Theopraxis (Scott Berkhimer): Why Narrative Theology Matters
I mentioned earlier that I've been working a bit on a side project involving narrative theology. On a mostly unrelated note, I've also been listening to a few of NT Wright's recent lectures, which have been absolutely fantastic (not that this should come as any great surprise). These have meshed well with some of my recent rantings, in particular those related to the idea of New Creation. This idea, this theme that unfolds marvelously in the scriptures, unfortunately often gets shortchanged in western Christianity, heavily influenced by Platonic ideas of the duality of spirit and matter. As a result, this idea of New Creation tends to show up more often as the epilogue, instead of as a significant theme in its own right. ...
...A narrative approach sees instead the New Creation as the climax of the story. It is the telos, or end, towards which the narrative progresses. In other words, we see the echoes of New Creation all over the scriptures - it is the focal point that brings the rest of the story into clarity. But it doesn't function like that for us, for those of us who have grown up in a tradition influenced by Enlightenment's neo-Platonic categories. It isn't the driving force behind our theology; it isn't the climax of the narrative; in many cases, it's simply absent, replaced by either some goofy sense of human progress or a disturbing sense of immanent doom and destruction.
Looks like Scott is about to do a series on this. Check it out.
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