The History of Storytelling

Telling a story is a very definitive art of making people interested and convinced about your point of view. We see a very good example of this capability of storytelling in Biblical accounts as well as other religious scriptures. Generally, stories are very appealing to the younger audience. This is the reason that many children books such as 'Jesus for children' and 'Jesus in me' are a part of church resources. These books are narrative compilations of Biblical accounts written in the form of children's stories.

Storytelling can be regarded as a very creative way of communication. The basic concept behind a story is to convey an idea, a thought, knowledge or a message in a more engaging way. The stories usually carry certain powerful aesthetics that may allure an audience to imagine themselves as a part or character of the story.

Although, people regard storytelling as human's innate capability or instinct, some people consider it a result of human's natural desire of being appreciated or complimented on their achievements. The latter definition of storytelling as a desire secondary to human nature is proven quite true because the earliest accounts of storytelling were based on fact rather than fiction. However, this statement still does not completely define storytelling, as we have seen it evolve immensely throughout the history, and so did the motives and desires behind it.

Strangely enough, the very first example of man's use of creativity and imagination as a form of communication comes from the primitive era of around 35,000 years ago. The astonishing discovery of Aboriginal cave paintings revealed an interesting narrative of a hunt in the form of visual slideshow. This was perhaps man's first endeavor to show off his power and glory. Numerous accounts of such factual events in the form of paintings and carvings are found dating back to the primitive world.

Later on, as civilizations began to develop we see a very strong connection between religions and stories. The stories became so influential that people actually started to regard the myths as Gods. In Egyptian civilization, while the hieroglyphs narrate the stories of bravery, greatness and immortality of the Pharaohs, they also give a very detailed account of Gods and the life after death. In ancient Rome, Greek, China and India the stories took a very fictional and magical forms and these myths eventually became the gods.

Despite being fictional, these stories were so influential because they were based on strong values and moralities and were more like a guide for human behaviors and ethics. It was during the same period when performing art became a major story telling medium. This tradition lived on and took a major global exposure in the times of Shakespeare, whose stories were also a criticism on the evils of society.

The Shakespeare style of storytelling is regarded as the base of modern story telling. The only difference is the media which traveled the distance through paintings, narrations, literature, theatre and than television. Movies are probably the most captivating medium of storytelling now, none of the older forms has died out yet. By this fact we can assume that come whatever may, stories are here to stay.

Connor R. Sullivan recently purchased several Christian books online to donate for use as church resources. He searched the term Jesus for children online to find resources to help his wife teach a Sunday school class.