2 Peter 1:16 “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.”

Many people, including now a lot in professing Christendom, believe that the Bible is a “fable”. And even if they don’t say it, that’s how they treat it.

A fable can be defined as “A feigned story or tale, intended to instruct or amuse; a fictitious narration intended to enforce some useful truth or precept.”

Basically put, a fable is a lie, but a lie that seeks to be legitimized by the purpose that it serves. Perhaps seemingly noble or perhaps more sinister.

If you’ve read “Aesop’s fables” or so before, you read a series of made up stories that were designed to convey some message, philosophy or principle.

There are many modern day fables, like Santa Claus, a fabled character who we all know is a lie, but we entertain because of what he represents and means to us.

But the thing with the Bible is, that it does not lie to convey the truth. It does not lie in order to convince you to believe and act a certain way. It’s not like telling your children lies to get them to act a certain way… like the boogeyman.

The Bible demands your belief based on the fact it’s perfectly true. Why you should believe it is because it’s the truth.

Fables demand you believe lies based on the purpose they serve, but the Bible demands belief not on how it suits or may or may not benefit you, but based on the fact it is the word of God and perfect truth.

But even many professing Christians do not hold the Bible as truth, but more a “helpful resource” that they can glean principles and truth from at their behest.

For example they don’t believe Genesis creation is true or Noah’s flood is true or even any of it is true… but that they are stories and loose truths to be allegorized, interpreted and made sense of how the reader sees fit ie. It’s a fable to them.

They take quite a liberty with the Bible, but it’s a liberty not given by the Bible. Because the Bible’s supreme value is in its truth, not in the sense we make from it or a cause it’s trying to promote.

And so people have an attitude to the Bible of its not true, but that useful “morals of the story” can be extracted from it like “love your neighbor” and “doing good unto others”.

But because it’s just a fable and not true when it comes to sin, repentance, judgment and hell… well… you know… it’s not literally true so we won’t take those parts!

Because fables are things we play around with, we get to choose what parts we like, and they’re relatively harmless. Notice how fables often are kids stuff.

And Christians have relegated the truth of God’s word to kids stuff. But it’s not. In fact it will help you put away childish things like the fables of evolution, Santa Claus and your own self righteousness even.

Finally worth noting: The fact the Bible isn’t a fable isn’t just because people in the Bible are telling you it’s not. It’s witness is corroborated in many ways.

But if you know how we got the Bible, well it’s a book of many books, written by “eyewitnesses”, ordinary people who were there, who saw, who told others and wrote down what they saw.

What they saw changed their lives, so they wanted others to know as well. They died for what they saw. And so where fables are made up stories, the gospel of Jesus Christ rather is based on numerous eyewitness accounts of what happened.

Jesus prayed specifically for people who would take these eyewitnesses at their word in John 17:20 “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;”

Everyone is going to take someone and something at their word, why not take these eyewitnesses at their word?

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