How does Bible Storytelling affect worldview

Jesus nearly always taught through stories. The message of Jesus was challenging many wrong worldview assumptions. Through his parables Jesus intended to challenge the existing Jewish worldview and to provide an alternative picture of reality that he called “the kingdom of God”.

N.T. Wright says, in his book The New Testament and the People of God:

“Stories are, actually, peculiarly good at modifying or subverting other stories and their worldviews. Where head-on attack would certainly fail, the parable hides the wisdom of the serpent behind the innocence of the dove, gaining entrance and favour which can then be used to change assumptions which the hearer would otherwise keep hidden away for safety.” Wright goes on to say, “The only way of handling the clash between two stories is to tell yet another story explaining how the evidence for the challenging story is in fact deceptive”.

If stories anchor people’s existing perspective on the world, then the best thing
Christians can do in order to displace wrong beliefs about the world and our life in the world is to tell better stories, and we have them! The stories of the Bible provide answers to the essential questions of life. The more biblical stories people know and can fit into a single comprehensive story of God’s saving work, the more completely they are able to embrace a biblical worldview. By hearing the stories of God’s Word those who are prepared to listen and receive will experience change in their fundamental view of the world. This, in turn will influence a wide range of beliefs and practices that are not in accord with the life Jesus came to bring us into.

When preparing stories for telling in a particular culture it is important to seek to understand the worldview of that culture. Where there are worldview issues that are in conflict with the biblical worldview more stories should be told from the Bible that show God’s perspective on that issue. For example here in Zimbabwe there is a prevailing attitude that ancestral spirits have a great deal of influence on the living and therefore must be appeased. This worldview regarding the spirit world goes against the biblical revelation regarding those who have died. Therefore we have chosen some stories that particularly give a biblical perspective on those who have died. One good example is the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Here are two men who have died. Lazarus goes to heaven and the Rich Man goes to hell. Neither of these men is allowed to go back and connect with the living. Abraham says in the story that if the living will not listen to the testimony of God’s written word they will not listen to those who have died and come back.

Compiled by Sam Poe