Jonah: Fact or Fiction? (And Does it Really Matter?)

Is the Bible true? I am convinced that every word of it is (excuse the idiom) “gospel truth.” But what does that mean? Is the truthfulness of the Bible dependent on the factuality of all of its stories?

My history and training screams, “YES!” All of the stories of the Bible must be factual, they must have happened just as the Bible relates them. Yet, in recent years, I have been thinking rather differently on some items. In fact, those closest to me know that I’ve abandoned a literal understanding of the Genesis creation account—at least as far as the “6 day” timeline is concerned. Now the struggle is how far to take my newfound “deconstruction.”

Recently I heard a very interesting sermon by Dave White at Pantano Christian Church in Tuscon, AZ. In a series called “Honest Questions: Engaging Faith,” he recently addressed the “factuality” of three stories of the Old Testament in a sermon called “Is the Bible True?”

I think White has some valid points to make, even if I’m not sure how much I agree with them. In case you haven’t yet followed the link and listened to the sermon, let me give you a short rundown: When he was younger, White was interested in defending the Bible from modern attacks and had come to believe that proving the authenticity and historicity of all Biblical stories was of vital importance. Apologetics had become a priority for him. But as he continued to study, he began to struggle with some Biblical stories, specifically the Genesis creation account, Jonah, and Job. In the message he deconstructs a modern understanding of these stories as historical accounts and assumes that these might have been fictional stories used to make a valid, and truthful point. He still believes in Jesus as the Son of God who died on a cross and literally rose from the dead. He still believes in miracles and in the truth of the Bible. But, he says, Jesus had no problem using fictional stories to make a point—we call these stories “parables.” Remembering this and understanding the mindset of the Hebrew people (who didn’t intend to record moment-by-moment scientific accounts of these events—such as the creation account), what is wrong with questioning whether some stories are meant to be understood as fictional accounts which relate fundamental truths? Don’t we tell stories like this all the time?

In the message, White doesn’t answer the question I was begging him to address: “Where do you draw the line?” However, I don’t think it is difficult to draw the line. It is pretty clear that the Gospels are intended to be thought of historically. They match up with extra-biblically documented historical events and are related in a narrative sense. The epistles are personal letters which assume the historicity of the gospel events (admittedly, they also seem to assume the historicity of many Old Testament events). In the Old Testament, the books of history have the ring of historicity to them and are well documented. But Jonah, Job, and (I believe) the creation account contain elements which are, at the very least, historically questionable—even if they relate profound truths. They don't seem to have the same contextual support.

I resonate with White’s sermon because I have some questions about the “factual nature” of some Old Testament stories. I’m not really sure any more whether every story in the Old Testament was meant to be understood as fact. I’m not saying I’ve entirely accepted that these three stories are fictional. The truth is, I’m just not sure. In fact, I’m not sure I’ll ever be sure. For that reason, I’m content to wait until I can talk to the writers in person to find out. But I do think it is impossible to prove them to be factual in a modern sense. That having been said, I think there is a valid question which is raised by this discussion.

For many years I, like White, was sure that my studies would enable me to prove with certainty that the Bible is true, it’s stories are all factual, and that its historicity lends it modern credibility. I really believed that if I could just show people that, they’d just have to come around to belief in Jesus Christ! But is it so? What could I do that Josh McDowell hasn’t already done? The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict alone is 760 pages long! The "proof" is there. Why isn’t everyone scrambling for the nearest baptistery? Is there a point to proving the historicity and factuality of the Bible?

And it amazes me how much of my undergrad education was spent proving that the Bible is factual and trustworthy because it holds up under scrutiny and modern definitions of historical accuracy. My education always attempted to explain away apparent difficulties and preserve the Bible’s integrity. But is this what we should be doing?

What if, instead of wasting so many years trying to prove that the bible is factual, what I really needed to do is simply rely on its truthfulness and convey its message to people? It’s really the message of scripture that resonates with people, not the idea that the Bible is a mass of interesting documented historical facts. The Bible isn't primarily a history book, even though it contains history. Will our attempts to prove that it is historically accurate really draw people to the message?

My good friend Paul Axton once said, “We don’t read the Bible to learn a bunch of interesting facts, we read it to find life-transforming truths.” And he often adds that when we try to prove the authority of the Bible, we often end up undermining it. Our attempts to prove scripture according to modern standards are always well-intended, but usually end up elevating our modern standards. Making scripture meet my standards of truthfulness means that “my standards of truthfulness” are the real measure. Perhaps we do not need the Bible’s historicity proven. Perhaps we should merely assume its authority and not attempt to lend it our credibility. Does God really need my authority?

To my mind, there is no more life-transforming message than that of Jesus Christ. And it no longer seems to me that my goal is to prove that it happened, but to show that it is happening. Jesus Christ does change lives and he does give hope. And try as we might, we cannot erase the element of blindness from our faith!