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Accounts and teachings of ALL religious institutions should be open to public scrutin

Re: Accounts and teachings of ALL religious institutions should be open to public scr

Faith is taking the place of fact in providing the basis for religion. The number of religions claiming full factual support for their beliefs is declining, and fully-literal interpretations of religious texts are becoming less popular. There’s good reason for these trends: given current historical and scientific evidence, it’s hard to see how facts alone justify most religious belief. Something more is now necessary.

That’s where faith comes in. Faith is often described as a “way of knowing” that doesn’t require factual evidence. It’s a deep and sincere feeling that something is true. Many religious believers feel a close emotional connection to their God. To them, this feeling is itself proof of their beliefs; no further evidence is necessary.

Certainly it’s the case that some religious beliefs could be true. The universe is a mysterious place, and our understanding of it is not, and never will be, complete. There may be things that are true but that can’t be proven true with factual evidence. Some of them could be current articles of religious faith. But does faith help us arrive at this truth? What type of certainty does it provide?

We all know from personal experience that we’re sometimes wrong. Our beliefs aren’t always true. It’s possible to know something to be true only later to find out that it isn’t. When you’re depressed, you may feel helpless and worthless. Your feelings are real , you may feel them so strongly, in fact, that you’re certain they’re true. You may know you’re helpless and worthless even though you aren’t. These feelings are so strong they can cause people to kill themselves.

Knowing is a state of mind. When we know something is true, we feel with great certainty that it’s true. But the act of knowing does not itself make anything true: our mental states represent the world, they don’t control it. A belief that is strongly felt–or even known–can be false. Our feelings themselves are real, but the reality they point to may not be. Faith doesn’t provide any great level of certainty.

So our beliefs and feelings are unreliable. But aren’t they still some indicator of truth? Otherwise anything and everything is equally likely to be true, and that seems absurd. Indeed, it is absurd — our knowledge of the world is imperfect, but we still manage to use it day-to-day. Our senses–emotional or otherwise–are flawed, but that doesn’t mean they’re useless.

Now if all knowledge is imperfect, why single out faith? Why is knowledge obtained through faith worse than any other knowledge? The answer is that, while all ways of knowing are flawed, some are better than others. What makes some ways better? The fact that they can be corrected through thought and experience.

A belief that cannot change can’t be moved closer to truth. Faith-based beliefs could be true, of course, but they could also be false. A strong feeling that something is true doesn’t make it true. You’re not actually helpless and worthless when you’re depressed, even though you may know you are. People who kill themselves due to depression have great faith in their depressed thoughts. Faith-based beliefs are what they are — they can’t be corrected through thought and experience.

There are other reasons to question faith. We tend to believe things we want be be true. Psychology research indicates that people tend to interpret ambiguous information in a way that benefits their interests. Most people think their abilities are above average when compared to their peers. They can’t all be right. We can test our abilities, but we can’t test beliefs we hold on faith. We may hold such beliefs partly because we want to hold them, and in such cases we should be all-the-more-ready to question them.

Our beliefs are strongly influenced by when and where we grow up. I believe the earth is round now, but I’d likely have believed it was flat had I grown up a few thousand years ago. Had I grown up in 10th century Norway, I’d likely have believed in the existence of Thor, the great pagan god of thunder. Faith-based beliefs are, like all beliefs, influenced by upbringing. While we might like to think they’re the product of a transcendent understanding of the universe, the truth is more mundane: we’re likely to possess ones that reflect the time and place we grew up.

That makes it even worse that they can’t be changed. How do I know my present faith-based beliefs are better than ones I might have had had I been born someplace else or at another time? There’s no good way to choose between them. Any belief may be wrong, of course, but only non-faith-based beliefs can be changed through thought and experience. Thought and experience may not allow us to arrive at all truth, but they’re the best tools we’ve got faith doesn’t bring anything to the table.

