--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Story is the oldest, commonest, most…" description: "\"Story is the oldest, commonest, most beloved, and most effective form of communication because our life is essentially a story. That's why the Bible is..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e89/peter-kreeft-820_abstraction_story-is-the-oldest-commonest-most-belov_942038.jpg" --- # Story is the oldest, commonest, most beloved, and most… ![“Story is the oldest, commonest, most beloved, and most effective form of communication because our life is essentially a story. That's why the Bible is the most realistic of religious books. We can easily ignore or argue away abstractions, but we bump up against concretely real people, things, and…” quote by Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e89/peter-kreeft-820_abstraction_story-is-the-oldest-commonest-most-belov_942038.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e89/peter-kreeft-820_abstraction_story-is-the-oldest-commonest-most-belov_942038.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e89/peter-kreeft-820_abstraction_story-is-the-oldest-commonest-most-belov_942038.jpg) > “Story is the oldest, commonest, most beloved, and most effective form of communication because our life is essentially a story. That's why the Bible is the most realistic of religious books. We can easily ignore or argue away abstractions, but we bump up against concretely real people, things, and events in story, as in life.” [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stories engage people by presenting concrete characters and events, making ideas relatable and memorable. **In simple terms:** Stories make ideas relatable and memorable. Key Takeaway Use storytelling to convey messages. Themes communication storytelling religion Mood engaging reflective Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - teaching - preaching - marketing - personal reflection - writing Key Concepts narrative psychology cognitive resonance Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance narrative appeal with factual accuracy? - When does story become propaganda? A Different Perspective Stories may oversimplify complex truths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/) [Beloved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beloved/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Religious books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-books/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) ## Related quotes > [My own books drive themselves. I know roughly where a book is going to end, but essentially the story develops under my fingers. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/my-own-books-drive-themselves-i-know-roughly-where-a-book-is-going-to/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“A central thesis then begins to emerge: man is in his actions and practice, as well as in his fictions, essentially a story-telling animal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-central-thesis-then-begins-to-emerge-man-is-in-his-actions-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You know the story in the bible? The one with the king and the two women fighting over the baby? Sure King Solomon. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/you-know-the-story-in-the-bible-the-one-with-the-king-and-the-two/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [“There’s a story, in the Bible—” “Not in the Bible,” he interrupted. “Apocryphal. Scholars seem to think it was added in the Middle Ages,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-wiersema/there-s-a-story-in-the-bible-not-in-the-bible-he-interrupted/) [Robert J. Wiersema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-j-wiersema/) > [Everyone has a love story. It's the Bible. It tells you how much God loves you and how far He went to win your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-has-a-love-story-it-s-the-bible-it-tells-you-how-much-god/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The best love story is the bible. It tells us how much God loves us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-love-story-is-the-bible-it-tells-us-how-much-god-loves-us/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Whether every story that's there \[in the Bible\] is a historic truth ... Again, I'm not concerned. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/whether-every-story-that-s-there-in-the-bible-is-a-historic-truth/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I wrote The Jesus Storybook Bible because I wanted children to know the Bible isn't mainly about you and what you're supposed to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-lloyd-jones/i-wrote-the-jesus-storybook-bible-because-i-wanted-children-to-know/) [Sally Lloyd-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-lloyd-jones/) > [“...God sent His Prince, Jesus, into rebel territory to conquer evil and free us to be true citizens of the Kingdom again... That’s the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/god-sent-his-prince-jesus-into-rebel-territory-to-conquer-evil-and/) [Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) > [“You know the story in the Bible?', Jacob asked suddenly, still reading the blank ceiling. 'The one with the king and the two women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/you-know-the-story-in-the-bible-jacob-asked-suddenly-still-reading/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [To me the Mahabharata is a profoundly religious book, largely allegorical, in a way meant to be a historical record.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/to-me-the-mahabharata-is-a-profoundly-religious-book-largely/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/do-not-believe-in-anything-simply-because-you-have-heard-it-do-not-2/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Nature is man's religious book, with lessons for every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/nature-is-man-s-religious-book-with-lessons-for-every-day/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [If God and His Word are not known and received, the devil and his works will gain the ascendency; if the evangelical volume does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/if-god-and-his-word-are-not-known-and-received-the-devil-and-his/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [The Holy Koran, our religious book, teaches us, that we who declare ourselves to be righteous Muslims, do not participate in no wars, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/the-holy-koran-our-religious-book-teaches-us-that-we-who-declare/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) ## More by Peter Kreeft > [“I strongly suspect that if we saw all the difference even the tiniest of our prayers to God make, and all the people those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/i-strongly-suspect-that-if-we-saw-all-the-difference-even-the-tiniest/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [The