I’m a Christian parent who reads fairytales to my children - this is why

Stepping into another world

Once upon a time, I shunned fairytales from concern that they might show my children poor role-models, introduce them to the occult, reveal the darker side of humanity, and confuse them about the Bible’s reliability. But exposure to the world and purpose of fairytales gave me an awareness of the need for otherworldly stories in human experience. I’ve learnt how learning the tales of old can aid our connection with Scripture and why fairytales and Christian faith are not mutually exclusive,

Let’s clarify what I mean by fairytales. Forget popularised big-screen musical cartoons of the last 70 years. C.S. Lewis, George MacDonald, Martin Shaw, Hans Christian Anderson, Lisa Schneidau and others brought me back to the old tales, the folk tales, the ones connected to our ancient rural land. The ones that help us see God’s creation more deeply because they draw our attention to things that our science lessons and urban-church-going lifestyles never could.

Story is powerful. We need romance, discomfort, mystery, and adventure that comes from outside our measurable world

Story is powerful. We need romance, discomfort, mystery, and adventure that comes from outside our measurable world. This is what is meant by the term magic, when we talk about tales. It teaches us deep truths about the world we inhabit. Aslan spoke of a “magic deeper still” in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe that points us back to the purpose of Scripture - the greatest truth of all - the death and resurrection of Jesus that brings us back into relationship with our Creator. As I tip-toed with my children into the world of fairytale and folklore, I became excited by an entire horizon of story that didn’t conflict with believing Scripture. I felt a bit like Lucy stepping through the wardrobe into an entirely new world.

The Holy Spirit worked with ancient story-telling culture

The Bible does not hold back from portraying heroes, villains, betrayal, deception, victory, sacrifice and horror. My children are all familiar with the gruesome tale of Jael hammering a tent peg through Sisera’s skull, the magnificence of David and Solomon’s courts, the wonder of God’s glory cloud over the Ark of the Covenant, the bewildering rebellion of the Israelites, and the brutal torture and sacrifice of Jesus. Let’s also not forget the talking snake and donkey! Every word of Scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit and is true, and don’t want to shy away from any of it.

Biblical writers knew the need for using story to convey Aslan’s “deeper magic”

Biblical writers knew the need for using story to convey Aslan’s “deeper magic”. The Book of Judges beautifully draws from ancient folktale traditions through the familiar fairytale formula where a refrain is repeated three times before a twist in the plot reveals a lesson. For example, the First Little Piggy’s narrative is repeated by the Second Little Piggy (their houses are blown down and they’re eaten), and the Third Little Piggy begins to follow suit until a plot twist happens (his house isn’t blown down, and he kills the wolf). Judges 9:8-15 uses this exact formula narrated by Jotham, son of Jerubabbaal, for which Bible scholar Robert Alter translates the introduction as “Once upon a time”. In the Hebrew, this is denoted by the words “hayoh hayah”, signalling the start of a tale. The fairytale formula is explicit. The typical folktale formula is being used to communicate truth.

In Judges 7:25 we read of two commanders called Oreb and Zeeb. These names mean “raven” and “wolf” respectively. Here the biblical writer crafted his narrative using animal names, a style common to Northwestern Semites at the time. Consider Aesop’s Fables that anthropomorphises animals. Every culture has needed to give an other-world sense to story-telling to draw out particular moral lessons. Scripture is richer still: not just moral lessons, but true stories that hold up a mirror to ourselves to reveal our brokenness and need for a saviour.

In a land far, far away…

For me, this is all a stunning example of how the biblical writers wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but unlike robotic copy-writers, they were able to draw in their own traditions and story-telling techniques. What a fantastic opportunity to explore the inspiration of Scripture with our children! Familiarity with fairytales from our own culture will increase our connection to how writers in biblical times thought. The biblical narrative can sometimes feel so disconnected from 21st Century western culture. Familiarity with fairy and folk tales suddenly gives us a wonderful commonality with the biblical writers, and we find we have a shared language after all.

I love how Martin Shaw, director of The Westcountry School of Myth on Dartmoor, often explains in his presentations that every myth, folktale and fairytale have “pin-pricks of eternity” in them. Shaw, converted to Christianity in the last few years, and articulates how folklore and fairytales at some level point us to the bigger picture of the creator, the fall, the need for rescue, and total victory over death. Fairytales point us to the ultimate happy ending in Christ.

Fairytales are not a solution to life’s problems (that would be escapism), nor are they a map (that’s the Bible’s job), but they are a tool to engage with the mystery

But in the meantime, it’s not all happy endings. Martin Shaw writes that “True human experience has always involved ambiguity, paradox, and eventually the need for sheer pluck.” Sometimes, we need tales to show us that other people have trodden these paths before us, with nothing but grit and determination. Fairytales are not a solution to life’s problems (that would be escapism), nor are they a map (that’s the Bible’s job), but they are a tool to engage with the mystery.

Fairytales are common to humanity through every age and culture. They re-acquaint us with ancient narrative techniques. Where fairytales are creations of the human mind, Scripture is the truth spoken by God. Yet, just as the Spirit actively worked with story-telling techniques of the ancient writers, he actively prepares our hearts today to discern and believe the truth of Scripture. Both fairytales and Scripture reveal the human need for a saviour.

Read more:

It’s not bad for your children to cry - Lessons from The Neverending Story

3 reasons for Christian parents to reach again for the Chronicles of Narnia

Green Ember: The book series for youth and children that rivals Narnia

Consider how you might explore fairytales and folklore with your children. Introducing folktales through cartoons will limit your child’s imaginative processes and fill their mind with images of another person’s interpretations that they do not wish to remember. Read the original tales to your children, invite them to imagine stories that only go as far as their minds are able, and discover the pinpricks of eternity together. In the security of a cuddle, they will feel emboldened to face the trials of their heroes and see evil defeated in a way that their minds and hearts are equipped to process. Above all, regularly read unabridged Scripture to your children. As they grow, they will read the glorious words of Scripture on their own and recognise a language connection with the ancient writers that speak truth to their hearts about their maker and saviour.