Scripture and Story
July 10, 2022
I think this is true more often than not—by the time an idea gets mainstream, it has been diluted enough to be less than entirely true. In the popularizing of the idea, important context and nuance gets lost, and the idea consequently becomes less helpful and is potentially misleading. The simplified idea has implications that the robust idea restrained.
This is true for the idea that Scripture is a story. Usually we describe the plot of the story as six acts—Creation; Fall; Abraham and Israel; Jesus; the Church; New Creation. Right now we’re in act five, eagerly awaiting act six.
The big problem with Scripture being a story is that it isn’t a very good one. There are too many side plots that get left in, but that are never followed up with. Characters step in, only for their storyline to go nowhere and be abandoned. There’s kind of an overarching plot (God saving humanity), but it’s not clear how something like Song of Songs contributes to it. And if something doesn’t contribute to the plot, why should we pay attention to it? Maybe we read it once, but then we can just skip it to get to the good part. We need to slog through the world-building on the first read, but the second time through we can just start with Book 2 in the Fellowship of the Ring.
But if all Scripture is God-breathed and useful, doesn’t that mean every part of it should contribute to the plot or purpose of the story? I submit that every part does contribute to the plot, we’ve just oversimplified the plot (so that it’s easier to remember). In our desire for simplicity we’ve taken the role of God’s editor, leaving some of his work on the cutting room floor. “I know you’re the author of this story, but as common people we have a better understanding of what we really need.”
That doesn’t seem like a prudent course to me. I’m content to keep the Scripture-is-a-story idea, with the understanding that it’s a complicated sort of story, and we have to let it shape us and our expectations, rather than shaping it based on our expectations.
Or perhaps a better idea all around is that Scripture is more like a collection of poetry. It does have an overarching purpose, but not a single plot. Each poem, each part, each section, contributes to the overall function, but they aren’t tied together with a linear progression or plot. Each part contributes, so to ignore one part is to miss part of the overall point.
Like this idea or not, don’t keep the idea of Scripture as story without this important caution. We may think we’re improving the flow of the story by editing it and cutting out some of the waste, or that because we heard one part of it one time, we can skip that part to get back to the good stuff. But if God is the author, I think we owe him the benefit of the doubt (and editorial oversight).
—John Coffey
