Steven B Mackintosh

A Parable of the Redeemer Steven B Mackintosh

Have you ever heard it asked, "Where did Cain get his wife?" Or, "What is 'original sin?'" Or, "Why would eating a piece of fruit be sin?" This book explores these and other perplexities, which, for ages, have provoked students seeking biblical and historical knowledge. This book also examines mankind's shortcomings, especially when wisdom is required. Indeed, there seems little difference between Adam's cover of his transgression with fig leaves, and today's remedies to conceal our offenses proving that nothing is new under the sun. As in the past, all answers continue to fail for lack of wisdom. Ancient thinkers used stories and parables to instruct their disciples in the wisdom of moral values, which in turn, would help them to avoid the pitfalls and consequences of human frailty. A "parable," might be described as, "an illustration, which applies spiritual logic to everyday events." The term, "Parable," in this book's title, suggests, in fact demands, personal application in order to add practical relevance to one's life. Hearing the word of God guides us to faith. Unfortunately, many who have faith still lack wisdom. This book's objective is, that the illustrations of these biblical events applied as parables, will enlighten readers to their spiritual applications and thus to sounder thinking for the making of better everyday decisions. The artist/author began rendering his ideas with quick sketches directly onto canvas with oil paint until a series of twenty-four paintings had evolved making up the illustrations of this book. Biblical texts from the book of Genesis inspired most of these paintings, but the artist/author also cites references from extra-biblical sources such as the Apocrypha, including the books of Enoch, Jasher and Jubilees, as well as different ancient historians and early church fathers of Christianity. After showing several friends and family his quickly rendered sketches, many of the viewers suggested that he write out the stories as explanations for each painting. So, he added text as the story line. This then, became the book: A Parable of the Redeemer.