most total opposite of pleasure is not pain but boredom, for we are willing to risk pain to make a boring life interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-most-total-opposite-of-pleasure-is-not-pain-but-boredom-for-we/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [God's love is as objective as light. Because the sun in a sense is light, or the source of light rather than being lit,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/god-s-love-is-as-objective-as-light-because-the-sun-in-a-sense-is/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [The self is like a baseball. Throw it back to the divine pitcher who pitched it to you in the first place, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-self-is-like-a-baseball-throw-it-back-to-the-divine-pitcher-who/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [How will the Tower of Babel be undone? How will we understand each other in Heaven? Will we all speak English or Dutch or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/how-will-the-tower-of-babel-be-undone-how-will-we-understand-each/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [Humility is the marriage bond of Heaven. Pride is the frigidity of Hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/humility-is-the-marriage-bond-of-heaven-pride-is-the-frigidity-of-hell/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [“Socrates says we must be either fools because we think we are wise, or wise because we know we are fools. Christ says we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/socrates-says-we-must-be-either-fools-because-we-think-we-are-wise-or/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [No sane person wants hell to exist. No sane person wants evil to exist. But hell is just evil eternalized. If there is evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/no-sane-person-wants-hell-to-exist-no-sane-person-wants-evil-to-exist/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [Science only answers the question, How does it work? Or at most, What's there? Science asks what and how, philosophy asks why, myth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/science-only-answers-the-question-how-does-it-work-or-at-most-what-s/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [The most compelling evidence for God's existence is Christ. If God does not exist, then Christ was the biggest fool who ever lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-most-compelling-evidence-for-god-s-existence-is-christ-if-god/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [“One moment of prayer, of weak worship, confused contrition, tepid thanksgiving, or pitiful petition will bring us closer to God than all the books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/one-moment-of-prayer-of-weak-worship-confused-contrition-tepid/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [God's interventions are miracles: events that cannot happen by merely natural agents but only by a supernatural agent. They no more interfere with our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/god-s-interventions-are-miracles-events-that-cannot-happen-by-merely/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [“And what is consensus? It means a majority of the individuals in a society coming together and agreeing to make their values into laws,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/and-what-is-consensus-it-means-a-majority-of-the-individuals-in-a/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [Love is the binding force on every level of existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/love-is-the-binding-force-on-every-level-of-existence/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [We can't believe what we believe to be untrue, and we can't love what we believe to be unreal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/we-can-t-believe-what-we-believe-to-be-untrue-and-we-can-t-love-what/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) [Explore all 361 Peter Kreeft quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) ## More Abstraction quotes > [Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-ailey/everything-in-dancing-is-style-allusion-the-essence-of-many-thoughts/) [Alvin Ailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-ailey/) > [The premises from which we begin are not arbitrary ones, not dogmas, but real premises from which abstraction can only be made in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/the-premises-from-which-we-begin-are-not-arbitrary-ones-not-dogmas/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [Two elements are needed to form a truth - a fact and an abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth-a-fact-and-an-abstraction/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [But we must not underestimate the potency of the mathematical process of abstraction. A surprising variety of things happen to have both magnitude and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banesh-hoffmann/but-we-must-not-underestimate-the-potency-of-the-mathematical-process/) Banesh Hoffmann > [Sometimes I start in a very realistic fashion, and as I go on from one painting to another of the same kind, it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/sometimes-i-start-in-a-very-realistic-fashion-and-as-i-go-on-from-one/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [I like residing in abstraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufjan-stevens/i-like-residing-in-abstraction/) [Sufjan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufjan-stevens/) > [Cancer begins and ends with people. In the midst of scientific abstraction, it is sometimes possible to forget this one basic fact. Doctors treat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-goodfield/cancer-begins-and-ends-with-people-in-the-midst-of-scientific/) [June Goodfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-goodfield/) > [Yes, there was an element of abstraction and unreality in misfortune. But when an abstraction starts to kill you, you have to get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/yes-there-was-an-element-of-abstraction-and-unreality-in-misfortune/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Computer Science is a science of abstraction -creating the right model for a problem and devising the appropriate mechanizable techniques to solve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-aho/computer-science-is-a-science-of-abstraction-creating-the-right-model/) Alfred Aho > [In 'Self Comes to Mind' I pay a lot of attention to simple creatures without brains or minds, because those 'cartooned abstractions of who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/in-self-comes-to-mind-i-pay-a-lot-of-attention-to-simple-creatures/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [Don't get stuck on the level of words. A word is no more than a means to an end. It's an abstraction. 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