On literalism and allegory.

A section of an article by Rev Mark Sandlin.

There is much truth and meaning to be gleaned from the Christmas story when we see it as an allegory.

One of my favorite theologians, Bishop John Shelby Spong, put it this way: “Unfortunately, the religious minds of our generation believe that these traditions can be protected from erosion only if they are literalized. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The deepest meaning of this season can never really be understood until literal claims have been laid aside. Jesus’ birth was not something that occurred on a silent and holy night in the little town of Bethlehem. No star announced his birth, and no angels sang of peace on earth. These mythical details rather embody a beautiful and eternal human dream that we enter symbolically year after year.”

Spong goes on to say, “Truth is so much bigger than literalism... Some human experiences are so large, so real, so life-changing, and so defining that the words used to describe those moments must break open the imagination if they are to capture this kind of truth.

“Our task is not to master the details or to pretend that myths are history. It is rather to enter the experience that caused the myths surrounding his birth to be born, to be transformed by that life, and to become a new creation through that experience.”

The Epiphany story, like the rest of the Christmas story, is meant to be a reflection of the teachings of Jesus. It is a story of religious pluralism. It is a story of sharing with one another, particularly the rich with those who have less. It is a story of resisting injustice.