--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no valid reason for the…" description: "\"“There is no valid reason for the perennial Christian preference of biography, history, and the newspaper to fiction and poetry. The former tell us wha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/659/leland-ryken-18808_bible_there-is-no-valid-reason-for-the-perenni_3209095.jpg" --- # There is no valid reason for the perennial Christian… ![“There is no valid reason for the perennial Christian preference of biography, history, and the newspaper to fiction and poetry. The former tell us what happened, while literature tells us what happens. The example of the Bible, which is central to any attempt to formulate a Christian approach to…” quote by Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/659/leland-ryken-18808_bible_there-is-no-valid-reason-for-the-perenni_3209095.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/659/leland-ryken-18808_bible_there-is-no-valid-reason-for-the-perenni_3209095.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/659/leland-ryken-18808_bible_there-is-no-valid-reason-for-the-perenni_3209095.jpg) > ““There is no valid reason for the perennial Christian preference of biography, history, and the newspaper to fiction and poetry. The former tell us what happened, while literature tells us what happens. The example of the Bible, which is central to any attempt to formulate a Christian approach to literature, sanctions the imagination as a valid form of truth. The Bible is in large part a work of imagination. Its most customary way of expressing truth is not the sermon or the theological outline, but the story, the poem, and the vision--all of them literary forms and products of the imagination (though not necessarily the fictional imagination). Literary conventions are present in the Bible from start to finish, even in the most historically factual parts.”” [Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Literature, especially imaginative forms, conveys truth beyond factual accounts, and the Bible itself uses narrative and poetic devices to express truth. **In simple terms:** Imaginative writing reveals truth like the Bible does. Key Takeaway Embrace narrative and poetry to explore deeper truths. Themes literature truth imagination faith interpretation Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - teaching - preaching - writing - reading - personal reflection Key Concepts narrative poetry symbolism theology Questions to Reflect On - How can narrative shape your understanding of truth? - What role does imagination play in faith? A Different Perspective Factual history alone may miss deeper spiritual insights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fictional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fictional/) [Fictional Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fictional-imagination-2685692/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Imagination Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination-literary-5988360/) [Literature Tells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-tells-2485936/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [History releases me from my own experience and jogs my fictional imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-gilmore/history-releases-me-from-my-own-experience-and-jogs-my-fictional/) [Jennifer Gilmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-gilmore/) > [Literature tells very little to those who understand it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/literature-tells-very-little-to-those-who-understand-it/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Literature more often tells the story of impulses we don't act on than of ones we do. I could joke about the Cain and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/literature-more-often-tells-the-story-of-impulses-we-don-t-act-on/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [“I told you; I am Arianna, the Siren, your Guardian, and how is a Guardian supposed to do her job if she is clueless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-sehyun-song/i-told-you-i-am-arianna-the-siren-your-guardian-and-how-is-a-guardian/) [Erica Sehyun Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-sehyun-song/) > [One of the things that writing has taught me is that fiction has a life of its own. Fictional places are sometimes more real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/one-of-the-things-that-writing-has-taught-me-is-that-fiction-has-a/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [“She smiled sinisterly. Light mist started to slowly swirl around us. All I could see was her, the tall rocks and the white wall.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-sehyun-song/she-smiled-sinisterly-light-mist-started-to-slowly-swirl-around-us/) [Erica Sehyun Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-sehyun-song/) > [I think a fictional invention grows according to its own development, not the author's. Characters in fiction are not simply as alive as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/i-think-a-fictional-invention-grows-according-to-its-own-development/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [Creating the fictional background for a game world isn't significantly different from creating a background for fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-m-ford/creating-the-fictional-background-for-a-game-world-isn-t/) [John M. Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-m-ford/) > [“Grayson: Fiction is just a lie anyway. Brianna: But it's not - it's a different kind of truth - it would be your truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/grayson-fiction-is-just-a-lie-anyway-brianna-but-it-s-not-it-s-a/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [There is a quiet revolution going on in the study of the Bible. At its center is a growing awareness that the Bible is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/there-is-a-quiet-revolution-going-on-in-the-study-of-the-bible-at-its/) [Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/) > [“The Bible may be an arresting and poetic work of fiction, but it is not the sort of book you should give your children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-bible-may-be-an-arresting-and-poetic-work-of-fiction-but-it-is/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The best part of being a writer for me is immersing myself in a fictional world, which is the opposite of being on social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/the-best-part-of-being-a-writer-for-me-is-immersing-myself-in-a/) [Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/) > [“When you “lose yourself” inside the world of a fictional character while reading a story, you may actually end up changing your own behavior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-marselle/when-you-lose-yourself-inside-the-world-of-a-fictional-character/) [Terry Marselle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-marselle/) > [There are things you can say in the voice of a fictional character that you could not explore any other way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/contrapoints/there-are-things-you-can-say-in-the-voice-of-a-fictional-character/) [ContraPoints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/contrapoints/) > [When I wrote my fictional novels, they always had a starting point of something real. Those images that are not real are exactly the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/when-i-wrote-my-fictional-novels-they-always-had-a-starting-point-of/) [Karl Ove Knausgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) ## More by Leland Ryken > [“The end of learning, he said, is to “repair the ruins of our first parents by regaining to know God aright, and out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/the-end-of-learning-he-said-is-to-repair-the-ruins-of-our-first/) [Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/) > [There is a quiet revolution going on in the study of the Bible. At its center is a growing awareness that the Bible is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/there-is-a-quiet-revolution-going-on-in-the-study-of-the-bible-at-its/) [Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/) > [“Part of what Milton