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There are many biblical episodes in which people are compelled by an explicit or implicit threat of force, which is one definition of coercion, yet the issue of coercion has not yet been systematically explored for Hebrew Bible narrative. Examining the phenomenon of coercion across biblical narrative, this study asks how coercion is viewed and valued in the Hebrew Bible, what determines whether coercion is punished or rewarded, and what the theological significance is of this judgment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When undertaking the writing of Manuscript A, in obedience to Mother Agnes of Jesus --her sister Pauline-- Thèrése of the Child Jesus of the Holy Face will endeavor to tell the story of the path of love in her life, though it is not so much --or principally-- the path of love which she has travelled, but the path that love has travelled in her. Perhaps it was not her initial intention, but the grace received on the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity in 1895 --that is, the certainty of how much Jesus desires to be loved-- reorients her work as a writer in a liturgical as well as a historical context, in which the offering of oneself to divine justice is prevalent. At that moment, Thérèse decides to offer herself to love so as to "please Jesus", in response to the mercy that he has poured out by being present in every moment of her life. Her autobiography, in the light of her lived experience and the Offering to Merciful Love which she made, transmits to the reader three essential dimensions of the path that love has taken in the life of Thérèse of Lisieux: the priestly dimension, the subversive dimension and the narrative dimension. She will culminate her journey by embracing in the night the Paschal Mystery, which is the gift of salvation and life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between writing the "Short" and the "Long" versions of the Revelations of Divine Love, Julian of Norwich might have read Piers Plowman. This article argues that Julian learned from Langland something about how to use narrative as part of her exploration and reformulation of the complex and seemingly contradictory theology of the Fall and redemption, focusing on the remarkably similar ways in which Langland and Julian narrate the Fall in, respectively, the tree of charite sequence and the lord and servant example. In each case, a narrative of eager, loving desire leads seemingly accidentally, and yet apparently inevitably, to a disastrous "fall." Julian may have discovered in Piers Plowman a method of engaging with the conceptual challenges posed by the problematic relationship between the human will and recuperative divine love. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a geographical and spatial analysis of the figure of Jesus, an outline of narrative theology and geographical spirituality: from the first stages of his life and message to the last moments of his existence on this world, from Nazareth to Golgotha. Particular attention will be given to the beginning of Jesus’s public life, as well as to some moments during his final days. It is hoped that the reader will gain a feel for the spiritual dimension of space, and of the connections between external geography and human interiority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cinema is one of the great media of storytelling that, with its images and sounds, draws viewers into a different world and addresses their bodies, minds, and hearts. In this contribution, I will develop an argument for African cinema as a source of narrative theology that is contextual and liberative in its critical and constructive functions. In conversation with African women's and queer theologies, I will then reconstruct the narrative theologies emerging from films produced in Africa that address women's issues and diverse sexualities. I argue that they develop, through images of the pain of sexism and homophobia, a theology of hope of flourishing life. Thus, they contribute to the life of a church that is able to overcome prejudice, recognizes the gifts of its diverse communities, and is a space for all to flourish in love. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theology as a story of doubt and imagination is to be understood against the background of interdisciplinary social science and in contrast to the traditional paradigm of theology as a system of propositional certainty. The concepts of doubt and imagination are part and parcel of narrative research and can also be linked to postfoundational philosophy. The relevancy of this theological paradigm will be discussed on the basis of the following: (1) It is in touch with its own doubt, (2) It is in touch with its own story (tradition), (3) It can therefore interact with other stories, stories of hope and despair, stories of suffering, stories of power and of marginalisation, (4) It can also imagine alternative stories. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The interaction with 'other stories', which is one of the important outcomes of this postfoundational approach, makes it possible for theology to be a humble but important participant at the interdisciplinary conversational table. