Words

Everyone sees the world from some vantage point. We have the categories in which we think, the things we believe but cannot prove, and the things that our mind puts together that shape our view. No one can stand outside of reality and looks in on it. Sire appropriately uses the term ‘story’ to describe the point of view from which we stand. Ultimately, the story rests on naming the elephant; on deciding what the really real is. The challenging aspect for the Christian is not see this story as something to which one assents intellectually, but rather as something which encompasses all of one’s thinking that he or she lives and acts through the story.

Understanding that everyone begins with some sort of story, and understanding what those stories are, helps the Christian and non-Christian alike understand and respect each other. When their stories collide, it is important that the Christian’s practice match the biblical story. Stories will collapse because of inconsistency and inability to relate to reality. Christianity does neither of these things, but Christians must live and act through the story demonstrating its consistency and relation to reality