Faith is a bad way of knowing. Like all beliefs, faith-based beliefs can be mistaken, and we may hold them only because we like them or because we grew up in a particular time and place. But only faith-based beliefs can’t be corrected through thought and experience. They’re not necessarily wrong–they could even be right–but that doesn’t change the fact that faith is a bad reason for believing them.

Is faith all bad? Not necessarily. Faith-based beliefs can certainly be useful. As many will attest, they can increase happiness. If I want something to be true and I believe through faith that it is true, I may be a happier person ( an drunken person is a happy man ) . Faith has contributed to the happiness of many people. But is it the only path to happiness? I don’t think so. We can appreciate the wonder and mystery of the universe without having unjustified faith that it is or is not a certain way. We can live with purpose without having faith that this purpose was ordained for us.

Choosing not to live according to faith may, in fact, be a moral choice. If we accept that our beliefs can be wrong and change them when necessary, we stand a greater chance of understanding each other. Without faith we have the tools necessary to bridge differences. The possibility of a peaceful coexistence improves. Faith is not all bad, yes , but it may do more harm than good.

Did DIVA write all that, or plagiarised from somewhere? Please quote source. Be honest.
 
Re: Accounts and teachings of ALL religious institutions should be open to public scr

Did DIVA write all that, or plagiarised from somewhere? Please quote source. Be honest.

It doesn't matter , the question is will it go into your delusional Brain ? I work in a mysterious ways ;)
 
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Re: Accounts and teachings of ALL religious institutions should be open to public scr

Faith is not a virtue , faith is gullibility . I’m not saying that proves there’s no God ( because we can't proof spaghetti monster do not exists too ) what I’m saying is: ( cupping his hands ) Here’s something we’ve learned about the universe, and it doesn’t match with your literal view of the Bible. Now there’s a conflict there, and we need to resolve that. And some people resolve it in favour of the Bible saying ‘The Bible’s absolutely right’ and ignore whatever actual evidence is presented there. I find that to be patently absurd because it turns Christianity into a self-contradictory proposition, and so (by the way) does the entire idea of a Revelation in the New Testament. Because your position (to the extent that I understand it cause you haven’t got kind of a straight answer yet) is one where there is a God who has an important message for mankind and somehow he only reveals it to certain individuals who then write this down and thousands of years after this initial revelation, we have to rely on copies of copies of translations of copies by anonymous authors with no originals, and the textual testimony to a miracle, for example the loaves and fishes , there’s no amount of reports - anecdotal testimonial reports - that could be sufficient to justifying that this event actually happened as reported. No amount. And anything that would qualify as a God would clearly understand this, and if it wanted to convey this information to people in a way that was believable, would not be relying on text to do so, and this for me is the nail in the coffin for Christianity. The God that Christians believe in is amazingly stupid if it wants to actually achieve its goal of spreading this information to humanity by relying on text; by relying on languages that die out , by relying on anecdotal testimony. That’s not a pathway to truth! And anything that would qualify for a God should know this, which means either that God doesn’t exist or it doesn’t care enough about those people who understand the nature of evidence to actually present it. Now which of those possibilities do you think is accurate?
As much as u seem eager to debate, pease do wait for my reply before another verbose post as it confuses things (maybe edit your standing post to include new issue etc) or people will pull a 'TLDR'/ WOT on you.

I never said that faith was virtue: like 'take' 'give', 'say' : it is a morality neutral word: it is only virtuous if the outcome on society is good (e.g. the result of misplaced faith in say gambling for profit/ profit from theft is almost always bad).

U wisely admitted not to be able to conclude if 'speghetti monster' was real, yet U seem over confident that the transfer of knowledge across cultures/ generations is always (and excessively) inaccurate "The God that Christians believe in is amazingly stupid if it wants to actually achieve its goal of spreading this information to humanity by relying on text; by relying on languages that die out , ": oh, do I spot inconsistency here? Are U wise but biased in your thoughts???!!! Shouldn't the average humble human, incapable of concluding the 'spaghetti monster' mystery also show some reverence when faced with ancient text: so carefully translated and passed down across mellinia if not centuries.

messagejungquotetruthwordsquoteandsaying-2c01c67b55d9d48df642702deca8f046_h.jpg


Guess the pathway to truth is not found in hypocracy, error or conceit but in humble curiosity towards greater enlightenment. Enlightenment can be gleaned from studying for PSLE (basic literacy), reading car manuals (save $ from self-repair to read bible/ survival skills when journeying to find spiritual guru), reading newspapers (learn of others downfall from misplaced faith/ greed/ other vice related activity).

