Bible,  Literary Study,  Nonfiction

Epic

EpicI’ve had a great experience reading this little book by John Eldredge aloud to my two daughters. Epic: The Story God is Telling and the Role that is Yours to Play takes up the question of why the most popular books and movies move us so deeply. Its answer? They follow the same pattern as the creation/redemption story which, Christians believe, defines the terms for understanding human experience. We recognize its themes and movements instinctively because we are born into this story, and it creates the framework for all of our deepest fears and longings.

Eldredge breaks the book into four chapters, capped at either end with a prologue and epilogue:

  • Act 1: Eternal Love
  • Act 2: The Entrance of Evil
  • Act 3: The Battle for the Heart
  • Act 4: The Kingdom Restored

Illustrating his points not just with passages from the Bible, but with quotations from numerous great stories and movies, Eldredge appeals to our experience to affirm his argument that there is a universal imaginative language for “reading” one’s own life and understanding our connection to human history. Like the best stories, there is a “Once upon a time” in an Eden; an enemy who robs and corrupts; a battle in which a hero rises to fight for someone; and a restoration. All of these themes appeal simultaneously to our ways of understanding life, and to the Bible story of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. Eldredge’s ideas will be familiar to those acquainted with Lewis and Tolkien’s views on myth, or the ideas of archetypal criticism.

The girls really enjoyed this little book. Eldredge’s style is always winsome and engaging and appealingly honest. He acknowledges the hard things frankly, and admits to his own failings. He is not afraid to show his enthusiasm for the tales he discusses here. Also, he makes reference to so many familiar, loved stories that it was a fantastic introduction to literary discussion.

I noticed a couple of things. One was the seeming silence on the subject of self-sacrifice, or one person giving up something precious for another, that seems such a common motif in the “battle for the heart.” Second, it left me musing over how all of this really plays out in someone’s life. The book is short and concise, which works well. But a life is long and often baffling. Which chapter is this? Are we to the point in the story where things turn for the better yet? Why is this section taking so long?

But then this is why the book is worth reading, and what I liked about reading it to my daughters. It makes you think about “the role that is yours to play.” It casts a vital, adventurous vision and provides the terms for seeing it in your own life. One key trait of a humanity made in God’s image is the process of making meaning of raw experience, and this little book offers some eloquent insights to remember along the way.

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