Bible Stories? Biblical Accounts? Does it matter?

We've often heard it said that the Bible contains some amazing stories. Most of us have been blessed to be tucked into bed after our parents read us a Bible story. I'm sure you've heard many sermons on the stories of "David and Goliath," "Daniel in the Lion's Den," and "Jonah and the Whale." Last month, during WebFast, our class was posed this question: Why do you think churches do not focus so much on the Old Testament stories as they do on the New Testament? Several excellent possibilities were suggested. One said that it could be just the sheer size of the Old Testament compared to the more easily manageable small New Testament. Another offered that it was because the New Testament is directed to the church. Still another said it could be because the New Testament is very explicit as a whole while the Old Testament is rather implicit and can be more challenging to draw principles from.

I didn't speak in class (this is a standard occurrence) but upon returning home for lunch that day Cameron and I talked about it while washing dishes. I think those three and the others that were suggested as options are possible but I think a lot of it has to do with the connotations of the words we choose to use. I remember reading something from Answers in Genesis that talked about this very issue. They suggested that the reason people do not spend as much time on the Old Testament is because of the fact that we refer to it as Old Testament stories. For example, stories are something that children read. They are often cute little tales that teach some moral principle that can be based in reality but are usually a fable. Stories are fairy tales. Therefore, when we say Old Testament stories what we could be communicating is that, "the Old Testament is just a collection of stories we read when we were children. Now the New Testament, that contains letters that were written to to the church and so that really applies to us today because it's been written to us."

Perhaps I'm reading way to much into this but I do think there is something to be said for referring to the recorded history in the Bible as stories when it may be better to reference them as biblical accounts. Just something to consider when talking to unbelievers and believers. But I digress.

Another topic we discussed along this same line was realizing who we were highlighting as the focal point or hero in the biblical accounts by the titles we refer to them by. For instance, in "Daniel in the Lion's Den" we are signifying in our title that Daniel is the focal point when in reality it should be "God Delivers Daniel from the Lion's Den." See how God becomes the central focus? In all our teachings of these narratives, we cannot lose sight of the fact that God is the focal point. I really appreciated that discussion because I realized that I was focusing more on the individuals God used than on God Himself. For example, I was focusing on Noah and the ark more than on God's provision for Noah through the Ark.

I realize that this posting is a little heavier and some might say dryer than the others but I really enjoyed learning about this and wanted to share!

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United in Christ,

Caitlin and Cameron