May U purge your hypocracy, may U be inspired and enlightened by all that is pure and good....

Hebrews 11:1 (bible hub.com)
http://biblehub.com/hebrews/11-1.htm

New International Version: Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

New Living Translation: Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

English Standard Version: Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

New American Standard Bible : Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

King James Bible: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

PS: your subsequent post was cut+paste (absent title) and without attribution (stolen) from http://www.miketuritzin.com/writing/category/essays/page/2/ : if U are really sincere about debate and not just trying to maintain pretences then please do not just c&p blindly: as it is a very rude and perhaps dishonest thing to do...
Tks.
 
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Re: Accounts and teachings of ALL religious institutions should be open to public scr

It doesn't matter , the question is will it go into your delusional Brain ? I work in a mysterious ways ;)

LOL! The only mystery is the sources of your plagiarism!!!! LOL!!!
 
Re: Accounts and teachings of ALL religious institutions should be open to public scr

LOL! The only mystery is the sources of your plagiarism!!!! LOL!!!

Whahhaha !! Seems like you can't handle that post whahhahah !!! It's all parts of your invisibleman plans whhaahaha
 
Re: Accounts and teachings of ALL religious institutions should be open to public scr

e.g. the result of misplaced faith in say gambling for profit/ profit from theft is almost always bad).
Tks.

Don't you agree that insisting the bible is absolutely factual or refusing to ponder further on the thousands of holes, contradictions, plagiarisms and inaccuracies that theologians themselves have pinpointed out with precise accuracy to the verse level is also equally bad?
 
Re: Accounts and teachings of ALL religious institutions should be open to public scr

Thread sauce (SBY): Re: Accounts and teachings of ALL religious institutions should be open to public scrutiny.
Don't you agree that insisting the bible is absolutely factual or refusing to ponder further on the thousands of holes, contradictions, plagiarisms and inaccuracies that theologians themselves have pinpointed out with precise accuracy to the verse level is also equally bad?

Whilst I do agree that the bible we have today is (generally) inspired by God, I also agree that saying that everything as read is absolutely factual might be a leap of logic(faith) since there are books like Jonah (prophet who spent IIRC 3D3N in the stomach of a fish: not to say that that is impossible (who knows), but since the bible is an accumulation of shorter (+historical) books by a myraid of authors, some identifiable some not, I would say that whilst the general theme/ story is a message of enlightenment by God, it would take much more scholarship to verify the particulars of each author and the circumstances (context) of each writing (especially wrt OT minor prophets writings such as Jonah etc) (PS: I read somewhere tt book of Jonah is a fairytale with a moral theme: to teach children the powers of God and a portrayal of His actions towards the triumph of good over evil).

Some inaccuracies of description due to witness handicap (poor eyesight, low education, forgetfulness etc) are still admissible ((especially for complex case: e.g. large gang related crime) just like in court of law) and a defendent can still be convicted in so far as in totality, the prosecution has proven BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT that the dependent is guilty in open court. Some individual witnesses may be unsure of minor details but as long as major evidence proves (beyond reasonable doubt) culpulbility: then the dependent is pronounced guilty as charged.

Likewise my study of the Christian bible: besides known facts about humanity, the overall feeling (intuition) I get about things is that the Jesus Christ personality is true and God does love His creation, if only humans stop to listen...

