If you grew up in a traditional Christian setting, you probably heard the stories of Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, and Judah presented as literal history. These were the heroes of the faith. The patriarchs. The chosen. The tales were told with flannelgraphs in Sunday school or preached from pulpits as evidence of how God has always guided, tested, and redeemed His people.
But somewhere along the way, many of us start to feel a shift.
We begin to wonder:
Are these really historical events? Or are they something else—something richer, deeper, and more personal?
Because to the rational mind, the stories often read like ancient myths or bedtime fables—talking snakes, ladders to heaven, multi-coloured coats, and babies born to centenarians. And yet, we’re told these are a true representation of God. Not just metaphorically true, but factually, historically true.
And if we don’t believe that—if we dare to question the historicity—then what?
Does the whole thing fall apart?
This is where many walk away from the Bible altogether, assuming that if it’s not literally true, it’s not valuable at all.
But what if the opposite is true?
The Power of Symbolism
What if the power of these stories lies precisely in their symbolism? What if they were never meant to be read as newspaper headlines from the ancient world, but rather as sacred parables of consciousness and transformation?
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When we look at Abraham as more than a man with a long beard and instead as the embodiment of faith, stepping out into the unknown…
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When we see Jacob not just as a scheming twin, but as the persistence of our inner hunger to become something greater…
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When Joseph is no longer just a boy in a coat, but a picture of imagination, misunderstood but ultimately triumphant…
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And when Judah, whose name means praise, becomes a symbol of the breakthrough that follows genuine inner surrender…
The stories come alive in a new way.
Not as children’s tales, but as inner archetypes—states of being we all pass through.
The Shift from History to Consciousness
Traditional Christianity clings to the literal reading because it sees history as the stage on which God acts. But those of us drawn to a more symbolic reading—such as that found in the teachings of Neville Goddard—begin to realise that consciousness is the true stage. Imagination is the real actor.
And the Bible becomes a manual—not of history, but of identity.
We don’t need to discard these stories as childish, nor do we need to dismiss them as false.
We only need to read them with new eyes.
Eyes that see inward.
A Living Map of Becoming
When read symbolically, the Bible stops being a dusty book of laws and legends and becomes a living map of your own becoming. It no longer asks you to blindly believe in the past—but to awaken in the present.
So no, these are not just children’s stories.
They are your stories, wrapped in ancient words, waiting for you to recognise yourself in them.
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