Sheep and Goats

by Abaddon 4 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Abaddon

  The use of sheep and goats as figurative images of good and bad people gave me pause even when I was a Witness.

  I've lived in the countryside, and know that sheep are quite possibly some of the most stupid mammals I've ever observed close hand. It's not unknown for a ewe to stand at the edge of a ditch whilst giving birth, with her arse hanging over the edge, with the inevitable 'SPLASH' after the final heave. Some highland breeds might be smarter, but not a lot. Most breeds are so highly developed for domestication that they don't do too well in the wild now.

  Goats on the other hand are far brighter. They can survive in a far wider variety of environments. They need less looking after.

  I always giggled about this in meetings when they talked about sheeplike qualities...

  Any other particulary stupid examples people can recall?

  People living in glass paradigms shouldn't throw stones...
• 

  Billygoat

  Sheep were not the brightest animals on the Ark. But sheep are known for their willingness to follow. They can recognize their shepherd's voice from far away. Goats on the other hand are very intelligent and are pretty independent and stubborn - they can recognize their sheperds voice, but choose to follow their own paths.

  Personally, I don't see anything wrong with being a goat!

  Andi
• 

  Seeker4

  Abaddon,

  Yes!! Always had trouble with that idea of being a sheep. At one point I came across a Far Side cartoon of a flock of sheep feeding on a hillside, and in their midst is one sheep standing up and crying "But we don't have to be sheep!" I cut it out and saved it.

  But now I think the sheep metaphor perfectly fits most people who remain in a religion. Unthinking, easily led, do what you're told, don't question.

  S4
• 

  more2C

  Your topic title reminded me of this elderly sister. We would pick her up at her apartment before going out in service, and she would always say,

  "Come on, let's go separate the sheep from the goats!"

  more2C
• 

  gravyman

  Abaddon - just HAD to thank you for giving me one of the most truly pant-wetting mental images I've had in LONG time - it'll keep me going for a while, that one....

  Billygoat (I suppose you'd HAVE to have something to say on this thread, eh? ) - ditto to what you said; intelligence and independent-mindedness - wasn't that what 'God-given' free will was supposed to be about? Hmmmmm....

  Anyway, reading everybody's thoughts here, I couldn't help but be reminded of a rather apt little vignette from the pen of that Scottish master surrealist/humourist and all-round literary cult GENIUS, Ivor Cutler (what d'you mean, never heard of him? ), entitled 'A Friendly Smell'. See what y'all think...

  A FRIENDLY SMELL

  Two sheep were sent to ask me to join the club. Diffident, they stood at the fence, their whole body moving as they breathed, a friendly smell, willing me to be a sheep. "It'll do you good," they baaed. Then moved away, to show me how lonely I was.

  But there was a Soay ram, a bully, and I thought, "Oh no! What's the point. I may as well stay as I am."

  Spookily apropos, eh? Especially the fact there was TWO of 'em...

  "Not a soul asked the gravy man for gravy, and his smile was bitter..." - Ivor Cutler, "The Hoorgi House"