Lost Stories Gem #41
Why All the Biblical Symbolism Matters
In an age dominated by higher criticism and scientific snobbery, the veracity of The Bible is often called into question. Skeptics cast suspicion upon its historical narratives and miraculous events. Cynicism and skepticism rule the day as the necessary price of intelligent inquiry, while faith and hope are dismissed as pathetic contrivances of wishful thinking.
But here’s the real truth: Since the Fall of Man, humans have been incredibly limited in perceiving the Divine. The spiritual dimension of reality is virtually impenetrable to creatures like us who are imprisoned by a fallen nature. Because of this limited perceptual condition, God has deigned to articulate His truth to mankind in terms of dramatic significance that transcends the foibles of human language.
In short, the biblical symbolism we find throughout Scripture isn’t a weakness but a strength. It’s precisely designed to convey truth in a way that reaches us despite our perceptual limitations.
How Symbolism Reveals and Conceals
Due to the symbolic nature of storytelling, the biblical message—in its conveyance of typological truth—is capable of both revealing and concealing knowledge. This dual function isn’t accidental. When scholars fueled by higher criticism demand a greater awareness of the historical process, claiming that textual transmission dilutes integrity, the answer is straightforward: God isn’t nearly as frustrated by such matters as they are. He’s already considered the problem and has preemptively designed the dramas of Scripture to convey His truth regardless of such difficulties.
What makes this even more striking is that one of the very objections offered by critics actually proves divine authorship. Critics argue that The Bible has been corrupted through countless translations. Yet the fact that separate books maintain such clear-cut continuity from beginning to end is one of its most potent demonstrations that mere mortals couldn’t have been the only agency involved in its creation.
When scientists demand that The Bible be expunged of every trace of the miraculous, insisting this is necessary for a realistic approach to historical texts, they reveal their own inconsistency. These same scientists deny miracles in Scripture while insisting on belief in the miraculous when discussing the origins of matter or mankind. They pontificate about the Big Bang and genetic mutation as though they were eyewitnesses, yet demand that biblical accounts meet a standard of proof they themselves never apply to their own theories.
We Are Hardwired for Story
One of the primary reasons God chose to convey the biblical message via dramatic symbolism is because we are creatures with brains uniquely tuned to such modes of communication. Even in our fallen state of consciousness, our brains are hardwired to interpret data in symbolic, metaphoric, and mythic dimensions. As such, something within us remains tuned to the frequency of the Divine regardless of the immeasurable gulf that exists between us and God.
That’s because, despite our fallen state, we still possess residual aspects of a God-like sensibility simply because we’ve been created in the image of God. The psalmist understood this when he wrote, “Deep calls unto deep.” Though surrounded by misery and doubt—with everyone demanding to know, “Where is your God?”—the psalmist maintained his faith. He stayed connected because something deep within his being mysteriously nullified the distance between his earthly existence and the Lord above. That ineffable quality is what we might call the “imageness” of God.
What’s more, this connection existed long before the Advent of the Spirit recorded in The Book of Acts. It’s not one that resides only in those who claim to be Christians but resides in all human beings as a function of God’s image in all of us.
Beyond Our Mortal Selves
Whether or not one believes in God or The Bible, all human beings cling to a curious desire to believe in otherworldly possibilities. The believer has faith in his God of Scripture, while the atheist believes in his Big Bang of science. In both cases, the same mechanism is at work: something inside each of us calls out to some corresponding mystery embedded in the Universe in which we live.
We sense this implicitly. Because of this peculiar sensation, we all set out in pursuit of whatever might substantiate this haunting sense of knowing something beyond our mortal selves. Hollywood understands this deeply. In many ways, the enduring popularity of movies constitutes one of the most peculiar conundrums known to modern man. It’s truly ironic when we consider that this most modern of art forms should inflame so effortlessly the most ancient of ideologies.
The Secret Desire in All of Us
In a world that prides itself in rationalism and enlightenment, the typical moviegoer rarely objects to the sort of sentimentality and nostalgia that constitutes the primary output of this infamous dream factory, with its preponderance for such “superstitious nonsense” as destiny and redemption, resurrection and immortality, eternal love and self-sacrifice. Just imagine what the movies would be like if there were no monsters or saviors, no aliens or angels, no overlords or freedom-fighters to inhabit the screen. And what if there was no Heaven or God to gaze upon, no Hell or devil to avert our eyes from?
Even while audiences grow weary of worn-out clichés, the demand for more realistic depictions of the world has never quenched the more compelling urge—the secret desire in all of us—to be transported to alternate worlds of existence, where the movie experience becomes for them nothing less than a religious experience. Just consider the box office receipts for the top grossing films of all time, and one will notice a consistent pattern. In the context of our discussion, however, it’s even more telling when we examine this list against the backdrop of the narratives found in The Bible.
