Symbols and Symbolic Language

Ben Witherington, in his Christology of Jesus, writes that kingdom is not a symbol in itself because symbols point to something else, and so refer to something external to the symbol itself (194). Instead, he says that kingdom kingdom of God "refers" to another set of ideas, but does not symbolize them (195). It appears that part of his concern here is to take the kingdom out of the abstract and affirm its present, dynamic reality. Also, he is intent on affirming that the kingdom of God embodies the concepts it refers to, so that these are not concepts outside of itself that it somehow abstractly "stands for." His definitions of an external referent (see above), and what I suppose he would call an internal referent clarify this rather complex distinction.

Something to think on as I determine what sort of language I'll use when I describe Matthew's use of kingdom of Heaven later this fall.