The Potter and Clay Metaphor

The recurring image of a Potter shaping clay vessels serves as a metaphor for God's creation of humanity, raising questions about free will, divine responsibility, and the justice of punishment.

The Potter thumping his wet clay and the clay's plea for gentleness directly invoke this metaphor.

The chapter directly invokes the image of a clod of saturated earth cast into human mould by the Maker, echoing the potter and clay allegory.

The reference to Earth's first clay and the sowing of seed evokes the potter-and-clay allegory, emphasizing divine craftsmanship and inevitability.

The speaker stands in the Potter's house surrounded by shapes of clay, emphasizing the metaphor of divine creation and human passivity.