I was directed to TED.com as part of my 28 days... work in the Rational Style, my native style. I came across a talk by the Turkish novelist Elif Sharak. Where I connect with her presentation is through my own conviction that our Bible is a literary work, and must be understood and interpreted on literary terms. Heretical as it may sound, I believe that much (by no means all) of our scriptures are fiction, or at least remembered history with fictional embellishments. To many, such an understanding is heretical, to say the least--as if saying that the Bible is fiction is the equivalent of saying that it's a lie. But saying that a Bible story is fiction and must be understood and interpreted as such does not in any way diminish its power. The truth of the Bible, as is the case with any good, "inspired" story, is not dependent upon its having "really happened"; its truth lies in its timeless, on-going impact upon and within our common humanity, and in the light that it shines upon the truth of our common humanity.