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is Part I of a triptych. It addresses the latent potential of the imagination in constructing a sense of identity. Included is the role of faith in overcoming the obstacles presented by a social imaginary dominated by literal idolatry that leads to unnecessary suffering. The initial foundation examines the process of growth and the role that the imagination plays in the construction of narrative identity—an important part of human development. Literal idolatry interrupts this original process through the creation of a social imaginary that corrupts natural measures for self-correction. At the same time, a creative faith contains the capacity to dislodge the rigid boundaries of literal idolatry. A creative faith narrative identities in ways that open beyond simple coherence and completeness. It can also revitalize social institutions and public spaces. The argument concludes by arguing fictional narratives augment the work of theology in grounding and inspiring creative faith. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the capacity for narrating the name of God as a way to liberate the suffering of the world. The first section of this article offers a brief overview of Walter Benjamin's linguistic theory as it relates to the issue of literal idolatry. In the second section, the content of exploring Ricoeur's movement toward a poetic faith creates a formal anomaly in which his "byway" is something that may be crucial for readers or may be unnecessary: it speaks to the discontinuity and rupture enabled by incorporating silence into speech. The third section flows from the first and third, discussing the difficulty and importance of naming God as an embodied speech act. This looks at the particular situation of parables, including perspectives from Thomas Altizer and J. Hillis Miller. The fourth section focuses on the psychodynamic work of Jessica Benjamin as it models a way of bringing an embodied witness to the world in a performance of divine love. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the role of hope relative to the unexplored potential of narrative theology as a particular mode of thinking. The first section provides a brief introduction. The second section begins by discussing the world of experience as postulated by Alfred North Whitehead: I argue that literal idolatry forms as a specific technology based around the use of symbols. The third section explores the resources of narrative as a centrifugal model of metaphor that serves as a robust alternative literal idolatry: I argue that narratives develop the intellect through pattern recognition and the imagination through empathetic recognition, and then describe how narrative theory's emphasis on focalized perspectives opens hopeful expectations of the future. The fourth section explores Ricoeur's work in narrative theology, defining it as a "field" whose dynamic emphasis on tension provides an alternative to the static, "closed circuit" of religious symbols. The final section looks at Colson Whitehead's The Intuitionist as a contemporary novel that seems to fit with Ricoeur's stipulations for what generates a field of narrative theology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Narrative Theology" has often been construed in contrast to broader humanistic discourse. Protestant and particularly Reformed Christianity has often set the "Old, Old Story" apart from humanism and the humanities. This chapter explores the juxtaposition of humanism and reformed thinking in Paul Ricoeur. Ricoeur's hermeneutics is compared with the Reformed "covenant theology" of 17th Century Puritanism. Covenant theology balanced the belief that God exceeds our powers of knowing and language and the conviction that God consents to be known within the limits of human understanding, as developed through the liberal arts. Similarly, Ricoeur sees God as limiting and disrupting human language, but while, for Ricoeur, encounter with God may begin as impossible dialogue, it develops by dispersing the names and signs of the divine throughout the tropes and genres of human discourse, narrative chief among them. Ricoeur's thought is interpreted as a Christian humanism in which religious inquiry and secular humanistic thought coexist and mutually enhance one another. Ricoeur's humanism will be preferred over approaches to narrative that set the Christian story and its hearers apart from the broader conversation of culture; a solipsism of faith is inadequate to the challenges of a modern pluralist culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jim Harvey was the artist who created the Brillo box that Andy Warhol copied and made famous. Warhol's Brillo Boxes changed the course of art history and the entire field of aesthetics and the philosophy of art. Meanwhile, Jim Harvey died a failed second-generation Abstract Expressionist. To his death, Harvey refused to accept that his Brillo box was a work of art. However, the theory—the story—that was woven about Warhol's Brillo Boxes transformed them from commonplace