We all know that “Fiction” is a factually-false, made-up, imaginary story and “Non-fiction” is a fact-based narrative or exposition, personal/social/political expression, or opinion/persuasion. Sometimes the boundaries get blurred, especially in the age of social media, as fictional “conspiracy theories” or other false reports get passed off as non-fiction fact, and, as in the case of autobiography, all parts may not be verifiable. And, of course opinion/persuasion can be based on false belief or wishful thinking as much as, even more than, fact. And, of course, fiction can be based on actual history, geography, or lived experience.
Regardless, we generally associate fiction with that which is factually false and non-fiction with that which is factually true.
Yet, we take fiction seriously, as art in the form of novels, short stories, screenplays, etc. Why is this? Is it just that we admire the imaginative play that goes into them, the ingenuity, the creativity, the compelling language? That’s part of it, but my experience as a teacher of literature at all levels from high school to graduate studies and as a participant in various “book discussions” is that the primary focus of most people is on the content: the plot, characters, setting, and the overall message that different readers find. And the value they typically find in these elements is that they are “true-to-life” and expressive of a meaningful message that strike readers as “true.”
Well, “true” in what sense? Not factually true, but true in, what I would call, a symbolic sense. Even what we call a fantasy fiction, that is, a story that is unrealistic, maybe even impossible in real life, can strike us as “true” if understood as allegorical, metaphorical, or symbolic of a general truth. The film Star Wars (and all its sequels and prequels) is powerful because it depicts political/military conflict, good vs. evil, heroes and villains, family relationships, friendship, romance, and human experience in general in ways that strike us, not only as entertaining, but as “true” to human experience, if not factual, or even realistic.
All this might seem obvious, and non-controversial, but, again in my experience, if the term “fiction” merges into “myth” and then into “religious myth,” it can suddenly raise hackles. It raises hackles among those who believe certain religious stories, even those that contradict the known laws of nature, are factually true. And it raises hackles among religious non-believers who prefer to dismiss religious stories as false belief.
A fundamentalist Christian who takes the Bible literally might object to having its contents referred to as “myth” because that implies “false belief.” On the other hand, an atheist who also tends to take things literally might object to Biblical, or any religious, myth referred to as symbolically “true.”
At the risk of offending both extremes, I will suggest how the Christ story can be considered symbolically true, even if factually false.
Most Christians probably consider it to be a unique story, but actually it follows the familiar pattern of a hero/quest myth found in almost all, if not all, cultures: (1) mysterious or miraculous origin, (2) hiding, (3) initiation and divine signs or special powers, (4) preparation, meditation, withdrawal, refusal, (5) trial and quest, (6) death and the scapegoat, (7) descent to underworld, (8) resurrection and rebirth, (9) ascension, apotheosis, atonement. Not all hero myths contain every element, but all roughly follow the same outline. (See David Leeming's Mythology: The Voyage of the Hero, 2nd ed.)*
In the case of Jesus Christ, (1) he is born of a virgin, (2) he is born in a kind of “hidden” place, a manger, (3) he shows a maturity beyond his years during his conversation with religious teachers, (4) he spends forty days and forty nights in the wilderness resisting the temptations of Satan and preparing for his “quest,” (5) he calls his disciples and undertakes his ministry performing miracles and spreading his message, (6) he is crucified and dies as a scapegoat for human sin, (7) he is buried in a tomb, (8) he rises from the dead, and (9) he ascends into heaven and is deified.
So, if we dismiss the story as factually and literally false, on what basis can we affirm its truth value? For one thing, we can affirm that, regardless of time and place, some individuals seem to acquire special status. These individuals perform outstanding acts or make noteworthy contributions to their communities. In turn, their communities elevate them and attribute unusual qualities to them in recognition of their accomplishments. Hero myths thus represent the enduring human truth that some individuals rise above the rest of us and that the rest of us confer upon them a distinctive standing. Likewise, these myths embody the truth that, as humans, we seek role models, mentors, and heroes, who inspire and lead us toward our own higher life.
From a psychological perspective, we can also view these myths as representing the universal story of each individual’s life journey. As we grow, we become conscious of ourselves as having a distinct identity. We often think of ourselves as having a special calling or mission in life. We may face threats to our survival; we look for signs of our “destiny” or our unique goals in life; we seek success in one form or another and we prepare ourselves to achieve it; we encounter obstacles and trials that must be overcome in our life’s “quest.” Not all “heroes” are successful, and we may experience a failed quest, perhaps more than one. Regardless of success or failure, we must face death, but we take comfort that we will live on after death, even if it is only in the form of the memories of the living or the legacy we leave behind. Psychologically, our apotheosis is the mark we leave on the world.
Thus, the literally false myth embodies the symbolic truth of our sense of unique identity, our individual life journey, and our shared human experience of trial and quest, success or failure, suffering, death, and the hope, if not the conviction, that our life was significant.
Stripped of its religious meaning, the story of Jesus Christ is the same story that we each live, and that is perhaps one reason the story can resonate powerfully even for an atheist, assuming the atheist has not rejected imagination along with religion.
Thus, while myths and legends, religious and otherwise, may be factually false, they persist in popular imagination and in literary tradition because they embody enduring “truth” about human experience.
Does this mean that conspiracy theories, rumors, superstition, and “fake news” can embody symbolic truth? Well, they may well tell us something about the psychology of those who embrace them as factually true, whether it be our human desire to believe what we want to be true rather than what can be verified as true, our need to reinforce a particular world view that we have become emotionally invested in, our fear of being wrong, our anger at being challenged, wishful-thinking, or just our human tendency to follow the path of least resistance. It takes effort to verify, to research, to evaluate the credibility of sources, to seek facts and evidence, to rely on logic and reason.
Why would anyone believe that our government is secretly controlled by Satanists who deal in sex-trafficking? Is it a form of socio/political paranoia? Does it satisfy some need to explain the mysterious inner workings of a seemingly all-powerful government beyond our control?
Just as there are atheists and other literal-minded materialists who reject imaginative truth, there are those with over-active imaginations who are easy prey for scams, superstition, hoaxes, fake news, and conspiracy theories.
There can be a dark side to the excess of imagination, as well as to the lack of imagination. In each case the seeker of “truth” is missing something. The literal-minded materialist, by focusing on facts alone, is missing a much larger dimension of truth. Those with over-active imaginations who can’t distinguish between fact and fiction are missing a sense of reality, both factual reality and that which symbolically represents reality.
In any case, assuming one has one’s wits about them, yes, fiction can be true.
*Based on Joseph Campbell's The Hero of a Thousand Faces
