Folklore - Fairytale - Fables

This week was the end of another semester in college for my oldest son.  His writing class required an essay in which he either had to write and analytical about a specific form of folklore, or a creative rewrite of a popular folklore with a modern day twist.  He chose the analytical because the paper was shorter.

His topic was was Religious Folklore, and it admittedly sparked a great deal of thought.  It was provoking and controversial but well argued.  Let me just say up front for those staunch and dedicated believers, that it was only meant to provoke discussion and inspire active thinking.

What I did discover through the process was that folklore is in most every lesson we learned as children and that we in turn taught our children and they will teach theirs.  Unless the lessons learned are based of factual experiences, most are anecdotal. They are symbolic or mythological in measure and they carry an underlying message. Be kind and you will receive kindness in return.  Love thy neighbor as thy self. Patience is a virtue. To err is human, to forgive divine. There are biblical lessons are about enduring through trials and tribulations, and resisting temptation. More obvious fables tell us that slow and steady wins the race, be careful who you trust, the grass in not always greener, be careful what you wish for.

Folklore, fable, and fairytale, are all made up stories. They may have been inspired by something real, but the fact were blurred and stretched made fantastic or terrifying to convey the message better and deliver the lesson with maximum impact.  Then...over the centuries, through telling and retelling, translations, and re-translations, even more twists and changes occurred until the stories we know today rarely if ever resemble the true manuscript and meaning.

I enjoy reading. I enjoy the escape of being transported to another place and time. I enjoy garnering lessons and wisdom from some of the text I read, while others are pure entertainment.  But I do recognize that many of the stories we were raised on, both biblical and literary, are simply that stories. Did a man who was 500 years old REALLY build a giant wooden boat in a time before tools and and then gather two of every single creature on the planet inside while it rained torrential downpours for 40 days and nights until the world was nothing but water.  Was his family then responsible for the entire re-population of the world after the rains receded?   Did the world really get made in 7 days and were Adam and Eve and their two sons really responsible for the entire population the the planet until the flood of Noah destroyed and killed everyone? Was everyone in Sodom and Gomorrah really so wicked that they turned to salt?  Did moses really part the red sea with his staff as he people walked through with walls of the sea on either side of them. Did he talk to a burning bush? These stories are more likely metaphorical for the lessons they are meant to convey. Made fantastic to keep the attention of the masses. Lazarus, Samson & Delilah, The Fish and Loaves of Bread, The Wedding Feast Water into Wine, Jonah and the Whale, David and Goliath, Daniel and the Lion's Den.  Jacob's Ladder, The March of Jericho.  Wonderful stories.

Folklore, Fables, and Fairytale's, like Cinderella and Snow White, each story has a meaning, some more prophetic than others, but they are stories written by men.

It was an analytical essay, well thought out and thought provoking, and it helped to point out that religion requires a great deal of faith, because the logical mind will find clear flaws in the feasibility of the tale.  Religion, regardless of your doctrination, requires blind faith and trust, an ability to see beyond the veil of realities limitations. Its all about Miracles.