objects into multimillion-dollar masterpieces. As a counterbalance, this article appeals to narrative theology as a way to tell Jim Harvey's story. Appealing to narrative theologian James McClendon's notion that a biography can reveal an image—a metaphor—that serves as a prism through which that individual's life can be seen and understood, this article suggests that the defining metaphor of Jim's life was "artists are prophets". Importantly, this essay is not an attempt to redeem Harvey's artistry, although it may provoke a reconsideration of his work. Rather, it is an exploration of the tragic and luminous life of a beautiful failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article frames the question of Baptist identity as a narratively formed construct. It qualifies this description and then tests the qualified identity framework by exploring the stories of the Baptists in Great Britain and North India, asking how we might understand these different versions as part of the same story. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contributes to the ongoing discussion of the story of Cain by exploring the speeches within Genesis 4 as speech acts. The investigation will focus on two narrative levels of analysis, the story level (the viewpoint of the characters) and the storyteller level (the presentation of the narrative to the audience). The speech acts in this story display a clash of imaginations, with Eve and Yhwh on one side and Cain and Lamech on the other. On the story level, Eve and Yhwh imagine the world in ways that resist human sin and violence and that celebrate God's relationship with humanity. Cain and Lamech reject this notion and choose to focus only on themselves. On the storyteller level, the speech acts of Genesis 4 invite the audience to adopt and celebrate the imaginations of Eve and Yhwh and to reject the imaginations of Cain and Lamech. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

These thoroughly engaged and engaging essays invite reflection on Bishop Wright's practice and principles as an interpreter of Scripture and of the Christian faith in today's context. Wright wants to reground theology in a biblical narrative and considers that systematic theology has been impoverished by forgetfulness of its roots in the story of God's Covenant with humanity. This story contains in concrete form all the truths that later theology painfully spelled out in categories that were not always appropriate. Systematic theologians might reply that doctrine, whether of the Fathers or of the Reformers, has allowed a penetrating interpretation of Scripture, which otherwise could lack its full existential and spiritual impact. Wright's over‐arching biblical story tends to become drab and to generate biblicism rather than a repristinated biblical theology. His recommendation that we solve problems of modern life by recalling our roots in the biblical story may be a simplistic nostrum. Wright's theology is thoroughly incarnational. Salvation is the emergence of God's Kingdom on this earth. He claims to be a creational monotheist, not a Platonic dualist. He stresses the collective dimensions of salvation, sometimes sounding like a liberation theologian. While his sense for sacred times and sacred places is an incarnational emphasis, his focus on the sacral theme of the Temple in John and throughout the New Testament might be an idealizing construction that takes away from his effort to understand Jesus in his historical world. His hermeneutics could be more flexible and effective if he opened up more to the pluralistic open‐endedness of the biblical texts (not just the eschatological openness at the end of the story), or if he were more ready to delight in the literary qualities of Scripture for their own sake. While he skillfully skewers some trendy movements in Jesus research and Pauline studies, his skepticism about Q and ascription of the hymns in Philippians, Colossians, and Ephesians to the pen of the Apostle exemplify a literary conservatism that may generate a monochrome reading. In Christology, his repeated declaration that Jesus 'embodied Israel's God' hovers between a 'high' and a 'low' interpretation, indicating that his 'early High Christology' is not a stable and monolithic formation. Wright, an outstanding pastor and apologist, finally may lay claim to the watchword of 'missional hermeneutics' such as Paul practiced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problematic assumption that biblical purity thematically represents life and death is commonly held within modern biblical studies. Building upon this assumption, many scholars have attempted to explain the treatment of the ṣāraʿat patient in Leviticus 13:1‐46 as a symbolic banishment of death. However, the current paper attempts to move beyond this reading towards a method of reconstructing the evolution of biblical rituals and practices. Through the utilisation of René Girard's four scapegoat stereotypes, the current paper identifies the scapegoat mechanism in Leviticus 13:1‐46, and reconstructs a proposed evolution of this ritual. This paper suggests that the ritual presented in Leviticus 13:1‐46 may have evolved