Why Narrative?

By Stanley Hauerwas

Book Overview

Narrative Theology is still with us, to the delight of some and to the chagrin of others. 'Why Narrative?"" 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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1579100651
• ISBN13: 9781579100650
• Release Date: October 1997
• Publisher: Wipf & Stock Publishers
• Length: 376 Pages
• Weight: 1.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.2" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

An Important and Solid Introduction

`Why Narrative' is a solid introduction to narrative theology, and far more; I would highly recommend it for the reader who is interested in the importance of narrative and Christian theology. I think this is primarily due to the book's broad inclusion of scholarly articles from the world of philosophy and theology. In fact, this might be the first time I have been comfortable with such a blend. The reader is given a solid introduction by the editors and the first group of articles gives you a good sense of the recent historical roots of the growing apology for the importance of narrative, which includes two of the most relevant essays by MacIntyre. The subject is really that of "narrative structure," and the reader is left with an expanded world in addition to a broadened understanding of contemporary theology. Narrative structure can have important ramifications in ethics, epistemology, interpretation, consciousness, and revelation; the editor's careful selection allows the reader to take a peak into it all.

Challenging, refreshing, rewarding

This is not easy going: a colection of 17 reprinted articles (plus a helpful new introduction) which explore the philosophical and theological side of narrative and seek to show how it can be a useful tool for thinking about the meaning of life. Everyone's into 'story' these days and how important it is, but few can agree on exactly what a 'story' enables us to say or to know about anything. This book is a tremendous step in that direction. A particular highlight is David Ford's 'System, Story, Performance'.It's hard going but if you persevere it will refresh and reform your ways of thinking.