The new man

Jesus said it was a disaster-in-the-making to put new wine into old wineskins. Wine in the New Testament is a metaphor for life. By co-mingling new and old, we produce a negative result. The new man is an old man relinquished, not an old man added to.

Preaching to pigs

Sometimes the container into which the teaching goes (the body) is incompatible with the teaching. As a result, the teaching is debased, corrupted, ruined, while the container, which might have been good for something, is rendered good for nothing. This is like putting new wine into old skins. We are advised against it.

Death of a prodigy

A prodigal son awakes to the realization that he is a prince living in a pigsty. This is the birth of a new consciousness. Then he decides to stay in the pigsty. This is the death of a new consciousness.

Jesus: “Do not put new wine in old wine skins.” Epictetus: “If you want to change old habits, you may have to move to a different country in order to do it.”