Merry Christmas everyone, will respond to 'drifter's a/m cut and paste essay from http://www.miketuritzin.com/writing/category/essays/page/2/ when I have more time, however, briefly, his error is that of straw man fallacy: e.g. depression as he says is mistaken feelings (faith) that one is 'useless/ worthless' etc: however, 'depression' is a pathological condition and not a fair representation/ example of mainstream religious faith: much of which is born out of deep introspection if not just factual observation (albeit ancient): thus the error of miketuritzin's conclusion that faith is a bad way of knowing. Every method has its flaws if incorrectly applied and depression is symptomatic of how feelings sans facts can be wrong: which is not to say that relying on feelings is wrong per se: one just has to be fair and honest about things: facts must be true(real) and so must the feelings(intuition) component be: then the faith (enlightenment) is sound and beneficial to the individual if not society as a whole.
 
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Re: Accounts and teachings of ALL religious institutions should be open to public scr

Whahhaha !! Seems like you can't handle that post whahhahah !!! It's all parts of your invisibleman plans whhaahaha

DIVA likes to indulge in wishful thinking. Everything is plagiarised. LOL!!!
 
Re: Accounts and teachings of ALL religious institutions should be open to public scr

Whilst I do agree that the bible we have today is (generally) inspired by God, I also agree that saying that everything as read is absolutely factual might be a leap of logic(faith) since there are books like Jonah (prophet who spent IIRC 3D3N in the stomach of a fish: not to say that that is impossible (who knows), but since the bible is an accumulation of shorter (+historical) books by a myraid of authors, some identifiable some not, I would say that whilst the general theme/ story is a message of enlightenment by God, it would take much more scholarship to verify the particulars of each author and the circumstances (context) of each writing (especially wrt OT minor prophets writings such as Jonah etc) (PS: I read somewhere tt book of Jonah is a fairytale with a moral theme: to teach children the powers of God and a portrayal of His actions towards the triumph of good over evil).

Some inaccuracies of description due to witness handicap (poor eyesight, low education, forgetfulness etc) are still admissible ((especially for complex case: e.g. large gang related crime) just like in court of law) and a defendent can still be convicted in so far as in totality, the prosecution has proven BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT that the dependent is guilty in open court. Some individual witnesses may be unsure of minor details but as long as major evidence proves (beyond reasonable doubt) culpulbility: then the dependent is pronounced guilty as charged.

Likewise my study of the Christian bible: besides known facts about humanity, the overall feeling (intuition) I get about things is that the Jesus Christ personality is true and God does love His creation, if only humans stop to listen...
.


Mind your words, bro! The Word is truly inspired and inerrant! Fairytale? What rubbish you are saying? Every part is divine and real from God himself. And be watchful of the traps of evilution.

Merry Christmas, joy to the birth of the Lord!
 
Re: Accounts and teachings of ALL religious institutions should be open to public scr

Mind your words, bro! The Word is truly inspired and inerrant! Fairytale? What rubbish you are saying? Every part is divine and real from God himself. And be watchful of the traps of evilution.

Merry Christmas, joy to the birth of the Lord!
Just like Jesus parables: were not real (factual) examples but creative constructs of very typical ones.

Fairy tales are another method of conveying information, so some books in the bible DO NOT have to be literarily true, just well thought up examples with a naughty twist in some for perhaps an underaged audience etc (I speculate): e.g. read about Grimms' Fairy Tales (Rumpelstiltskin, Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Hansel, Gretel): all with some moral lesson or other to teach.

Someone at the ang mo forum said the laws of physics are true regardless in what language these calculations and annotations are made in: to the extent that besides the possibility of some parts of the bible being written on the basis of parables/ select folklore/ fairy tales, even Buddhism and Hinduism/ Taoism/ Confucianism etc do have some enlightenment (truth) in their teachings.

So one need not be so stiff necked about the literal occurrence of some biblical stories: e.g. Jonah stuck in fish etc: what is important is the moral message, the actual story might just be parable [dictionary = 'A short moral story (often with animal characters)'], unless specifically stated, difficult to confirm if ancient story is parable or news report in these indeterminate cases wan.

------
Add:, Apologise if 'fairytales' is offensive word maybe 'folklore' is better description beside 'parable' as 'fairytale' has connotation of being untrue. Probably 'parable' is better description as a creatively constructed example to give people a better grasp and application learning of what good moral conduct ought to be like...
 
