The exact phrase “the deepest truths can only be approached ‘sideways’ through symbol and story” is a paraphrase that has been floating around in theological and literary circles for the last 20–30 years. It doesn’t have one single famous originator, but it is most commonly associated with a few key people who expressed almost the identical idea:
- Eugene Peterson (author of The Message Bible translation) repeatedly used the “sideways” image when talking about how Scripture and parable work. He said things like:
“Truth in Scripture comes at us sideways… Jesus never preaches a straightforward sermon; he tells stories that sneak up on us.” - Frederick Buechner (Presbyterian minister and novelist) is probably the closest to the wording you remember. He wrote variations such as:
“The gospel comes to us at a slant… through story, image, and indirection rather than head-on.”
(See especially his books Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale and The Clown in the Belfry.) - C. S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Madeleine L’Engle all said very similar things in the mid-20th century (e.g., Lewis: “myth” is the way God “smuggles” truth past our watchful dragons; Tolkien spoke of truth being “refracted” through story).
So while no one is on record with the precise quotation “the deepest truths can only be approached ‘sideways’ through symbol and story,” the idea is a modern summary of what Buechner, Peterson, and the Inklings (Lewis/Tolkien) taught for decades. You’ll now see the exact “sideways” wording in many contemporary pastors, theologians, and writers who are echoing them.
In short: the phrase is a popular modern distillation, with Frederick Buechner and Eugene Peterson being the two people most often credited for the core imagery.