Keep the Hearer in Mind: The Art of Telling True Stories

“Why did God create people?” The answer, according to Yiddish tradition is, “Because He loves stories.” Who doesn’t love to hear a good story?

The Criticism
One day, after hearing me tell a story at a meeting, a friend said, “I remember the situation you talked about. I was there and it was not like you told it. You left some things out.” He then told me of several elements that I had omitted or de-emphasized and hinted that I had lied. He was right, they were facts, they were true, and I had left them out and thus changed the story, putting a different twist to it. But lying? I needed to think about that.

Driving home alone that night, I retold the story to myself several times, adding in all the missing elements and undoing the changes. This time, however, the story felt flat, the details distracted from the point. So, I continued to tell that anecdote with things left out. Was I holding back on some facts? Yes, I was. Was I telling lies? No, and here is why.

Photographers and Storytellers
One year while on furlough in Edmonton, I took a fantastic course on photography taught by Freeman Patterson, a world-famous Canadian photographer. I also studied his book “Photography and the Art of Seeing.”

A good photographer does not just snap a scene, she studies it, knowing her purpose and her viewers. She isolates what is irrelevant, or might distract her viewer, and focuses on what she wants people to respond to. So does a good storyteller. The storyteller needs to know his purpose, his audience, what to leave out, what to contrast, and what to focus on, so that his point will get through clearly to his audience.

Who would criticize the photographer for asking a family group to move slightly to one side to eliminate the power pole in the distance that looked like it was growing out of Grandpa’s head? We are grateful when she tells little kids to look up instead of down at their shoes. No one would ever say, “You have to leave it in! There really is a power pole in the background, and the kids were looking down at their shoes!”

One Rule for Photography and Story Telling
My storytelling rule and my photography rule are alike, “Never let the facts stand in the way of a good story, or a good photograph.” Power poles are facts, but I eliminate them, focusing on the people. Good storytellers, like good photographers, get rid of distractions and focus on the main point. All good stories, just like all good photographs, are changed in some details, but they tell the truth.

The same is true in Bible translation. As a Bible translator for the Canela people of Brazil, I had to remember, “Never let the facts of culture or language stand in the way of a good translation”.

I always asked myself, “What does this passage, illustration or metaphor mean?” And “What is the best way to translate that into the Canela language and culture?” I never hesitated to change the Jewish culture-based metaphor into one based on Canela culture. It may look like a lie, but it is the only way to tell the truth. Happily, I am in good company.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were the first Bible translators of the Christian era. Jesus often spoke of the kingdom of heaven in Aramaic, the language commonly spoken in Palestine.

Matthew, who translated for the Greek-speaking Jewish people living in Asia, Europe, and Africa, simply translated the words kingdom of heaven straight into Greek. He knew his Jewish readers would know exactly what Jesus meant by that term since they still maintained their Jewish culture although they spoke Greek.

Following the Apostles’ Example
Mark, Luke, and John, however, translated Jesus’ stories, from Aramaic into Greek for non-Jewish people who lived in a Greco-Roman culture. They kept the culture of their readers in mind and did not hesitate to change the very words of Jesus to suit their purpose.  They knew that the term kingdom of heaven would instantly bring to their readers’ minds the rather tacky group of gods like Zeus, Aphrodite, and Hermes—not at all what Jesus meant.

So, they unhesitatingly changed the words kingdom of heaven to kingdom of God. While Matthew used kingdom of heaven thirty-one times, Mark, Luke, and John never used that term even once. Instead, they used kingdom of God, Mark fifteen times, Luke thirty-eight times and John three times. Paul, also, in his letters to non-Jewish believers never once used kingdom of heaven but used kingdom of God eight times.

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the original gospel writers changed the actual words of Jesus and could have been accused of lying to tell the truth. Just like all good photographers, Bible translators, and storytellers.

Note: My Next Blogpost will be published Thursday, January 4, 2024. Have a great December filled with Christmas and New Years celebrations!