Skip to content
97 - The Truth About Fiction episode artwork

Feb 10, 2023 33 min

97 - The Truth About Fiction

from The Commentary Hosted by J. MARK BERTRAND

Picking up from last week’s discussion of parables, this episode takes on the question of narrative, storytelling, and fiction. Does the fact that Jesus teaches in parables tell us anything about the value of literature? Should we avoid reading made-up stories in favor of factual books, or are there truths that can only be grasped by way of fiction? Mark and Cameron tackle these questions and more. Mentioned in this episode: Cameron refers to Eugene Vodolaskin’s 2012 novel Laurus and Zane Grey’s classic western Riders of the Purple Sage (1912). He also mentions Wendell Berry. Mark cites Flannery O’Connor, Graham Greene, and Walker Percy. He also throws in James Lee Burke and Georges Simenon.

Episode details come from the podcast's RSS feed.

Embed this episode

Picking up from last week’s discussion of parables, this episode takes on the question of narrative, storytelling, and fiction. Does the fact that Jesus teaches in parables tell us anything about the value of literature? Should we avoid reading made-up stories in favor of factual books, or are there truths that can only be grasped by way of fiction? Mark and Cameron tackle these questions and more.

Ready to play

97 - The Truth About Fiction

0:00 33:00

No transcript yet.

Requests help us decide what to transcribe next.

Frequently asked questions

How long is this episode of The Commentary?

This episode is 33 minutes long.

When was this The Commentary episode published?

This episode was published on February 10, 2023.

Can I download this The Commentary episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.