In the parable, the prodigal son demands his inheritance while his father is still alive. He spends the whole thing, and then a famine also strikes in the land he’s traveled to, though that last part really isn’t his fault. Now poor, he has to work as a swineherd (a questionable choice of land use, keeping pigs during a famine), and he even envies the pigs for their feed, he’s so poor.
You don’t necessarily have to know the true definition of “prodigal” to understand the parable, but it’s still useful to keep handy. “Screw you, you prodigal degenerate!” you should yell at the nearest politician or worthless celebrity heir. (They’ll probably think you’re calling them a comeback kid.)
“Vengeance Is Mine” Means Don’t Seek Vengeance
Here’s another phrase that appears lot in pop culture. “Vengeance is Mine” is the title of
a dozen different movies, as well as TV episodes, books, and songs. Always, the title comes from someone getting revenge. Take the classic Roald Dahl story “Vengeance Is Mine, Inc.” Two broke bothers (prodigal ones perhaps) decide on a moneymaking scheme: taking revenge on clients’ enemies, such as by stripping victims to their underpants and then dumping them on a public street. We see them carry out one job, breaking a newspaper columnist’s nose, and then they ride off into the sunset.
The phrase comes from the Bible. Only, it’s not a verse about people getting vengeance. It’s a verse about the Lord getting vengeance. Now, it might not seem so strange for people to quote a vengeful God when seeking vengeance themselves (exhibit A: whatever the heck Samuel L. Jackson was reciting in Pulp Fiction). But this verse is about vengeance belonging exclusively to the Lord, about how you should not seek vengeance yourself.
Our source for that interpretation? Oh, just the Bible itself. “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves,” says the New Testament, “but rather leave that to God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘Vengeance is Mine. I will repay,’ says the Lord.”
Which makes sense. Most religions believe sinners get punished after death. Well, maybe not Judaism, so there could be room for vengeance if you take an Old Testament view, but other religions preach some form of hell, or karma, or reincarnation. That means religious people should see no need for exacting vengeance on those who are still alive, since that’ll be taken care of supernaturally in the afterlife. And yet, it’s often religious people who most believe that it’s our duty to punish the wicked.
There are other reasons for punishment (deterrence, rehabilitation, incapacitation), but it’s retribution (vengeance) that so many moral crusaders demand when they call for harsh sentences. Well, the next time you hear a Bible thumper say we need to fry a criminal because it’s what they deserve, ask, “Have you so little faith in our Lord in heaven, that you doubt He will punish evildoers as He sees fit?”
On second thought, don’t say that. That’s how Jesus talked, and we all know what they did to that guy.
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