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Jesus Christ = the tree of Life overcoming death from the fall of man.

As discussed on foreign soil...


Jesus Christ = the tree of Life overcoming death from the fall of man.
Bic_Cherry said:
Thread Sauce (PF): Reading The Bible Properly Can Improve One's Reasoning Skills.
...
crank said:
do you give your children sharp knives to play with?
always a good idea to consider the implications of what you're about to defend.
I have previously floated the idea of 'essential equipment': your example of giving "children sharp knives to play with" is I find a tad bit extreme: the case is more like the emergency train-stop button in all modern subway stations: positioned at a height that no preschooler can reach: e.g. Adam and Eve were ostensibly of age mature enough to follow simple instructions and God was their direct mentor with whom they interacted ostensibly very closely with. Still, they refused to obey simple instructions, preferring to fall for selfish personal interest/ fetish: thus tainting their morally perfect state: consequenting in their fall from grace, separation from God and ejection from Eden (yes this story may be just ancient fairy tale genre but the message is no less potent). Fortunately, God did not neglect His creation and his subsequent acts of love and compassion, whilst always in indirect mode (and not always perfect due to its human representative delivery mode basically), was effective at guiding human society towards his ideal: Abraham, Moses, David, etc. Finally, God himself appeared in the form of Jesus Christ to die for sins (yeah, your eyelids are drooping by now: I can see) and then the New testament Bible was born...

So it is a complex and continuing relationship. Ostensibly, whilst the possibility of misuse of the ' emergency train-stop button' exist and it may be misused many a time, still, its presence is so essential, that no modern subway will pass safety inspections without its incorporation. As for the details wrt subway safety, the professionals will answer: and as for your confidence in modern subway(train service) technology that is both clean and safe to use, I am certain that Gods enlightenment guided the thoughts of professional subway designers in one way or another...

crank said:
... ...
second, I take it this is your way of justifying a god who introduces ebola and childhood cancers, and then lets us kill ourselves with them.
Hi Mr Crank, I'd like another chance to answer to answer your allegation the in the bible (Genesis 1-3) was akin to "do you give your children sharp knives to play with? " along with the challenge: "always a good idea to consider the implications of what you're about to defend".

I think that it is a mistake to call Adam and Eve "children" as they were obviously old enough not obey rules, but also old enough to feel embarrassed about their nudity: and thus the urge to cover up. A better analogy would be entry requirements for commercial airline pilots whereby a high level of professionalism, if not self discipline is required (or of medical practitioners, lawyers etc). I wouldn't be surprised if a professional had his/her license revoked if found intoxicated with alcohol on the job even if no property was damaged and no one was hurt: a flaw in character has been observed and henceforth, the professional might suffer a lengthy suspension or have his/her practising/ flying license revoked altogether. Thus, Adam and Eve LOST their right to reside in the Garden of Eden and had to settle for somewhere else not just less comfortable, but also ruled by themselves being (by choice) a distance from God: where the only certain outcome would be death and despair (it would be just an issue of time).

Likewise has the fallen professional/ pilot nobody to blame but self for endangering the safety (sanctity) of the whole. The punishment is just desserts: he may have to sell his house and his car, downgrade his lifestyle and maybe find a new job for this 'fatal' work error. Likewise the plight of mankind: no longer is he as carefree as he was in the Garden of Eden, even friends and family have now become suspicious/ fearful of each other.

Greed and negligence fuels inequalities and pollutive industries: the seeds from which all forms of cancers, disease and handicap will grow: life has become very difficult, yet it is all BY CHOICE: if only we could turn back the hands of time, but evidently we cannot... then god reveals his grand plan, Jesus has overcame death and set the example and methods that we might follow: it involves great love for one's fellow men to the extent of sacrificing one's own life for the good of everyone else... we are enlightened when we believe in the good for all, by the loving example of Jesus Christ (the Tree of Life), death is obstacle/ hindrance no more...
 
