern here is that this knowledge could be used/abused by those in power.

Anyway, it scratched an itch for me.

I: Why Allegory?
R: It is the Primary Method used throughout history to convey Theological and Philosophical Principles and Concepts.

I: Why Train to Understand it?
R: It is the primary challenge and obstacle presented to and faced by anyone making effort to decode what has been encoded in languages long forgotten and things conveyed today that are masked, veiled, concealed and hidden.

I: What are its side Benefits?
R: It is an extremely effective method of cleverly masking, secretly veiling, carefully concealing and blatantly hiding valuable information in plain sight.

I: What is its annoying side effect?
R: Nuts usually make more of it than it is ever meant to convey and use it as an excuse 1) to create huge organizations of people who expend inordinate amounts of time, energy and other resources chasing mythical creatures for sacrifice, 2) to build expensive imaginary cages that are believed to hold them temporarily once caught, and 3) to create accurate historically veiled accounts of their imaginary exploits for posterity.

I: What makes Allegory fun?
R: Did you not read the last Response?

-- Coach John S Nagy ;-)

JamestheJust said:

So what is it about this system of morality that needs to be veiled?

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That's a secret...

JamestheJust said:

Why not just tell the brethren so that we can practice i?

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What!?!?! And do so without Ritual?!?!?! Sacrilege!!!! hrmph... ;-)

coachn said:

I: Why Allegory?
R: It is the Primary Method used throughout history to convey Theological and Philosophical Principles and Concepts.

I: Why Train to Understand it?
R: It is the primary challenge and obstacle presented to and faced by anyone making effort to decode what has been encoded in languages long forgotten and things conveyed today that are masked, veiled, concealed and hidden.

I: What are its side Benefits?
R: It is an extremely effective method of cleverly masking, secretly veiling, carefully concealing and blatantly hiding valuable information in plain sight.

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I agree. What better way of hiding something than in plain sight? Furthermore, with multiple layers of allegory, you create a kind of honeypot that will satisfy a large number of those searching for what is hidden. I read somewhere that the Egyptians would often have small treasure chambers in their tombs in the hopes that grave robbers would find it, steal everything, and leave assuming they got everything there was meanwhile hiding the real treasure deeper.
As for training to understand it, it also creates its own system of protection against those not worthy to find it by making it difficult. Just as nature has natural selection where the fastest and strongest hunters get the prey, allegory ensures that only those willing to do the work to find the meaning will unlock it. Or at least that's the hope.

coachn said:

I: What is its annoying side effect?
R: Nuts usually make more of it than it is ever meant to convey and use it as an excuse 1) to create huge organizations of people who expend inordinate amounts of time, energy and other resources chasing mythical creatures for sacrifice, 2) to build expensive imaginary cages that are believed to hold them temporarily once caught, and 3) to create accurate historically veiled accounts of their imaginary exploits for posterity.

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Absolutely true!!! I go on the internet and read these conspiracy theories frequently for entertainment. They are side splitting funny!!!!