Christian Identity as an Embodied Story : A Perspective of Narrativist Theology (original) (raw)

THE ROLE OF STORY AND CHRISTIAN IDENTITY

Acta Missiologica, 2020

The article discusses the role of the story with the intention of better understanding and rethinking our understanding of Christian identity. It argues that this identity is based on God's story in the world and with the world when the disciples of Jesus Christ strive to embody this story and further develop it creatively via the imagination. In the light of this argument, Christian discipleship aims towards the quality of life transformed by the power of the Spirit, and thus elevated to a truly human level. Being a Christian, therefore, ultimately means being human.

A Plea for Narrative Theology: Living In and By Stories

Interpreter: A journal of Mormon scripture, 2014

The following are reflections on some of the complicated history, including the abuses, of what is commonly known as theology. The Saints do not “do theology.” Even when we are tempted, we do not reduce the contents or grounds of faith to something conforming to traditional theology. Instead, we tell stories of how and why we came to faith, which are then linked to a network of other stories found in our scriptures, and to a master narrative. We live in and by stories and not by either dogmatic or philosophically grounded systematic theology. Instead, we tend to engage in several strikingly different kinds of endeavors, especially including historical studies, which take the place of (and also clash with) what has traditionally been done under the name theology in its various varieties, confessional or otherwise. In 1992, I published an essay in which I pointed out the word “theology” and how much of what it describes originated with Plato, Aristotle, and the Orphics. The word is no...

The Function of Narrative in Christology

A narrative approach to Christology seeks to overcome the severance of dogmatic theology from biblical studies. How does a narrative reading of the Scriptures present Jesus in the gospels as the Christ of dogma? How can this methodology account for the so-called 'low' Christology of the Synoptics and the 'high' Christology of Johannine and Pauline literature? In this essay, it is argued that "the word of the cross" discloses the true narrative meaning of the central Character of the Gospels. He who died and was raised "in a accordance with the Scriptures" is the Christ, the Incarnate Word, as affirmed in the Church's Nicaean and Chalcedonian definitions. This essay discusses these questions in the works of some contemporary scholars including John Behr, Joseph Ratzinger, and John Milbank.

Practical theology and narrative: Contours and markers

STJ | Stellenbosch Theological Journal

There has been a definite turn in practical theology and theology at large in the last four decades. The inadequacies of the Enlightenment project to keep in tension the rational and non-rational traditions of interpretations, significance of the relative for universal moral appropriation, the importance of lived experiences for identity, the critical engagement of tradition and choice, and the widening gap between the finite and infinite are addressed within a narrative approach. Another voice is added to narrative approaches for the interpretation of person, the world and God. Narrative approach for meaning making of person, world and God through reasoning is embedded in experience.A common thread of narrative theology is that persons can make sense of themselves, the world and God through stories. A narrative approach to theology is much more than a bridge between interpretation and first order language. It is the process, structure, and form of interpretation and reflection of t...

Story and biblical theology

Out of Egypt: biblical theology and …

Grand or Meta narrative is an unlikely item on an agenda for biblical studies today. In our 'postmodern' era we have we have learnt to adopt an attitude of 'incredulity towards metanarratives'1, and within academic biblical studies we have been trained to emphasise diversity and to be suspicious of attempts to read the Bible as a (unified) whole. Despite these hostile forces our contention in this chapter is that there is much to be gained from the recovery of reading the Bible as a grand narrative. Not only do we think this possible -and thus wish to commend it as a major way of doing biblical theology -but we also think it important if Scripture is to function as God's Word in the life of his people.

Life Story and Christian Metanarration - Narrative Identity in Practical Theological Perspective

In this book I focus on the connection between two stories: our personal life story and God’s story in the world from a Christian perspective. These stories are interrelated. This book gives an inside view in this identity creating process in order to help the reader understanding her/his personal and collective “draft” for life. Through this book the reader gains inside a scientific research on narratives from a theological point of view and also goes through a kind of spiritual journey. By reading the book of creating of our own identity through our own story, challenges the reader what kind of scripts he/she uses, what makes an event special and other occasions less important, and how God is able to rewrite his/her story. Besides understanding our own way through creating process a personal “myths”, our metastory can be a part of God’s ongoing story. This book is written to those who work with life stories. My purpose with writing the book was to give a theoretical basis (theological reflection, psychological background, philosophical insides, ect.) to those who care for life stories, to those who want to gain “autobiographical competence” and help others in reflecting on their own lives.