Hamlet and the mermaid

Most of us love a good story.  Whether these are tales of adventure or weepy romances, they capture our imagination and, if they are well written, they can absorb us from beginning to end.

But, sometimes, these stories take on a life of their own and we forget that they are just works of fiction!

This was brought home to me on a recent break that we took to Copenhagen, the home of one of Europe's greatest story tellers, Hans Christian Anderson.

Along with almost all tourists to that city we found ourselves seeking out the statue of the Little Mermaid.  Thankfully, it was within walking distance of our hotel.

As Julia and I looked at her, we realised that we had forgotten the Hans Anderson story that she represented but that we still had to see the statue!  Strangely, the statue had become more important than the story.

On another occasion, we took a train ride to the town of Helsingor further up the coast.  There on the headland is the Kronborg Slot, otherwise known as the castle of Elsinor, the setting for Shakespeare's play ‘Hamlet’.  Despite the fact that Hamlet never existed and that Shakespeare almost certainly never visited it, 500, 000 people a year visit ‘Hamlet's castle’ because of the life that it has taken on based around Shakespeare’s fiction.
This has made me reflect on the extent to which we can all get carried away by the power of the storyteller and begin to believe things which are entirely imaginary.

This can be dangerous.  If we are not careful, we start to live our lives according to things which are meaningless and fleeting rather than things that are true and the source of life and light for our lives.

And yet, when it comes to the Bible, the reverse seems to happen.

When people are confronted with the truth of God's love for his world and his plan for the salvation of all humanity, they can become critical, sceptical and incredulous.  They do all they can to undermine the Good News of Jesus Christ by demanding new 'proof and evidence ' and by lapping up blockbusters like the forthcoming film of 'The Da Vinci Code', which sets out to undermine the gospel truth.

Why is this?  Could it be that the truth that God loved the world so much that he gave his only son so that whoever believes in him should not die but have eternal life is so amazing - and its consequences so far reaching - that the world prefers to believe more in fairy tales than in the promise of the living, loving presence of God in our lives?

The truth really is better than fiction - but which do you feel most comfortable with?

by Graham Clarke.