Storytelling

I am a retired literature professor; I taught at a small Virginia community college. I loved it! And, I miss it!

One thing I always stressed was that regardless of what a student is reading, be it literature or history, it was a story. The story of mankind – never changing; always changing. This story has no beginning, and it is eternally unfinished. Our only beginning is God and our works, and our stories are His story (history); we merely add some flavor and many disappointments to them.

We read our Bible, or our Qur’an, or any number of religious books justifying what changes we try to make to God’s story. This is our history, and it has plagued us since day one. The eternal Truth and Unity of God’s story is all around us. . . if we only open our eyes to its beauty. I have read and studied many prophetic books of many cultures; the unifying idea is one God, no matter what name we assign to Him. If we truly believe in one God, we have to accept this as Truth. Our loyalties to God must be all inclusive, not separated by language or societal custom. He is one God, and we are made in His image.

The study of history and literature is the study of storytelling episodes of the family of man. It begins with the story of creation and continues through all until today. And then into tomorrow! We must unite and put aside all discriminations that plague our communities. We are one mankind equal in all respects; at least according to God. Our avoidance to recognize the condition of the poor and our persecution of someone from another culture is evil in God’s eyes. The story of God is Love, and we sin against this story every time we persecute one another. There can be no love with this human persecution.

Let us continue our storytelling, but highlight how we have sinned against the story God wants for us. And change our future chapters back into storytelling of Love.