from an earlier tradition, in which ṣāraʿat patients were executed to halt a mimetic crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay considers the work of G.K. Chesterton, and in particular The Everlasting Man, in relation to narrative theology. It discusses the apparent contradiction between Aidan Nichols' judgement that this book develops a 'Christocentric theology of history' and Chesterton's own assertion that its approach is 'historical rather than theological'. It argues that Chesterton employs both natural and narrative theology in The Everlasting Man, and these two forms of theology frame a reading of the book which resolves the seeming contradiction between Nichols' and Chesterton's views, while also challenging the conventional chronology used in discussions of narrative theology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The television series Man in the High Castle is set in an alternate United States of America reality where Nazi Germany and Japan won World War II. This paper explores the saga's themes narratively, scripturally, and missionally, engaging with various cultural, religious, and mission studies. The resistance theme of The Man in the High Castle in particular provides a useful parallel to Christian mission that is surprisingly resonant both with scripture and with Benjamin Simon's three pillars of mission. The oppressive values of the conquering empires lead to an awareness that there is a problem with the world, which encourages Christians toward mission and the series' Americans toward resistance. Finally, the success in The Man in the High Castle of sharing stories of "another world" as a scheme of resistance provides a useful strategy for Christians today. Mission, with a Man in the High Castle flavour, becomes an act of resistance to oppressive evil through the sharing of stories of the coming kingdom of God. Simon's three pillars of mission can all be seen in the approaches to mission seen from the series. Because the world is filled with oppressive values and needs Christian resistance, the pillar of transformation is required. The idea of sharing stories of an alternate world, the kingdom of God, is also an example of both gospel transmission and gospel translation into a fresh context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a disabled person, Psalm 139:13–14 has long presented as theologically problematic for me. How could "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well" fall as praise from my lips when as young as six years old I realized I was differently abled; and that with all of the shameful, negative connotations assumed with being so. The theological narrative about disability centered on sins of the mother, shame of the family, pity of the public, and sympathetically low expectations for achieving, excelling, and fitting into mainstream ableism. This article weaves biographical vignettes and theological reflections to develop a liberation hermeneutic for creating a narrative theology of disability in the church; challenges commonly held perceptions about disabled personhood; examines familiar efforts to enhance the worship experience for disabled persons; admonishes practices which inconvenience or otherwise undermine a disabled parishioner; and examines the efficacy of ministry accommodations to equip disabled persons to worship, serve, and lead in the church. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies of the relationship between science and religion yield a growing scholarly consensus over the compatibility of each category's truth claims, but there is continued dissonance in the relationship between the truth claims of cosmology and eschatology. On the one hand, cosmologists claim that the world ends in catastrophe; on the other hand, theologians working on eschatology claim that it is moving towards renewal and new creation. Recent scholarship responds to this dissonance by emphasising the bodily resurrection of Jesus. There is, however, another possible resolution to this dissonance that also provides an interpretive lens for understanding cosmology: using the Christian doctrine of soteriology as an analogy for eschatological claims. Through a comparative analysis of its own narrative with the narrative of cosmology, the Christian doctrine of soteriology lends a new perspective to the cosmological-eschatological dissonance while also providing a larger interpretive lens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article opens the road towards a theological media theory by discussing developments in narrative theology. Human stories are messages encoded in the medium of language, and narrative theology has rediscovered their importance for theology, especially in connection with the meaning of revelation. Understanding revelation as symbolic communication, mediation and "resonance" helps us to see how narrative and revelation merge within a concept of auto/Theo-biography. Before people are able to reflect upon revelation, they are already a part of it. Auto/Theo-biography suggests that theology is animated communication, growing from the interplay between participation and mediation. This calls for study