Narrative Theology

Abstract

Narrative theology, also referred to as postliberal theology, was a 20th century movement focusing on scripture as a drama to be ecclesially enacted, rather than the material basis for a dogmatic presentation of doctrine. Viewing scripture as an ongoing narrative of God's work in the world, narrative theology sought to place the church — the community of continuing narration by the Spirit — as the locus for theological reflection and social action. Scripture re‐narrates the world, fitting the world into its ongoing story instead of being confined by preconceived categories. First emerging in the 1960s through the “Yale school” in the works of Hans Frei and George Lindbeck, the movement derived much of its theology from Karl Barth, and its understanding of the performative nature of language and communities from Ludwig Wittgenstein and Clifford Geertz. In contrast to the liberal theology preceding it, narrative theology has focused largely on communal formation and communal interpretations of scripture and doctrine, rejecting purely individualist and/or emotivist understandings of doctrine. As Mike Higton has noted, Frei and Lindbeck produced two kinds of narrative approaches. Frei's project, rooted in Christology, has been continued through the work of Stanley Hauerwas, while Lindbeck's project, rooted in cultural linguistic theory, has been carried out most clearly through the work of David Tracy.