A fairy tale is “a story about fairies, giants, magic deeds, etc; an unbelievable or untrue story, a lie,” according to Webster’s New World College Dictionary. A fable is “a fictitious story used to teach a moral lesson; a myth or legend; a story that is not true; a falsehood.”
From Europe, we have the story of Jack The Giant Killer. In the story, a young man or boy miraculously killed a giant who was terrorizing the countryside. From Israel we have the story of David and Goliath, in which a young man or boy miraculously killed a giant who was terrorizing the countryside. The stories are similar in many respects, but while Jack The Giant Killer is generally accepted as a fairy tale or fable, some people believe David and Goliath is a true story. What makes the big difference?
Jack is a young man about whom we know almost nothing, except that his father had been killed by the giant. We are never told what country he was from, where the giant came from, or when the story happened. There is no basis of fact, even that Jack ever existed. It is a total fabrication.
David, on the other hand, was an Israeli boy, a member of the tribe of Judah, and the son of Jesse. We know about both his ancestors and his descendants, and can verify their existence. We also know that the giant was a Philistine, a group about which historical records exist. We are able to determine that the event happened around 1200 BC. The verifiable information implies that the story is not entirely fictitious.
Without that information about David’s family, nationality, and opponent, the story of David and Goliath is just another fable or fairy tale. If people are to believe the Bible is true, it is critical that we teach the background material so they have a sound basis for believing it.
No comments:
Post a Comment