The parables require, even compel, interpretation, and their meaning derives from the fusion of the parabolic narrative and the belief system of the interpreter. Hence the parables are ever new, adapting easily to the concerns of each new age, even each new interpreter. Mary Ann Tolbert, Perspectives on the Parables: An Approach to Multiple Interpretations (Fortress: Philadelphia, 1979) 40

	[Parables] function not as discussion-openers but as conversation-stoppers. Instead of engaging opponents in dialogue in order to lead them to a reasoned point of view, Jesus, through his parables, throws such light on what his adversaries are about that they are forced to see their attitudes as essentially foolish. Andrew Parker, Painfully Clear: The Parables of Jesus, 65

What is a parable?