of the medium and of mediation from a theological perspective, which may be a first step towards a theological media theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wolfgang Vondey's Pentecostal Theology: Living the Full Gospel is a tour de force in Pentecostal systematic theology. It is also the most articulate statement of the fivefold gospel's power to explain the impulses of past Pentecostal spirituality and its constructive potential for future Pentecostal discourse. Combining both traditional and innovative systematic loci, Vondey's project shows great promise for the enterprise of christologically oriented narrative theology. One looming question is whether the christocentrism of the full gospel can bear adequate witness to some of the details of Spirit christology. That is, can the full gospel, with its emphasis on Jesus actively bestowing the Holy Spirit on creatures, give proper place to Jesus passively receiving the Holy Spirit from the Father, without the full gospel's structure undergoing fundamental transformation? While some ambiguities remain in Vondey's attempts to employ both the full gospel and elements of Spirit christology in the same theological paradigm, he takes long strides towards integrating these two themes that have often competed with each other for space in Pentecostal theology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses a methodological question: How to develop African queer theology? That is, a theology that interrogates and counter-balances popular representations of queer sexuality as being “un-African” and “un-Christian”. Answering this question, the article specifically engages with African feminist theological work on storytelling as politically empowering and theologically significant. Where African feminist theologians have used her-stories to develop her-theologies, this article suggests that similarly, queer autobiographical storytelling can be a basis for developing queer theologies. It applies this methodology to the Kenyan queer anthology Stories of Our Lives (2015), which is a collection of autobiographical stories narrated by people identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex (LGBTI) or otherwise queer in Kenya. The article concludes with an intertextual reading of Stories of Our Lives and Mercy Oduyoye’s autobiographical essay about childlessness, pointing towards an African narrative queer theology of fruitfulness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses some of the confusion regarding the role of metaphysical claims in narrative theology. Proponents and critics of narrative theology alike wonder at the ambiguous place of metaphysical speech about God as an objective reality. This essay enters the conversation through the side door of soteriology. Rather than focusing on the relationship between narrative and metaphysics or narrative and analogy or narrative and first-order theological claims, I examine what sort of metaphysical statements are required to make the Christian claim that human beings are 'in Christ' intelligible as a soteriological reality. I argue that the Christian grammar itself assumes a Christology with a certain kind of metaphysical ambition without which Christianity lapses into incoherence. To make this case, I show that David Kelsey's 'narrative identity' Christology in Eccentric Existence lacks the metaphysical statements necessary to uphold his conviction that human beings are 'in Christ.' A comparison with T. F. Torrance and the Book of Hebrews reveals that when narrative circumvents metaphysical statements about the incarnate Son, soteriological claims lack coherence and the biblical narrative itself is distorted by a false metaphysic. Thus, metaphysical claims internal to the narrative of Jesus are necessary to tell the story of God faithfully. In this way, narrative is the expression of a theological metaphysics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution is a political-theological and hermeneutical reflection on the origin, nature, intention and contribution of a research theme identified within the dynamics of an institutional space, by taking a critical look at the 'rules' and the 'game' of university academia. Specific reference is made to institutional and faculty research themes, namely 'reconciling diversity' and 'Ecodomy - life in its fullness'. The institutional academic space is compared to a Hunger Games-style panopticon, with its 'rules' and 'play'. It is argued that these research themes can only make an authentic contribution if the 'play' and 'game' of the space in which these themes originate, are deconstructed. If this deconstruction can take place, there might be an authentic chance for unhindered dialogue towards the transformation of the academic space and the greater community it serves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes that the Gospel of Mark should be read as both a historical and a theological document. Mark is a theologian who writes theology as a story. He doesn't simply write history, but he presents theological ideas in narrative form. Considering this fact, one must take into account the narrative-rhetorical method in the hermeneutic of Mark's Gospel. The historical and theological character of the Gospel requires one to observe two complementary perspectives over the meaning of the book: the perspective of narration's hero and the perspective of the reader of the Gospel. The author of this present study employs the narrative-rhetorical interpretation as method of research on Mark's Christology, exemplifying the usage of the method in interpreting the Messianic secret motif in Jesus' transfiguration pericope (Mark 9,2-10). