The British journalist and author Christopher Booker once argued in his book The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories that in literature there are only seven ‘storylines’ in the world and that to the greatest degree all narratives are really variations of these basic seven storylines.

 

'The Seven basic plots, according to Booker, are as follows:

 

1) Overcoming the Monster

2) Rags to Riches

3) The Quest

4) Voyage and Return

5) Comedy

6) Tragedy

7) Rebirth

 

The idea that any story is in some way a development of one of these basic plots is interesting, particularly if we can examine how much of our own searches for adventure, purpose and meaning are distilled from deeper emotional ‘plotlines’ through which Christ speaks to us. However, Booker’s analysis is a little too parsimonious for my liking, despite his subsequently adding two further plot types – ‘Rebellion’ and ‘Mystery’. One glaring and obvious omission is the topic of ‘love’, which although containing the potential to be played out in any of the above storylines was not itself a primary plot in the view of Booker. Another omission is what is often referred to as ‘character study’ or a ‘psychological study’ of a person’s mind – one which involves little or no storyline as such, rather a penetrating incursion into the psyche of an individual – an incursion which is so often presented to us with our own selfhood in mind.

 

Yet even if we had a wholly exhaustive list which really did capture every facet of storytelling and narrative discharge, and every facet of the mind’s search for adventure, purpose and meaning, we would need to frame it in the widest context possible if we were to garner the most fruitful realisations about the self. Whether our searching represents the deep psychological structures of human experience, or whether they are merely constructs of convention, tradition and institution, the soul’s search for sublimation through all of these literary topics is never far from our grasp. It is not, of course, the literature that defines our deepest needs, it is our deepest needs that define the literature in the first place; for the great narratives that produce adventure for us and elicit in us a search for meaning are so tantalising in the first place because they speak to us on very deep and sublime levels.

 

If the underlying structures of the best stories can help us find adventure, purpose and meaning in our own lives then naturally one would expect to find this truth magnified in the Bible – the word of God, given to us so that we can connect with Christ’s ultimate purpose for us and so that we can have the full life that He talked about.  The key to this realisation is that we must follow His instruction not to look for adventure, purpose and meaning anywhere else unless it is first administered through Him. 

 

Of course, if all of our life’s narratives are ostensibly reducible to a few cardinal plotlines, then there are some obvious examples of the above narratives in the Bible. Where the Bible differs from the literary narratives is that it contains the true accounts of men and women who were privileged to be in close personal unity and community with God Himself, and who were assigned the role of producing the texts that would be passed on to future generations (choreographed, of course, by the Holy Spirit)

 

We find that Rebellion is prevalent as the Israelites (God chosen people) acquired the Promised Land (Canaan) yet continually became drawn into worshipping false gods, as they rebelled against God and became influenced by the cultures and beliefs of the Amalekites, the Philistines, the Midianites, the Ammonites, and the Moabites.  Overcoming the Monster is a huge daily challenge for us against sin and against the Bad One, as we put on the armour of God and stay firm in overcoming Satan. We can identify The Quest as a search for salvation and diligence in ascending towards the full life that Christ encourages us to pursue. We can appreciate The Voyage and Return by witnessing the long and rather brutal history of God’s people, but also on a personal level for each of us as a long journey of self-discovery - from being prodigal to being free - as we see how our ultimate return back to God gives us deliverance from everything that separates us from Him. We see in Christ’s beatitudes that the usual Rags to Riches tenet that preoccupies so much of our modern sensibilities is in fact an inversion of the truth – that it is not material or earthly riches that we should seek but a richness that comes from Heaven – an enrichment that comes from spiritual wisdom and dedication to Christ’s causes. 

 

In closing, we find that the mix of Comedy, Tragedy and Mystery that life brings us are all essential tools for perseverance, and each are effective in our sense-making pursuits, both of the world itself and of God’s purposes for His creation. God encourages us to embrace and absorb His word, for He knows that we will find the answers to many problems yet He also knows we will likely uncover the rich stirrings of the adventure, purpose and meaning that we can find by learning from the many people whom God chose to speak His word. This is where we will find our Rebirth – by absorbing into our own hearts the sufferings of Joseph and Job; the tribulations and uncertainty faced by Abraham, Moses and Jonah; the adventures of Noah, Joshua, Gideon, Samuel, Saul, Jonathan, Ruth and David; the wisdom of Solomon; the strength of Samson, and the activities of the many other judges and prophets – they all laid down the foundations for the coming of our Lord. To be born into greatness is one thing, but to be reborn in Jesus - that is the true treasure on earth - the only path to salvation. 

 

Stories are an important way of communicating to us our deepest needs and the truths about our situation – that is why Christ used them so much, they tell us about the personality of God in a context we can understand. Once St Peter figures out who Jesus really is, our Lord tells him who he is – ‘You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church’.   If part of the key to knowing who we are as individuals is found in knowing who Christ is, then we must be careful not to search in the wrong places for adventure, purpose and meaning; for in Christ we will find, just as we saw with the seven basic plotlines, that all of the things we think can offer fulfilment outside of Him are in truth just subsidiary facets of needs that He can meet full on - they are branches of satisfaction connected to a Christ-shaped root that offers the real security and purpose.