Studies show that the human brain is wired to respond to an emotionally charged narrative. Brain scans have documented that when we hear a good story, our brain activity can sync with the brain activity of the storyteller.
Before the written word, storytelling was necessary to pass on one’s spiritual heritage.
And while the Christian Bible collects all manner of documents within it – including historical records, letters, songs and prayers – when we read the Bible for its stories, in particular, Lutheran theologian Mark Allan Powell says we see the “texts as mirrors that invite audience participation in the creation of meaning…[and] shape the way readers understand themselves and their own present circumstances.”
When we learn to see ourselves in the stories we read or hear, we form a point of connection with others. We are able to see how we all fit into a bigger story – that we are not alone and that we have more in common than we might think.
This message is excerpted from “Stories that feel” by Sarah Carson in the October 2023 Café online magazine.
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