the more abstract he or she usually becomes, and the more difficult it is for the average person to understand what is being said. Paul works with ideas and metaphors. In the West we have tended to emphasis his concepts and sideline his metaphors. By so doing we have made him fit into our world of conceptual theologians. In contrast, the popular perception of Jesus is that of a village rustic creating folktales for fishermen and farmers. But when examined with care, his parables are serious theology,