Revelations and Story

This title was first published in 2000. From the work of Hegel and Schelling to the dialectical theology of Barth, Bultmann and Gogarten, "e;Revelation"e; has developed a long, rich tradition of diverse thought, as well as many misunderstandings. Meaning, first and foremost, "e;God's encounter with those to whom God wishes to communicate God's own self"e;, 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 "e;story"e;, 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.

Introduction; One: 'Scriptural Faithfulness' is not a 'Scripture Principle'; Two: Story and Possibility: Reflections on the Last Scenes of the Fourth Gospel and Shakespeare's The Tempest; Three: Disclosing Human Possibilities: Revelation and Biblical Stories; Four: Reading the Bible Theologically; Five: Revelation as Gestalt; Six: Allegoria: Reading as a Spiritual Exercise; Seven: 'Revelation' and 'Story' in Jewish and Christian Apocalyptic; Eight: Does the Gospel Story Demand and Discourage Talk of Revelation?; Nine: The Productive Vagueness of an Untranslatable Relationship