Myth Became Fact: Storytelling, Imagination, and Apologetics in the Bible

The Secret to Understanding the Bible, Storytelling, Imagination and Apologetics

Myth Became Fact is a collection of essays by Brian Godawa about storytelling, imagination, apologetics and the Bible. Some of them have appeared in the novel series, Chronicles of the Nephilim and some have been published in various magazines or journals.

Here are the Chapters and what you will learn if you read Myth Became Fact:

Old Testament Storytelling Apologetics
Israel shared mythopoeic images with their pagan neighbors: The sea dragon of chaos, and the Storm god. These are polemical apologetic concepts used by Biblical writers to show the incomparability of Yahweh. But how does this subversion differ from syncretism, or blending Christianity with paganism?

Biblical Creation and Storytelling: Cosmos, Combat and Covenant
Creation stories in the ancient Near East and the Bible both express a primeval battle called Chaoskampf, the fight of deity to create order out of chaos. But how do they differ?

The Universe in Ancient Imagination
A detailed comparison and contrast of the Biblical picture of the universe with the ancient Mesopotamian one. Does God communicate material structure or theological meaning? Is the Bible full of ancient superstitions and false science or is there something deeper going on here?

New Testament Storytelling Apologetics
Paul’s sermon to the pagans on Mars Hill is an example of the apologetics of subversion: Communicating the Gospel in terms of a pagan narrative with a view toward replacing their worldview. This will expand your understanding of Christian imagination and change the way you understand Christian apologetics.

Mythopoeia in Prophecy and Apocalyptic Genre
God uses the imagination of mythical descriptions of future events to deliberately obscure his message while simultaneously proving his claim about the true meaning and purpose behind history. If you want to understand Biblical prophecy, you MUST understand the Hebrew imagination or you will get End Times eschatology all wrong. Most Christians do get it wrong.

An Apologetic of Biblical Horror
An exploration of the genre of horror to show how God uses it as a powerful moral tool to communicate serious spiritual, moral, and social defilement in the context of repentance from sin and redemptive victory over evil. In fact, horror is one of God’s favorite genres to communicate his most serious truths. You won’t believe it until you read it. But when you do, it will change your understanding of horror and it’s value for today.

The author’s hope is that the Christian reader may gain inspiration from these insights to use more imagination in their own approach to defending the faith and glorifying God in their personal spiritual lives.