Timeless stories to provoke the mind and warm the heart Parables are universally appealing. These timeless stories have a lasting influence that extends far beyond the religious, social, and historic context in which they first appeared. In Candles in the Dark: A Treasury of the World’s Most Inspiring Parables, author Todd Outcalt, a United Methodist pastor, has collected some of the finest parables ever told, from traditions as diverse as Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, Native American, African, Islamic, and more. Arranged thematically in categories such as The Virtuous Life, The Power of Friendship, and The Wisdom Within, these parables enlighten and entertain, move the heart and the imagination, and offer a journey of the soul as well as of the mind.