Re: Accounts and teachings of ALL religious institutions should be open to public scr

Just like Jesus parables: were not real (factual) examples but creative constructs of very typical ones.

Fairy tales are another method of conveying information, so some books in the bible DO NOT have to be literarily true, just well thought up examples with a naughty twist in some for perhaps an underaged audience etc (I speculate): e.g. read about Grimms' Fairy Tales (Rumpelstiltskin, Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Hansel, Gretel): all with some moral lesson or other to teach.

Someone at the ang mo forum said the laws of physics are true regardless in what language these calculations and annotations are made in: to the extent that besides the possibility of some parts of the bible being written on the basis of parables/ select folklore/ fairy tales, even Buddhism and Hinduism/ Taoism/ Confucianism etc do have some enlightenment (truth) in their teachings.

So one need not be so stiff necked about the literal occurrence of some biblical stories: e.g. Jonah stuck in fish etc: what is important is the moral message, the actual story might just be parable [dictionary = 'A short moral story (often with animal characters)'], unless specifically stated, difficult to confirm if ancient story is parable or news report in these indeterminate cases wan.

------
Add:, Apologise if 'fairytales' is offensive word maybe 'folklore' is better description beside 'parable' as 'fairytale' has connotation of being untrue. Probably 'parable' is better description as a creatively constructed example to give people a better grasp and application learning of what good moral conduct ought to be like...

Nothing in the account of Jonah hint that it did not happen, just because we think it is incredible. Jesus likened His death and resurrection to Jonah being kept inside the great marine fish. Jesus obviously treated such OT accounts as literal historical events.
 
Apologetics against Jesus portrayal as mean spirited megalomaniac.

Reading The Bible Properly Can Improve One's Reasoning Skills

Okay, then perhaps it might be an issue of semantics/ terminology.
In the vernacular (secular definition), some people ask "what is your faith": which in this case, means: " what is your religion".
... ...

For the record, my reply to people at other side of the world:...

Apologetics against Jesus portrayal as mean spirited megalomaniac.
The Wyrd of Gawd said:
Re thread (PF): Reading The Bible Properly Can Improve One's Reasoning Skills.
Sorry but your knowledge of the Bible is in the 1% range. Any atheist on this site will steamroll you without a burp.
Luke 4:23-29 (CEV) = "23 Jesus answered:You will certainly want to tell me this saying, “Doctor, first make yourself well.” You will tell me to do the same things here in my own hometown that you heard I did in Capernaum. 24 But you can be sure that no prophets are liked by the people of their own hometown.
25 Once during the time of Elijah there was no rain for three and a half years, and people everywhere were starving. There were many widows in Israel, 26 but Elijah was sent only to a widow in the town of Zarephath near the city of Sidon. 27 During the time of the prophet Elisha, many men in Israel had leprosy. But no one was healed, except Naaman who lived in Syria.
28 When the people in the meeting place heard Jesus say this, they became so angry 29 that they got up and threw him out of town. They dragged him to the edge of the cliff on which the town was built, because they wanted to throw him down from there."
Jesus didn't help anyone there because he didn't have any ringers in the crowd. And if he had faked it like he had done elsewhere then the really sick locals would have been pissed because he didn't help them. As it was they came within seconds of tossing him off of the cliffs.
Tks for the question, I have just done a bible study on Luke 4 and I can now inform U that it was FIRSTLY the Nazareth
people's fault for rejecting Jesus teachings in the first place (U ?deliberately? omitted Luke 4:22 to obfuscate this point???!). For the avoidance of doubt, miracles are just the vehicle that Jesus used, the REAL purpose of Jesus appearance (dah dah dah) was to teach (preach) good news (i.e. the forgiveness of sin) etc: as seen in Luke 4:43: " But he said, 'I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.'" (NIV)
Luke 4:22 as follows: "And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, 'Is not this Joseph’s son?'"(ESV) .
I do not dispute that Luke4:22 warrants elaboration: " Surprise and admiration soon gave place to a spirit of unbelief. Is not this who speaks to us such words... ... the young Carpenter we have known so long in our village? " [ http://biblehub.com/luke/4-22.htm ]: basicilly, Jesus was able to descern the futility (at that moment) in his efforts at "proclaim the good news ..."(Luke 4:43) and the people of Nazareth violent reaction to His his quotation of old testament text (Elijah feeding Widow @Zarephath ,Elisha healing Naaman OT history) simply confirmed their deep seated bigotry. As you rightly included Luke 4:29: "They dragged him to the edge of the cliff on which the town was built, because they wanted to throw him down from there." Jesus was prevented from operating in Nazareth by the natives (Jesus hometown folk) themselves who looked down on Jesus Christ because they identified Him as just an illiterate carpenter and violently rebelled against His honest and scholarly interpretation of OT scripture.

