Narrative Theology As A Hermeneutic Approach

Written for preachers, seminary students, laypersons, teachers, and anyone interested in biblical hermeneutics and Christian theology.

Dr. Jacob L. Goodson will be doing a book signing for Narrative Theology and the Hermeneutical Virtues: Humility, Patience, Prudence at Eighth Day Books in Wichita, KS, on Saturday March 21, 2015, at 4:00pm. In Narrative Theology and the Hermeneutical Virtues: Humility, Patience, Prudence, Jacob L. Goodson offers a philosophical analysis of the arguments and tendencies of Hans Frei’s and Stanley Hauerwas’ narrative theologies. Narrative theology names a way of doing theology and thinking theologically that is part of a greater movement called “the return to Scripture.” The return to Scripture movement makes a case for Scripture as the proper object of study within Christian theology, philosophy of religion, and religious ethics. While thinkers within this movement agree that Scripture is the proper object of study within philosophy and religious studies, there is major disagreement over what the word “narrative” describes in narrative theology. The Yale theologian, Hans Frei, argues that because Scripture is the proper object of study within Christian theology and the philosophy of religion, Scripture must be the exclusive object of study. To think theologically means paying as close attention as possible to the details of the biblical narratives in their “literal sense.” Different from Frei’s contentions, the Christian ethicist at Duke University, Stanley Hauerwas claims: if Scripture is the proper object of study within Christian theology, then the category of narrative teaches us that we ought to give our scholarly attention to the interpretations and performances of Scripture. Hauerwas emphasizes the continuity between the biblical narratives and the traditions of the church. This disagreement is best described as a hermeneutical one: Frei thinks that the primary place where interpretation happens is in the text; Hauerwas thinks that the primary place where interpretation occurs is in the community of interpreters. In order to move beyond the dichotomy found between Frei’s and Hauerwas’ work, but to remain within the return to Scripture movement, Goodson constructs three hermeneutical virtues: humility, patience, and prudence. These virtues help professors and scholars within Christian theology, philosophy of religion, and religious ethics maintain objectivity in their fields of study.

A critical account of Ricoeur's theory of narrative interpretation and its contribution to theology.

This title was first published in 2000. From the work of Hegel and Schelling to the dialectical theology of Barth, Bultmann and Gogarten, "Revelation" has developed a long, rich tradition of diverse thought, as well as many misunderstandings. Meaning, first and foremost, "God's encounter with those to whom God wishes to communicate God's own self", Revelation seeks to be recounted and communicated to others. As a theological expression, Revelation aims to direct our attention to the modes and areas in which we have a basis for expecting encounter with God - through stories, nature, the world as creation. From a rediscovered emphasis on "story", narrative theology has emerged - a concept the English-speaking world has welcomed for its neutrality between history and imaginative fiction and stress on narrative rather than doctrinal dimension of biblical text. This volume brings into relationship a concern with theology of revelation and an interest in the theology of story or narrative theology.

Narrative Theology is still with us, to the delight of some and to the chagrin of others. 'Why Narrative?Ó is in reprint because it represents what is still a very important question. This diverse collection of essays on narrative theology has proven very useful in university and seminary theology classes. It is also of great use as a primer for the educated layperson or church study group. Jones and Hauerwas have done an excellent job of selecting representative essays that deal with appeals to narrative in areas such as personal identity and human action, biblical hermeneutics, epistemology, and theological and ethical method.

The authority of scripture as it intersects with hermeneutical questions about the character of biblical narrative is considered here by ten well respected theologians. The essays in this volume derive from or are in response to the theological agenda of Hans W. Frei, and are being presented in honor of him in recognition of his sixty-fifth birthday.

Hans W. Frei (1922-1988) was one of the most influential American theologians of his generation. This collection provides an unrivaled introduction to Frei's work.

How does a biblical narrative shape the life and action of its readers ? This question is receiving a wide interest in contemporary theology. Reading the 'Bible as literature' has provided a renewed interest in the creation of meaning in biblical narrative. Moreover, there is a current of narrative theology and ethics, which views human life and action as a form of narrative. narrative is approached through the philosophy of Paul Ricoeur. The narrative theory of this hermeneutic philosopher offers the means for comprehending the formative force of narrative, as well as the limits of narrative figuration. Ricoeur's interest in the relation between narrative and ethics and his view of the tensions between text and reader are applied to an interpretation of the biblical Joseph narrative from Genesis. The results of this interpretation are used to treat problems of narrative ethics and narrative theology. similarities between biblical narrative and the narrative of one's life, a narrative does not answer all problems for its readers. As a story of reconciliation and providence the Joseph narrative makes a strigent appeal of transformation to its readers. It is up to the reader to answer this call by reading for good.