A first book of Bible-based micro-tales
"Fiction Favours the Facts" is a collection of the first 22 micro-tales from the Bible Tales Newsletter.
Micro-tales? What are they? Short stories about Bible characters or events.
Bible-based fiction – the facts of the Bible rounded out with imaginative detail to help us recognise the lives and feelings of real people.
Some are about Bible characters you have never heard of, while others concentrate on an incident in the life of one of the more famous Bible characters.
"I will never forget the terror that enveloped me then, nor the feeling of sinking. The water sort of gradually "broke" underneath me; melted somehow – a bit like my faith was melting away. I tried to just ignore it and keep walking, but that didn't help. Suddenly, all support was gone and I was falling, falling freely down into the terrifying water that seemed to open its mouth to take me, and I shouted out into the darkness and wind, "Lord! Save me!" I knew Jesus was too far away to reach me, but who else could I turn to? And Jesus was there. Immediately. His hand reached out and held me."
Peter, walking on water in "The wind and the waves are real'
Cain and Abel, Noah and his family, Moses and Aaron, Daniel, Ebed-Melech, Mark, Peter, Paul and Silas and Judas Iscariot share their experiences with us. Lives from long ago are made real so that we can share their difficulties, triumphs and failures – and expand our own understanding of what makes our life worthwhile to God.
"Frequent parties, the obsequious attitude of servants and the admiration of our new friends all felt good, and the niggling of my conscience could be quieted when necessary. But deep down inside I wasn't happy. Money couldn't buy peace with God, and that's what I wanted most."
Matthew, Jesus' disciple in "Follow me!"
In "Fiction Favours the Facts" Old Testament heroes interact with ordinary people and we learn their lessons of hospitality and faith.
"He came with the twilight, as the sun sank below the horizon; a ball of orange fire sinking into the Great Sea. Filaments of cloud glowed scarlet, and the ethereal beauty of the sunset hid the barrenness of the landscape beneath. His clothes were simple but rough, and a belt encircled his waist.
Standing off to the side of the road, bent over and slowly collecting sticks as I was, I was hoping he wouldn't see me in the dusk, but he must have, for he called in a croaky voice, 'Give me a little water in a cup. I need a drink'."
"The widow of Zarephath"
And even the life of the most famous traitor – Judas Iscariot – is opened for us to look at in a possible reconstruction of how he became a traitor.
"I threw the money back at them and turned away. I can still see the coins bouncing on the floor of the temple.
My commitment to God's law has been corrupted. My honesty has been lost. My integrity lies in tatters. I have betrayed the son of God, and his last few responses to me have all been critical. There is nowhere I can go. It would have been better if I had never been born."
Judas Iscariot in "He promised us life"
A wide variety of Biblical characters walk across the pages of this book and each micro-tale gives us something to think about. Lives presented by the Bible in just a few words are thoughtfully expanded, tinted with colour and life – but without straying from God's word.
Old Testament:
Cain's confessions
A Blissful Silence
An afternoon at the well
The Golden Calf
Confessions of a Dancer-Snatcher
Achish – What might have been…
Another three today
The widow of Zarephath
185,000 times 55
El or Bel?
I'm incistern on this!
New Testament:
No more waiting
Follow me!
The Wind and the Waves are Real
To go or not to go?
A gift for G