Jesus spoke in parables to keep the outsiders from knowing what he was really talking about. He wanted people to end up in the lake of fire. so if the people who heard him speak couldn't figure out what he was really saying what makes you think that you know when you don't have any of the cultural references that they had?
http://www.thebricktestament.com/the_parables_of_jesus/use_of_parables_explained/mk04_33-34.html
Mark 4:11-12 (ERV) = "11 Jesus said, “Only you can know the secret truth about God’s kingdom. But to those other people I tell everything by using stories.12 I do this so that‘They will look and look but never really see;
they will listen and listen but never understand.
If they saw and understood,
they might change and be forgiven.’”"
When Jesus had the opportunity to give to the poor he gave them the finger.

Mark 14:3-7 (CEV) = "3 Jesus was eating in Bethany at the home of Simon, who once had leprosy, when a woman came in with a very expensive bottle of sweet-smelling perfume. After breaking it open, she poured the perfume on Jesus' head. 4 This made some of the guests angry, and they complained, “Why such a waste? 5 We could have sold this perfume for more than three hundred silver coins and given the money to the poor!” So they started saying cruel things to the woman.6 But Jesus said:
Leave her alone! Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing for me. 7 You will always have the poor with you. And whenever you want to, you can give to them. But you won’t always have me here with you."

If he knew that he was going to die why was he concerned about smelling sweet? The people could have used the money for food instead of smelling a guy who smelled like a hooker. Remember, this was the same guy who had told people to sell their possessions and give the proceeds to the poor. He wasn't willing to follow his own advice.
I am no expert about the exact reason why Jesus spoke in parables incidents although I do appreciate that the verses U have quoted do somewhat reflect on Jesus in a less than flattering manner by modern day public relations (PR) standards. In any case, I think teaching in parables is BETTER compared to just giving curt orders for the simple reason that they will be better understood (and remembered) once the moral of the story is discovered- which isn't difficult as long as one pays a modicum of attention (most are to the point anyway IIRC).

WRT the perfume incident, as mentioned, Jesus (being God incarnate whose purpose was to preach 'good news' (or as I call it: after sales service: so people reading OT can understand it even as technology had now progressed: stone age to bronze to iron age etc...))one must appreciate (respect) Jesus as firstly a leader/teacher. Poverty is contextual and much is also due to ignorance (waste $ on wants whilst neglecting needs etc: smoking, alcoholism etc): so the solution is intellectual: the miracles were just the advertisements/freebies really... Perhaps Jesus really needed a spa/bath treatment at that time (due to his hectic schedule) and by past records: Jesus had healed physical infirmities in an instant: it could be argued that $$$ had limited value to the immediate problem at that time: the principle cause being the Pharisees selfish interpretation of old testament text which was doing society more harm than good (misleading people): (E.g. the President of USA has his OWN aeroplane (AirForceOne although it could be argued that selling the plane (and shutting down secret service) could provide for welfare handouts to many people): still I believe many Americans support providing the USA president with his own private plane.
Jesus Christ came to correct these mistaken interpretations and given the growth of Christianity ever since, I believe that Jesus Christ has made His presence very well felt (and I am eternally grateful that He indeed did).
 
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