What to Do If You Are Offended or Confused by Flannery O'Connor's Stories? | TGC

What to Do If You Are Offended or Confused by Flannery O'Connor's Stories? | TGC

"Jesus's parables would offend us, too, if we hadn't heard them so many times--or if we were paying better attention.

"In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, we can all understand why the older brother, the one who has kept his nose clean, is offended by his father's eager welcoming of the wayward brother. It's a little shocking to realize that Jesus presents the older brother as just as big a jerk as the younger brother. Consider how much more shocking it would have been for Jesus's original audience, who hadn't already been told what they were supposed to think about the story.

"The parables are driven by that dissonance between the truth and the way we feel about the truth. Jesus shows us what the kingdom of God looks like; if we allow ourselves to be offended by that vision, we begin to see what needs to happen in our hearts."

This entry includes audio of Flannery O'Conner reading "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" and quotes her comments about the story.

MORE: Flannery O'Conner says that Ayn Rand "makes Mickey Spillane look like Dostoevsky."