A Positivism of Disobedience

A positivism of disobedience

As everybody knows The Parable of the Prodigal Son teaches us repentance and forgiveness through the story of two different characters: the young, disobedient, and the old, obedient, brothers. From the early childhood most parents teach their children to be obedient and underline that obedience is goodness, and disobedience is a fault. However, the parable actually defense disobedience and importance of disobedience. And world history proves that disobedience is more progressive issue than regressive.

On one hand, at the beginning the young son appeared as a negative hero. He was a self-driven son, who left his parent’s house. He took his inheritance from his father and totally wasted it. To avoid starving, he got a job caring for pigs. He was in progressive degradation in far land. As being along, poor herdsman, who ate “husks that the swine did eat”, he often recalled his religious father and his kingdom, where each hired servant” have bread enough and to spare” (Luke, 66). He thinks to come back to father’s kingdom and to live among religious humans. And one day he did that. When the father met him and the son says that he “sinned against heaven, and …no more worthy to be called thy son,” the father did not even listen to his carefully prepared speech and the part about his becoming a hired hand (Luke, 66). He immediately called for the best robe. There is not the slightest questioning of his son sincerity. The young son grew from foolish youth to gay, who was able to think and to analyze his acts. Then the father called for the fatted calf, and the music and songs begin. The party symbolized his full restoration to honor in the family. He was in sinful living and came back to religion. It manifests that sinful living is totally wrong way of life and how to fix it. The young disobedient brother restored his life as a believer. This is how disobedient son is. To me at the end of the story he is more positive character than negative.

On the other hand, at first impression, the obedient son, the old brother from The Prodigal Son, shows the obvious advantage over disobedient men. Jesus does not say a lot about him. The parable starts with the words that “certain man has two sons.” Then the old one appears back at the end of the story. The old brother is hidden between line and appears as a reluctant partaker. The oldest brother “was in the field” every day and “drew nigh to the house” (Luke, 66). But it hardly get the impression that he actively looked for others to join the kingdom. He was too passive to do that. He provided for himself and his family. He lived with his father all the times. He completely depended on his father. Also, the old brother dishonored his father when he did not come to the party because of his brother return home. It really strange but he did not even answer if he forgave his young brother too or not. We don’t know what he thought about his brother return. Hopefully, as usually he just followed the father idea. He is just an obedient man, behind- follower, close-mind person.

Additionally, disobedience is not a vice. The disobedient man did the act, his own act. It was the wrong act, but he will never do it again. To be obedient is too simple- you just have act as everybody do, or just follow with the stream. To be disobedient means to take a risk, and this person nearly realizes the consequence of this step. Therefore, a disobedient son has unpredictable character, but new, fresh thoughts. World history fulfills with examples of disobedience and most of them are positive than negative acts.

In fact, the perfect act of disobedience was the creation of the United States of America. The thirteen colonies rebelled against the British Empire in second half of the 18th century. This culminated in an American Declaration of Independent, and followed victory on the battlefield in 1781. The signers of the Declaration of Independence risked their lives and fortunes. They could have been hanged for treason. They were disobedient people with progressive ideas and constructive approach. As the result