Why I Need Fiction

I love non-fiction. I love theology, philosophy, all of it makes me deeply happy. Especially if it's grumpy or snarky. But I need a hiatus from the world of so-called reality from time to time. Actually, a lot of the time. Many of my peers seem to be obsessed with the abstract world of ideas. Ideas are wonderful but fiction, in many ways, grounds those ideas.
   Non-fiction is not bad. I'm not saying that. What I am saying, however, is that too much in one realm - theology and/or philosophy specifically - (especially for a Christian) can be harmful. And, no, it's not because they just need to get back to the bible. After a while we are able to deal with these ideas in a sequential manner and logically explain dogmas and doctrine but where is the joy? How do we ground ourselves and give feet to our ideas? More importantly, how do I, as a Christian, learn?
   The last question, it seems to me, is the one which needs answering. When I grew up I was told what was right, what was wrong and how to properly live, yes. But I learned from experience, from stories. Whether those stories were bible stories or just stories from Aesops or some other text, I learned little tidbits of wisdom and how to live. There is a reason the bible is a story and not a systematic theology. Everywhere stories form our identities. Which stories form us? Why do they form us? Are we, in a sense, the children of an ongoing tapestry of stories, an interweaving of ideas and identities?
   As such, it seems that, while important, non-fiction theological works seem to be more geared to our growth in knowledge but rarely, it seems, as full people living in a world of delights and pain. Am I saying fiction is better? In some ways, yes. Simply by virtue of the fact that it actually has characters living in some reality, living out some ethical system, and actually just being. Because, truly, in some mystical mumbo jumbo way, the characters of fiction do, in fact, exist. They exist for us as people who we admire, someone to hold on to, someone who actually instills in us some sort of emotion. Last time I checked no theological text ever brought me to tears, anyone for that matter. If it did let me know and we'll pray for you. But, no. Fiction does something for us, it stays with us. I can't remember certain doctrinal trivialities but I can remember, clearly, scenes from novels that stuck out to me and were transformative in my thought process.
   None of this, though, is hard and fast. If you love theology: wonderful. But consider reading fiction to ground your ideas and to interact with ideas in a very real sense. Logic is wonderful but it rarely impacts the way a story can. The bible is theological but it is a story, it is very much about reality and deals in the real, material, and sometimes immaterial, world. As Peter Leithart puts it in his book Against Christianity, (paraphrased), "Theology is a Victorian enterprise...have you ever read a theological work that mentions menstruation, disembowelment, castration?"  The point is this: theological works are all well and good but often separated from the story of the bible, a story grounded in the real world with real world problems.

   Thoughts? Complaints?