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Practical judgment can be developed from a wide variety of life experiences upon one condition: the experiences in question are made meaningful through stories. By placing lived experience in narrative form one gains a flexible guide for action. Calculative analysis may usefully supplement, but cannot supplant, narrative knowledge for the decision-maker grappling with the ‘wicked problems’ of social and political life. There is no obvious, or perhaps even feasible, way to determine what constitutes the kind of story that will improve practical judgment and allow for better decisions. It is less the content of stories that requires attention than the process of narrative inquiry, interaction and understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Berry’s notion of memory has rich theological and literary roots, which reach to Augustine and T. S. Eliot. After a brief tour through Augustine’s theological view of memory and Eliot’s development of this in The Four Quartets, I examine Berry’s short story “Pray without Ceasing” to demonstrate how this theology works out in the form of his story, enabling his characters to understand and love the whole pattern of which they are a part. By understanding how Berry incorporates this ancient Christian view of memory in the structure of his narration, we can see how memory comprises an integral part of his culturally embattled agrarian and ecological vision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of faith is a dominant motif in both Jewish and Christian Scriptures and yet the authors never chose to give faith a clear, concise definition in propositional formulations. Both Testaments repeatedly refer to its importance but only approach the subject by telling stories where this valued aspect is present or absent. Luke follows suit with the rest of the Gospels and the precedent set in the Jewish Scriptures. It heralds faith's importance and necessity but never defines faith with theological statements. Using aspects of Structural Analysis, an adaptation of Form Criticism, the narratives in Luke will be investigated for how faith was taught and by whom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article will reflect on one of the forms of child participation in christian worship - as a listener of the sermon. To lead congregational meetings without ignoring children it's a challenge. Some christian communities have chosen to fragmenting the congregation at the time of the sermon, taking children out of the common area and directing them to a parallel worship service. In this paper, through bibliographic review, the homiletic concepts of Ellen White will be analyzed. She was a nineteenth-century writer who insisted on the inclusion and appreciation of children in the congregational worship, especially on the sermon. This article will reveal how the comments of Ellen White to the preachers in the nineteenth century can be considered contemporary, doing some intersections with current theological concepts as "narrative theology" and the "child theology movement". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews the variety of narrative methodologies in contemporary Ukrainian Protestant Theology and reveals universal instruments that could be used in textual analysis from the position of Religious Studies. The author suggests her own approach to classification of narrative sources of domestic Protestantism. Basing on this approach, she clarifies the discrepancies between Protestant self-presentation of their narrative sources and analysis of these sources from the position of Religious Studies. In particular, she proves that Ukrainian Protestant thought, mastering the achievements of Narrative Theology, made special accent on the role of community that interprets the Bible and itself. Ukrainian Protestant intellectuals, granting this central place to local community, consciously used Narrative Theology in order to interpret the domestic Protestant tradition (A. Puzynin). Another domestic researcher (R. Soloviy) claimed that this accent on special significance of community and its spiritual experience, characteristic for Ukrainian Protestants, betokens Post-Conservative type of Protestant Theology in Post-Modern times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the call narrative model proposed by Norm Habel as genre in the Bible. Topics discussed include the six elements applied and shared by most narratives including the divine confrontation, introductory words, and objection, and the analysis of several call narratives and its relation to Habel's model such as the calling of Samuel and Elisha.

