Bible Stories: Fully written stories or fragments?

 

The big idea: Since stories make up 43% of literary styles in the Bible, we can assume stories of Bible characters are important, and that our own story is important to God too.

The question asked recently by a friend: Churches tell stories about the Bible. How are they in the Bible? Are they written there as stories, or has the church put these ideas together from fragments?

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The Power of Story

We are a story culture.

• Reality TV shows and talk shows
• Ghost stories around the campfire
• Bedtime stories for kids
• Rant blogging and video blogging

Most cultures around the globe value storytelling. It’s especially important in non-literary societies. In ancient days this is how history was kept alive. Oral historians took their role seriously to get it right as they passed the information on.

Genres of Literature in the Bible

The library and bookstore provide different books depending on need. There are genres like mysteries, history, instructive how-to books, and so on.

The Bible is made up of several genres of literature too. There are narrative stories, legal literature such as laws and genealogies, poetry (think the Psalms), instruction like a sermon or letter or advice, and even a genre almost Sci-fi-ish called Apocalyptic literature about dreams, cosmic battles, etc.

The narrative story-telling style makes up the largest percentage. 43%! The ancient periods of the Bible were predominately non-literate, so it is not surprising that storytelling was used so much in the Bible.

Bible Characters

There are many key figures in the Bible. Key figures may use numerous chapters to tell the story.

For example, the life of Abraham covers thirteen chapters from his calling to his death (Genesis 12-25). It is a long narrative. Smaller stories within the big storyline include other characters woven in.

The four Gospel accounts tell the life of Jesus. Each Gospel has a slightly different approach and includes some different details. They each had a different audience in mind.

The Gospel according to Luke was written by a non-Jewish physician. He wrote especially for non-Jewish people. He included more healing stories descriptive of aches and pains than the other three Gospels.

The Bible on the importance of stories

Here are two examples, one from the Old Testament, and one from the New Testament, about the power of stories in the Bible.

Old Testament Example

1 O my people, listen to my instructions.
       Open your ears to what I am saying,
2 for I will speak to you in a parable.
    I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—
3 stories we have heard and known,
    stories our ancestors handed down to us.
4 We will not hide these truths from our children;
    we will tell the next generation
    about the glorious deeds of the Lord,
    about his power and his mighty wonders. 

                                    Psalm 78:1-4 NLT

New Testament Example

Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds. In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables. Matthew 13:34 NLT

Jesus used many similar stories and illustrations to teach the people as much as they could understand. Mark 4:33 NLT

Real stories of real people

The Bible is full of stories. They are honest real life portrayals with people who were full of emotion, made mistakes, and ultimately made a choice whether to trust God or go their own way.

I think the raw reality of these Bible characters is a confirmation that these were stories of real people, not fragments doctored up for literary purpose to make a point.

Find an easy-to-read Bible Translation

If you are new to reading the Bible you will find it interesting to read.  Don't start in Genesis with the attempt to read it all the way through. Instead start with the Gospel of Luke or the Gospel of John. It is mostly a storytelling style.

Most people are familiar with the King James Version of the Bible, but it reads like Shakespeare. Most of the big old family Bibles are the King James Version

The Bible is now available in so many accurate easy to read versions. The one I often quote from is the New Living Translation (NLT).

Some think the NLT is someone trying to put it in their own words to make it sound modern, but is not accurate to the original writings. That is not the case. 

Some equate it with the very popular and helpful Bible of the 60s and 70s, the Living Bible. But the New Living Translation was published 25 years after the Living Bible. 

Ninety Bible Scholars worked as a team over six years time (1989-1996) to faithfully study the earliest manuscripts of the Bible and render them in readable English. That is known now as the New Living Translation. 

Some translations easy-to-read for storytelling are: New Living Translation (NLT), The Contemporary English Version (CEV), New English Translation (NET), the Message (MES) and more.

Read it for yourself!   

You do not need to own one of these Bibles to read it. Go to Bible.com. You can then download the app, or click on the word Bible, next to the title YouVersion on the left to read it on the computer.

 

https://www.bible.com/

Try the Bible in a modern version and allow yourself to be surprised!

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Reflection:

What do you like about what you know of Jesus? What don’t you like about Him?

Would you consider reading one of the Gospel accounts in a modern Bible translation? You can find these free online at Bible.com. Start with the Gospel of Luke or John. The New Living Translation is my favorite for reading the stories of Jesus.