Star Wars
Harry Potter
Batman
Spider-Man
Transformers
The Avengers
Star Trek
James Bond
The Lord of the Rings
X-Men
Superman
Mission: Impossible
Iron Man
Indiana Jones
The Matrix
The Chronicles of Narnia
Men in Black
Together, these seventeen franchises, among the top movie franchises ever made, have amassed worldwide earnings of nearly 240 billion dollars. The only thing more staggering than this untold wealth is the fact that these franchises so specifically correlate with themes and characterizations first described in The Bible.
The Hero’s Journey
At the core of every one of these blockbuster franchises lies a single narrative device: the power of “one man.” Undoubtedly, the most pervasive story element found in Scripture is that of one man who rises from the muddled masses, one man—or one woman—who alone possesses the skill, the courage, and the sense of destiny to save the day. The roll call of such iconic heroes fills the pages of both Holy Writ and Hollywood. For every Noah, Moses, or David offered up in The Bible, there’s a James Bond, Luke Skywalker, or Harry Potter among the pantheon of movie gods.
When former President Ronald Reagan was asked about what film had most affected him, he cited Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Said Reagan: “When Jimmy Stewart walked the halls of the Capitol building, I walked with him. When he stood in the Senate chamber and refused to knuckle under to the vested interests, I began to realize, through the power of the motion picture, one man can make a difference.”
In describing what Frank Capra, the director of the film, had done through his hero, film critic Neal Gabler wrote, “He created a powerful myth for the nation.” This myth, however, wasn’t created out of thin air. It was, in fact, firmly rooted in those narratives found originally in The Bible. “Capra had propounded,” Gabler went on to say, “a secularized displacement of Christ’s tale, in which the common-man hero, blessed with goodness and sense, overcomes obstacles, temptations, and betrayals.”
The Hero’s Return
Even more striking than the hero’s arrival is his departure and return. In other words, the most prevalent motif across all these films—as well as the central theme of The Bible—is the resurrection of the dead.
As writer Christopher Vogler explains it: “Heroes must die so that they can be reborn. The dramatic movement that audiences enjoy more than any other is death and rebirth. In some way, in every story, heroes face death or something like it. Most of the time, they magically survive this death and are literally, and symbolically, reborn to reap the consequences of having cheated death.”
In film after film, the vanquished hero apparently dies while saving the day, only to be miraculously restored to life in the end. Neo is killed by Agent Smith, but he is revived by Trinity’s kiss. Spock dies rescuing the Enterprise, but he is resurrected on the Genesis planet. Jean Grey is drowned saving her comrades, but she emerges from the depths transformed. Batman is killed in a bomb blast protecting Gotham City only to turn up later in an outdoor cafe much to the suprise of his butler Alfred. Obi-Wan Kenobi is killed in a laser duel with Darth Vader, but he returns in Luke Skywalker’s greatest hour of need to remind him: “Trust the force, Luke.”
Why This Pattern Persists
Could it really be mere coincidence that audiences worldwide respond with such enthusiasm to these impossibly miraculous storylines? Many would call it wishful thinking. Anthropologists might attribute it to cultural predisposition. Psychologists might explain it as regression to childhood fantasies.
But consider another possibility: perhaps audiences aren’t indulging in child-like modes of thinking at all. Perhaps they’re simply behaving in accordance with their true nature. Simply put, in terms of our deepest wiring, we’re all spiritual “tuning forks,” as it were, who naturally respond to frequencies that exist outside ourselves. Perhaps theologians are correct, after all, in describing this phenomenon as “deep calling unto deep.”
The fact that these narratives—whether drawn directly from Scripture or merely echoing its themes—capture the hearts and pocketbooks of billions tells us something crucial. It tells us that embedded in human consciousness is a profound truth about redemption, rebirth, and the triumph of good over evil. This isn’t mere sentimentality. This is recognition.
The Testimony of Our Own Desires
In a world that prides itself on rationality, logic, and objectivity, there’s clearly an equal yet opposite dimension to its innermost belief system. As such, the flipside to these so-called “normal” modes of thought can’t be explained away simply because so many generations have distorted, abused, and exploited otherworldly realities. Just because fanatics and extremists have clinged to such notions doesn’t make the notions themselves false.
The verdict has been handed down by way of the almighty dollar. In this most unexpected way, the secret desire of the average moviegoer has revealed what they truly believe about the meaning and purpose of their world. And they’ve done so to the tune of nearly 240 billion dollars, proving that audiences aren’t simply indulging in wishful thinking. In fact, they’re behaving in accordance with who and what they truly are.
Biblical symbolism, then, doesn’t endure because it’s quaint or nostalgic but, rather, because it speaks to something fundamental in human nature. It addresses our deepest questions about sacrifice, destiny, and the possibility of eternal bliss. Until you understand that ultimate truth is conveyed through symbol and story—not merely through historical fact—you’ll never fully grasp why The Bible remains the most influential book ever written.
