Bible Question:
Why does our culture de-value story-telling? Jesus told parables -- do we not see them as authoritative? As words to live by? Why, then, do many Christians resist finding story and myth in other portions of the Bible? John MacArthur says: "Allegorizing means to say that the historical meaning is not the real meaning, and in fact may be nothing but a fabrication." ---- but if the text IS an allegory, it should be read as one - no? ---- why is anything other than "historical meaning" rejected as fabrication? Can God inspire stories as well as history? Can a story convey truth more clearly than historical details? |
Bible Answer: Greetings JRM! Since God frequently uses object lessons to teach me His truth, I don't disregard the use of "story" as an effective tool. I do struggle with your choice of the word "myth" though. You asked, "Can a story convey truth more clearly than historical details?" I think it depends upon the Storyteller! Permit me to tell you a story: This isn't history, per se, but it is "HIS Story!" An excerpt from "The Last Act in Scene III." Because God is eternal, we cannot adequately grasp what has always been and will be. But suffice it to say that before the beginning, God. The Trinity was in perfect communion. The Bible is silent about the point in the continuum of eternity past that God created the angelic order, yet I believe that these beings preceded mankind and the physical universe. Indeed, the Creation is just part of a much larger story, one that has been written to put an end to evil for all eternity! Very simplistically, eternity past is Act I; the creation of the angelic order is Act II; the creation of man takes place in Act III; Act IV is the Earthly reign of Christ and Act V is eternity yet to be. Right now, we are moving very close to the "Last Scene in Act III- the Judgment of God!" John Eldredge, a counselor and author, presents the message of the gospel of the kingdom as a great adventure. This, the "greatest (love) story of all, is told by the Master Storyteller. And in every story, there is a beginning and an ending; there is also a cast of characters: a hero, a villain, and of course the damsel in distress. God, the Author, was already there at the beginning; creation was not. God is the good King. Yet what was created questioned His goodness and therefore His rule. Satan is the villain; he is the being who brought sin into God's perfect Universe by his rebellion. Evil cannot co-exist with God, so a plan for the restoration of God's Kingdom continues to unfold with the Creation and the anticipated Fall of man. Jesus is the hero, who leaves His home in Heaven to enter our world, on a Divine mission: to rescue the beautiful maiden. Mankind is that damsel in distress! And whether we recognize it or not, we are the ones who need to be saved. We do not need to be saved from the villain, for he has already been defeated, but rather, we need to be saved from the wrath of God against sin. “All have sinned . . . the penalty for sin is death,but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23 Today we are living our individual "little stories" within the pages of what John Eldredge calls "The Sacred Romance." This "romance" is the ongoing pursuit and wooing of the damsel's heart by the Hero. “The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.For while we were still helpless,at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:5,6,8 Act III, the one in which humanity is cast, is drawing to a conclusion. The Old Testament prophets as well as Jesus gave us "cues" (clues and signs!) to keep us following the story line of this great adventure He has written. The Last Act - the Judgment of God - will come and the story of those who have chosen to be written out of the script will end. But just as God was there in eternity before the beginning of time, God will usher in eternity for the future . . . God declares that He will make all things new, not all new things! (Rev. 21:5) In this great restoration, there will be a new stage and a perfect script for His Beloved; indeed they will “live happily ever after!” “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 I know that there are those who will reject my interpretation of theology, but this presentation made sense to me! It enables me to understand how mankind "fits" into the BIG picture that God has prepared for those who love Him! "THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND WHICH HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM." 1 Cor 2:9 mommapbs |