The last few years the young democratic South Africa's history has been characterised by service delivery protests and industrial action which is becoming increasingly violent as epitomised by Marikana. Is the violence that accompanies industrial action and service delivery protests emblematic of a powerless frustration and a violent revulsion at the thought that there will be no change? For 18 years, hope was placed in the idea of liberation which would open the doors to a brighter future for the majority, yet all that remains of that noble dream lies in the ashes of current events that populate the newspaper headlines of the major South African newspapers. What role can Practical Theology play in this context? What is the calling of Practical Theology, and specifically postfoundational narrative theology? These are the questions this article will seek to answer, by proposing that a narrative approach can listen to the untold stories and thus the colourful phoenix can rise from the ashes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article advocates a pedagogy of Religious Education (RE) based upon a narratival framework informed by both narrative theology and narrative philosophy. Drawing on the work of narrative theologians including Stanley Hauerwas, the article outlines the nature of the framework, describes the four phases of learning that comprise the pedagogy, and explains how such an approach can overcome existing difficulties in how biblical texts are handled within RE. Working from the narrative assumption that individuals and communities are formed by reading, sharing and living within stories, it suggests that the pedagogy might encourage pupils to think about how the lives of Christians are shaped by their interpretations of biblical narratives, to offer their own interpretations of biblical and other texts, and to consider the stories – religious, non-religious or both – which shape their own lives. In so doing, the article moves away from a ‘proof-texting’ approach to the Bible towards one in which pupils are enabled to think about the significance of biblical narratives for both Christians and themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes to explore new ways of speaking about disability by drawing from the theology of Johann Baptist Metz. Specifically, it uses Metz's ideas of subjectivity, narrative, memory, and hope and applies them to mental illness, with the intent to enable theologians to respond to mental health issues in a more nuanced way and to encourage Christians to foster a deeper solidarity with those suffering from mental illness. The article then briefly considers how Metz's paradigm may be used to enhance our understanding of other categories of disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews the book "The Poetics of Iblis: Narrative Theology in the Qur'an," by Whitney S. Bodman.

This article explores the philosophical, pedagogical and practical challenges encountered in constructing an interdisciplinary curriculum that combines insights from the worlds of theology and creative writing. Issues raised include the similarities and differences of the disciplines, the vulnerability required of students and teachers and whether creativity can be taught. The topic is explored through life writing, autoethnography and constructive narrative theology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The story of theology and ethics at Union Seminary from 1812 to the present illustrates the critical relationship between theology, ethics, and historical circumstances. In a distinctive fashion, it also reflects both the wider story and current challenges of theology and ethics in American Protestantism. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A previous article illustrated that the root of the tension between unity and plurality in the church can be found in an epistemology charcaterised by binary opposisions. This article describes this epistemology and, from the perspective of narrative theological epistemology, discusses the struggles and pitfalls reflected in the narrative of the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa which identifies itself as an 'ethnic church' (volkskerk). The article argues that such a self-identification functions as a metanarrative that is in conflict with the church's grand narrative, that of the Triune God. The re-telling of the grand narrative of the Trinity as the metaphor for unity through plurality will sustain the re-telling of the church's narrative in the changing context of a secular society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From a narrative theological perspective, the article tells the story of the church which has always been characterised by a tension between unity and plurality. The article illustrates that the root of the tension can be found in a binary mentality which traps the church in an endless labyrinth and keeps the it from being 'A Broad Place', a 'wide open space'. The article suggests that re-telling the church's grand narrative of the Trinity sustains the re-telling of the church's narrative in the changing environment of a secular society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this article is the person in the experience of dementia. Narrative is highlighted in the context of narrative theology, and upholding the identity of the person with dementia through spiritual reminiscence and programs of art, music, pastoral care, and prayer and meditation. These provide the basis for critique of current practices and challenges of providing person-centred care. This article addresses issues of resistance to seeing the person in dementia and possibilities for resilience in dementia through rementia. The article outlines some changes in care provider practices that make for greater quality of life for those with dementia, acknowledging the crucial impact of the quality of relationship between the care provider and the person with dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Postliberals have hailed H. Richard Niebuhr's The Meaning of Revelation as a harbinger of narrative theology. A careful reading of Niebuhr's argument, however, suggests a theological ethic that is at once attentive to the narrative formation of agency and yet distinct from postliberalism because of its attention to the divine object of Christians' stories. Niebuhr's theocentrism yields a view of narrative as opened from the inside because it requires appropriation of what he calls "external" narratives in order to do justice to the sovereignty of God. The result is a theological ethic which is sharply critical of modern conceptions of agency and yet continually sifted by contemporary insights and experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

