The from Where and Why of Story
The Source of Story Writing
I maintain that the source of story is God. He set his-story in motion, and story is rooted in history, in the story of man, whether the true story or the warped story. Furthermore, the source of story writing is God. He “wrote” the original story, and He is the One who gifted mankind with imagination, with the ability to write stories. What He has given can be used and abused, but it comes from Him.
There are those who would throw out God and replace Him with the great evolution story. To paraphrase C.S. Lewis from his book of essays, Weight of Glory, evolution is the majestic myth, all lifeforms coming from an “energized” primeval soup, rising to greatness—ameba to man—and the flourishing of story! Yes, and as he says, we cannot stop the reality of the second law of thermodynamics. The myth will come to a flaming end, the grand story meaningless, forever gone with no one to remember any part of it. In essence, no God, no meaning; no God, no story! Mankind’s supposed achievements are in truth but an absurd charade. The following poem that I wrote back in 1966 illustrates my point.
DEATH BEFORE DEATH
A little leaf fell from high in a tree
And floated about on a frolicking breeze
As it neared the ground a gust thrust it high
It reached and touched the edge of the sky
Its yellow and red in the sun’s bright rays
Gave it presence of life adding joy to the day
But then in a tumult the leaf fell, and alas
The leaf that seemed living lay dead on the grass
When the leaf first fell from high in the tree
What its life really was had ceased to be
Being lifted by winds, it knew life though dead
Thus it seemed to have died on that grassy bed.
Yes, the source of story writing is God. “In the beginning God created,” and so the story and the writing of stories began.
The Purpose of Story Writing
God is the source of story and story writing, but from our perspective, what is the purpose of story writing? Why do people write stories? Why do I write stories?