St. Ephrem on how God speaks through metaphors

St. Ephrem often speaks of God as "clothing himself in names (or metaphors)" in the Old Testament, as a prelude to his 'clothing himself in the human body' at the Incarnation. But we should not abuse God's condescension in making himself known to humanity in this way by taking these metaphors literally:

Let us give thanks to God who clothed himself in the names of the body's various parts:

Scripture refers to his 'ears', to teach us that he listens to us;

it speaks of his 'eyes', to show that he sees us.

It was just the names of such things that he put on.

Although in his true Being there is no wrath or regret,

yet he put on these names too, because of our weakness.

We should realize that, if he had not put on the names of such things.

it would not have been possible for him to speak with us humans:

he drew close to us by means of what belongs, to us; he clothed himself in our language,

so that , he might-clothe us ...in his mode of life.

He asked for our form (Philippians 2:7) and put this on;

then, as a father with his children, he spoke with our childish state.

It is our metaphors that he put on— though he did not literally do so!

He then took them off— without actually doing so:

when wearing them, he was at the same time stripped of them;

he puts one on when it is beneficial,

then strips it off to exchange it for another!

The fact that he strips off and puts on all sorts of metaphors

tells us that the metaphor does not apply to his true Being;

because that Being is hidden, he has depicted it by means of what is visible

(Hymns on Faith 31:1-3) St. Ephrem, d. 373

The Bible in the Syriac Tradition by Sebastian P. Brock, p. 56-57
https://archive.org/details/TheBibleInTheSyriacTradition/page/n1/mode/1up?view=theater

Don't mix your metaphors

 

Another Catholic under attack by Obama administration—Paul Ryan

Henninger in today’s WSJ mixes some metaphors, with fortress, ICBMs, carpet-bombing, drinking the Kool-aid,  and encyclicals, but he’s on target—one dare not attack the Democrats at the heart and soul of their beliefs—big government even if it collapses under its own weight  is good for you personally and for the nation. Paul Ryan outrages them into launching the big religious guns:

“What Mr. Ryan actually said is worth quoting, because it should revive the debate over the proper relationship between individual citizens, including the poor, and the national government:

"A person's faith is central to how they conduct themselves in public and in private. So to me, using my Catholic faith, we call it the social magisterium, which is how do you apply the doctrine of your teaching into your everyday life as a lay person?

"To me, the principle of subsidiarity . . . meaning government closest to the people governs best . . . where we, through our civic organizations, through our churches, through our charities, through all of our different groups where we interact with people as a community, that's how we advance the common good. By not having big government crowd out civic society, but by having enough space in our communities so that we can interact with each other, and take care of people who are down and out in our communities.

"Those principles are very, very important, and the preferential option for the poor, which is one of the primary tenants of Catholic social teaching, means don't keep people poor, don't make people dependent on government so that they stay stuck at their station in life. Help people get out of poverty out onto a life of independence." “

Ah, he gutted them and they know it.   “. . . one of the primary tenants of Catholic social teaching, means don't keep people poor, don't make people dependent .”

The Obama administration will have to fight to the death over this one truth. So they have to bring down what formerly was the largest social agency in the country (before the War on Poverty), and is still the largest globally, the Roman Catholic Church.

What is a mixed metaphor?

A combination of two or more metaphors that together produce a ridiculous effect wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

In today's Wall Street Journal we had this gem:

"Housing is on life support. . .until market forces replace the prostheses of government."

Most people on life support don't need a prosthesis, let alone more than one. And usually the government pulls the plug with its plan, as it will seniors relying on Medicare.