valued in a good book then was contact with the mind of an author rendered otherwise inaccessible by distance or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/part-of-what-milton-valued-in-a-good-book-then-was-contact-with-the/) [Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/) > [The Puritans' sense of priorities in life was one of their greatest strengths. Putting God first and valuing everything else in relation to God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/the-puritans-sense-of-priorities-in-life-was-one-of-their-greatest/) [Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/) > [“In 1941, Dorothy L. Sayers provided a detailed analysis of that creative process in The Mind of the Maker. She developed the relevance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/in-1941-dorothy-l-sayers-provided-a-detailed-analysis-of-that/) [Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/) > [Readers should aspire to what is excellent. They should refuse to read a substitute Bible. They should want a Bible that calls them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/readers-should-aspire-to-what-is-excellent-they-should-refuse-to-read/) [Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/) > [No group of people has been more unjustly maligned in the twentieth century than the Puritans. As a result, we approach the Puritans with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/no-group-of-people-has-been-more-unjustly-maligned-in-the-twentieth/) [Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/) > [It is true that the Puritans banned all recreation on Sundays and all games of chance, gambling, bear baiting, horse racing, and bowling in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/it-is-true-that-the-puritans-banned-all-recreation-on-sundays-and-all/) [Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/) > [Stressing the God-centered life can lead to an otherworldly withdrawal from everyday earthly life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/stressing-the-god-centered-life-can-lead-to-an-otherworldly/) [Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/) > [“Earlier in this century someone claimed that we work at our play and play at our work. Today the confusion has deepened: we worship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/earlier-in-this-century-someone-claimed-that-we-work-at-our-play-and/) [Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/) > [Literature takes reality and human experience as its starting point, transforms it by means of the imagination, and sends readers back to life with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/literature-takes-reality-and-human-experience-as-its-starting-point/) [Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/) > [Since God is the one who calls people to their work, the worker becomes a steward who serves God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/since-god-is-the-one-who-calls-people-to-their-work-the-worker/) [Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/) > [The Puritans removed organs and paintings from churches, but bought them for private use in their homes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/the-puritans-removed-organs-and-paintings-from-churches-but-bought/) [Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/) > [“If you want to make a Christian work, then be Christian, and simply try to make a beautiful work, into which your heart will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/if-you-want-to-make-a-christian-work-then-be-christian-and-simply-try/) [Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/) > [The Puritans were obsessed with the dangers of wealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/the-puritans-were-obsessed-with-the-dangers-of-wealth/) [Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/) [Explore all 34 Leland Ryken quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/) ## More Bible quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [“God hates Hell. He hates the idea of people going there. He hates it so much that He was willing to take on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-minton/god-hates-hell-he-hates-the-idea-of-people-going-there-he-hates-it-so/) [Evan Minton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-minton/) > [“The Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose, Sergeant,’ Anthony Payne replied. ‘That is from The Merchant of Venice, but it holds great truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arnold/the-devil-can-cite-scripture-for-his-purpose-sergeant-anthony-payne/) [Michael Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arnold/) > [When you put your hand on the Bible, you are saying something much stronger than just telling your peers that you're going to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-greenwood/when-you-put-your-hand-on-the-bible-you-are-saying-something-much/) [Lee Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-greenwood/) > [“Scripture also teaches that human beings are morally responsible creatures”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-peterson/scripture-also-teaches-that-human-beings-are-morally-responsible/) [Robert A. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-peterson/) > [“The wife of a junior officer cooped up in a horrible canvas partition in steerage for five months wrote: "I had enjoyed much peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-taylor/the-wife-of-a-junior-officer-cooped-up-in-a-horrible-canvas-partition/) [Stephen Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-taylor/) > [O Word of God incarnate . . . It is the golden casket Where gems of truth are stored; It is the heaven-drawn picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walsham-how/o-word-of-god-incarnate-it-is-the-golden-casket-where-gems-of-truth/) [Walsham How](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walsham-how/) > [How can I trust that the Bible is reliable?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-horton/how-can-i-trust-that-the-bible-is-reliable/) [Michael Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-horton/) > [Every plant which my heavenly father has not planted with be uprooted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesus-christ/every-plant-which-my-heavenly-father-has-not-planted-with-be-uprooted/) [Jesus Christ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesus-christ/) > [Where I come from you're not raised to think on your own. It's not that you're pushed to read the Bible. The Bible is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abel-ferrara/where-i-come-from-you-re-not-raised-to-think-on-your-own-it-s-not/) [Abel Ferrara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abel-ferrara/) > [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [What comes to mind when you think of heaven? Heaven is referred to in fifty-four of the Bible's sixty-six books, and the final two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jeremiah/what-comes-to-mind-when-you-think-of-heaven-heaven-is-referred-to-in/) [David Jeremiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jeremiah/) > [“While it is in one sense a result of God’s presence within us, the New Testament also describes a process involved in our “putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/while-it-is-in-one-sense-a-result-of-god-s-presence-within-us-the-new/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [The definition of a Church is crystal clear in the New Testament. We see the picture of it. They came together the first day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-macarthur/the-definition-of-a-church-is-crystal-clear-in-the-new-testament-we/) [John MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-macarthur/) [Browse all 8,465 Bible quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There is no valid reason for the perennial Christian preference of biography, history, and the newspaper to fiction and poetry. The former tell us what happened, while literature tells us what happens. The example of the Bible, which is central to any attempt to formulate a Christian approach to literature, sanctions the imagination as a valid form of truth. The Bible is in large part a work of imagination. 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