September 11 raises a broader issue about the roles of theology in public life, especially in relation to acts of violence. This essay proposes that the theologian has particular responsibility for the interpretive frameworks and narratives within which public discussion situates acts of violence, and it illustrates this proposal through brief comments on the concept of "the fragment" in recent theology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beginning with the premise that theory should illuminate stories rather than stories illustrating theory, this article offers an extensive clinical story as the centerpiece of an exploration of the Christological nature of psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Relying on the listening stances provided by Klein, Fairbairn, Bion, Grotstein, and early Christian theologians among others, this article explores original sin, fallen creation, demonic possession, lost innocence, and trauma as sources of mental anguish. Portraying God as the 'Background Presence' and defining therapy as a Christological defense of God, the author argues that the lens of Christology deepens the psychotherapy endeavor and that transference (re)presents the 'hypostatic union' of Christ as well as mirrors the relationship between the Background Presence and those seeking psychotherapeutic forgiveness and exorcism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the connection between life and theology. Today, many people do not understand the connection between theology and everyday life. In particular, many of today's theological students are leaving theological institutions and entering the ministry with a fragmented theology instead of an integrated theology. A brief historical and literature review indicates that there are three perspectives in contemporary theology, namely the theological triad of orthodoxy, orthopathy and orthopraxy. A brief analysis of the three perspectives indicates a close connection between theology and everyday life: theology and life are linked in praise (orthodoxy), action (orthopraxy) and passion (orthopathy). This article focuses on the paradigm of narrative theology and shows that, when used correctly, narrative theology provides the building blocks for systematic theology and biblical theology. Narrative theology also provides helpful insights when it takes into account legitimate literary concerns, such as the historical background of the Bible passage and the author's theology and purpose. The close connection between theology and everyday life is clearly portrayed in a narrative approach to Isaiah 6:1-8, especially when it illustrates how the story (narrative) shapes each of the three perspectives of the theological triad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This short study offers a celebration of and engagement with James D.G. Dunn's Baptism of the Holy Spirit forty years after its first publication. Specifically, this article focuses upon the sections of Baptism of the Holy Spirit devoted to the Johannine literature, posing questions for further reflection and discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with the progressive character of all religious experiences. In order to verify this feature, several authors from Christian tradition who highlighted its progressivity are analyzed: Saint Irenaeus, Saint Bonaventure, and Saint Therese of Ávila. From that overview it can be inferred that an immediatist pretention in the religious formation might be harmful for the human spirit and for all religious education processes which respect human freedom. Progressivity then demands accounting. When claiming its pertinence in the current "religious offer" in the city, narrativity can become a critical criterion in order to question the current urban religious narratives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decade there has been a pragmatic turn in the work of those doing Christian ethics, especially as represented by the work of Jeffrey Stout and Franklin Gamwell. The pragmatic turn represents a critique of the highly influential work of Stanley Hauerwas and Alasdair MacIntyre, which argues for a strongly intra-church ethics. The pragmatists are correct in arguing that Christian ethics must engage the public sphere. However, I argue that they are deeply mistaken in their claim that this engagement must rest on a weak or non-existent theology. I show that the claim that robust theology adds nothing to ethics, and that we can get along without it, is unsustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children enjoy the tales of Daniel and his three friends, whether told in Sunday school, day school, by parents or grandparents. These tales are cast essentially in violent terms. In this article a specific version of the tales in a children's Bible is analysed to show in what way violence serves as the thread that holds the tales together and to suggest that this might imply that violence is condoned, be it violence committed by God for the sake of his children or by his children for their own sakes. Through ideology, criticism and deconstruction it is shown how a socially engaged reading of the text necessitates narrators of the Daniel tales to criticise violence embedded within the Biblical text, especially when these tales are narrated to children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]