A beautiful story

 I've sometimes encountered, among more liberal-leaning Christians, the idea that even if the Bible isn't factual, it's a beautiful story that inspires its adherents to be better people.

Firstly, you can only call it a beautiful story if you ignore all the ugly parts - and they are legion.

But let's say we can ignore those parts (and that post only noted a tiny fraction of them). Let's focus on the best possible interpretation of the most important part of the story: A perfectly moral and loving being sacrifices his own life for the sake of those he loves. Even those who are unaware of his sacrifice. Even those who are ungrateful for his sacrifice. Even those who are ACTIVELY TORTURING HIM TO DEATH. His love is so absolute and so boundless that not even death can overcome it. And it transforms those who are loved, into beings capable of the same kind of love.

Truly, that IS a beautiful story, and inspiring. Even without believing it's factual, it points to some powerful truths about love. I'll even concede that this story conveys those truths in a way that could not be conveyed as well by any means other than by the story. Aristotle might have been able to write a profound treatise on the meaning of Agape love and how it's different from other forms of love; and he would almost certainly have done a better job of explaining its meaning clearly than the Bible does. But he would not have been able to inspire by philosophy what the story of Jesus inspires by example.

But you know something? That still doesn't mean the story is true.

Lord of the Rings is also a beautiful story (as long as you ignore the racist and misogynist parts) that tells powerful truths about love, nobility, sacrifice, honor, doing what's right even when it will cost you everything. And those truths, also, are conveyed by the story in a way that is more powerful and more liable to stick with the reader than any other means of conveying those truths. But that doesn't mean I should expect Gandalf the Grey to come and help me when things look dark and hopeless. It means I must BE Gandalf the Grey to other people when their lives look dark and hopeless, to the extent that I have the power to do so. And it doesn't mean that Samwise Gamgee will mystically confer his bravery upon me if I ask him sincerely enough. It means I must take inspiration from his example and go bravely into darkness when necessary in hopes of bringing light to those I love - and persevere even when that hope seems to be gone. It doesn't mean I should live in fear that the Nazgul will take me body and soul to the most evil being imaginable if I do not live virtuously enough, or will flee before me if I speak the name of the goddess Elbereth. It means I must stand strong even in the face of evils and horrors too powerful for me to overcome. And it doesn't mean that if I look hard enough I'll find a ring that will make me invisible when I put it on. It means that no one can be trusted with the power to dominate others - no matter how noble their intentions at the beginning, that kind of power WILL corrupt them.

The story can teach profound truths, but ONLY when you understand that it's a fictional story. It teaches you nothing of value if you mistake it for a factual historical account, and in fact makes you less prepared to deal with hard realities, rather than more prepared as you would be if you understood the story to be a fable. 

As Picasso said, "Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth". As long as we approach any work of literature or art with that in mind we can glean the kernels of truth from all the chaff of the artist's failings, and the limitations of the time the artist was born into. But if we swallow it whole: we fail to digest properly, we get little nourishment out of what we consume, and we end up producing lots of unnecessary and painful shit.