The Great Storyteller

"The heavens declare the glory of God; The firmament shows the creation of His hands. 

Psalm 18:2

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The ancients considered the cosmos as the great storyteller. The night sky was the infinity above with the history of the gods painted in speckled lights; the sea was the limitless expanse below, with unknown creatures haunting the depths. The mountains were like ladders up to heaven; their feet on the earth for man to ascend, their peaks set in the clouds, in the land of spirits. The sun dragged across the sky, dying every evening and rising again every morning; a daily resurrection. 

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We exist in this same world. These vivid images are set before our eyes often and yet we have reduced their meaning. The modern age has replaced this inherent understanding of the natural world with the maw of meaninglessness. What was once 'the heavens' is now 'dead space'. What were once sacred texts are now discarded as mere fantasy. Even mankind, the image-bearers of God, are considered animals; as parasites on the earth that was made for them. Modernity has cast off the treasures of ancient thought and in doing so, professing itself to be wise, has become foolish. 

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However, the Christian mystic experiences a different reality; the universe is thrumming with the revelation of God in symbols. It is as though we are in a room of mirrors and each reflection reveals something of the Creator, yet only dimly. The glory of God shines through all, and we are to search out His image in creation. It is God who is in fact the great storyteller and it is through the universe in symbol that He speaks.

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Postscript:

I am going to make a digression from the last few posts to put forward a series of prisms through which to view the world. These will be largely conceptual, but I hope they will function as tools that describe a thoroughly Orthodox worldview.

(Part 1 of 3)