parallelismus membrorum

Come to me
and satisfy hunger
when you find me
love me and change
I am the mark
of pure completeness
enter in

Chiasmus of marriage

Literary chiasmus is a marriage of words. The marriage between a man and a women is meant to follow the same chiasmic pattern as a literary chiasmus, the goal or destination is the center. Each partner comes to the center from his or her direction, as they approach the center the individual directions disappear and the dot, representing oneness, is attained. Some may think, why do the individual lines and lives need to disappear? The answer is that when 2 become one flesh, one dot, the power of the person literally increased 10 fold, and individuality is refined and strengthened. The center of the literary chiasmus only exists because of the strength of the forms around it. From the center creation takes place.

Quote from The Quernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

That's what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you onto another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It's geometrically progressive--all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment

Chiasmus life

"Form is only emptiness,. Emptiness only form"

Studying merely the form of chiasmus is a plastic science. It is like falling in love with a woman because she is beautiful but never getting to know her. God uses the chaistic form to throw you into the center of his conversation. A great chiasmus doesn't give you a hint of the central message--it hits you in the face like a home run ball hit dead center field. If you are studying chiasmus like a student would study an atom or DNA you are looking at it wrong.
Ask yourself these questions--where is the chiasmus taking you and what does God want you to do or feel once you get there? A true chaismic experience changes you, changes your paradigm and takes you on a journey.
Following a scientific life never takes you to genius, never lets you experience paradox and therefore never allows you to experience God.

Chiasmus and the cross

In the book “You Shall Know Them” a group of scientists discover a tribe of creatures which could be considered either man or monkey. Through a series of events the court system is forced to determine what makes man a man. This question posed by the book has baffled scientists, philosophers and theologians for centuries, so, of course, the legal system can answer it, if not correctly, then with authority. The courts determine, among other things, that this tribe is human because it creates symbolic representations. It is not clear how they worship or even use the symbols but they are still a representation of an ideal, which is the definition of a symbol and, as far as the author of the book is concerned, the definition of man.
Early cultures represented the earthly experience of life, death and resurrection with stark similarity. This similar symbol, with many variations, is the cross. Latter Day Saints have a reluctant, if not tenuous, relationship with the cross. We recognize the crucifixion as a significant part of the atonement but avoid using the cross to represent or communicate the atonement in its entirety. (If Latter Day Saints wore anything around their neck as a reminder of our Lord’s great sacrifice, it would probably be a rock.)
Chiasmus gets its name from the Greek letter chi, which is simply an X, which is simply a cross on its side. The literary point of the chiasmus is to point you to its center; however, its literary form is secondary to its lesson. The form of the cross is also to point you to its center. The cross is the solid earthly form of the chiasmus, and its communication to the world is the central message of Christ.






The cross’ four directions, contained within two lines, symbolically represent man’s earthly journey and purpose. The vertical beam is rooted firmly in the earth; it has a beginning, a foundation, a grounding. As it moves upward past the horizontal beam it crosses a line into eternity. The vertical beam represents a connection between heaven and earth. The horizontal beam transforms the vertical line into a balance, the weighing of the soul. On one side is justice and on the other mercy. I call this vertical line the Atonement Line; it is when Christ intervenes in our life. The center of the cross is the place where earth, heaven, justice and mercy meet. It is a place of revelation, epiphany and metamorphosis; this same place is the center of a chiasmus.
When considering chiasmic text we not only look at structure but content. The content or message of the cross is contained within the crucifixion dialogues. The crucifixion dialogues move Christ’s teachings from the abstract to the concrete.

The crucifixion dialogues are as follows:

1. Luke 23:34—Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

This first statement connects us directly with heaven and earth. In as few words as possible it describes the Savior’s purpose.


2. Luke 23: 39-43— I say unto thee today shalt thou be in paradise.

This statement is Christ’s reaction to the plea of one of the thieves being crucified along side him. Each of the thieves statements are placed on the vertical balance line.


3. John 19:26—Behold thy mother!

With this statement Christ forces our view directly to the earth addressing our earthly responsibilities.


4. Matthew 27:46—My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?

As he cries these words our eyes are directed upwards and onwards towards the heavens.


5. John 19:28—I thirst.

Here we see that he is still bound to this earth.


6. John 19:30—It is finished

Looking straight ahead, probably at no one in particular he is prepared to cross over into the next life


7. Luke 23:46—Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit

And he leaves.


They are placed on the cross thus:




When considering chiasmic patterns, or any form, it is vital that we consider its application. Without taking the academic and connecting it to the personal it is merely rhetoric, and rhetoric alone should not determine if we are men. Man is defined by his symbols but he should also be defined by the purpose of his symbols and the purpose of the center of any chiasmic pattern is to draw us closer to God.