CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.2 Background
2.2.2 Why biblical theology?
2.2.2.2 Role of narrative
Since, for the purpose of this research, the aspect of BT as a metanarrative is a primary focus, the next step is to examine why narrative is so important to the understanding of God’s Word.
The answer begins with acknowledging the significance of a story or narrative.108 From a secular perspective, Ware (2014:1) explains that “narrative is one of the fundamental cognitive tools that we use to understand the world around us”,109 and as one communicates via that tool, the choices for inclusion in the narrative as well as the organisation of the narrative are “based on our communicative goals,110 and in turn we have expectations about the content and structure of the
105 Emerson (2017:loc. 1333) also uses a threefold designation for BT which he describes as “knowing where we are, where we are going, and how to get from point A to point B”. Bartholomew and Goheen (2020:11) use a similar descriptive trilogy and put it in the context of a drama by saying that “the opening act of the Genesis drama proclaims the truth about God, humankind, and the world. It introduces us to the main actors in the play – God and humanity – and to the world on which the historical drama will unfold.”
106 As Mead (2007:242) puts it: “The outcome of such investigation will lead us to hear what the Bible says about God’s being, words, and actions; about God’s relationship to all creation, especially humankind;
and about the implications this divine-human encounter has for relationships between human beings”.
Rosner (2000:5, 10) adds that it “lets the biblical texts set the agenda”, and it “seeks to analyse and synthesize the Bible’s teaching about God and his relations to the world on its own terms ….” In light of these comments, a similar, but fuller, definition is presented by Sun (2015:2-3), where he defines BT as
“the study of the theological message of the Bible, which proceeds from a literary awareness of the diverse texts of Scripture and seeks to expound the unified teaching of the Bible using the theological categories from the text itself”. All of these emphasise allowing the text to take the lead. Since the focus of this discussion is on how BT helps the believer to understand conflict, the simpler definition above is used rather than these more developed and precise ones.
107 Mead (2007:135) describes the process for such a conclusion, as he states that “the ultimate goal of biblical theology is not merely to talk about its history, issues, and methods – as vital as these areas are – but rather to read and engage the biblical text itself and draw some conclusions about its theological subject matter”. Roberts (2002:loc. 172) provides a caution when he states that “any unifying theme that is used to help us to see how the Bible fits together must arise out of Scripture itself, rather than being imposed upon it; and it must be broad enough to allow each part to make its own distinct contribution”.
108 An excellent explanation of narrative’s usefulness is seen in this statement from Nienhaus (2018:13):
“Stories, it turns out, are ‘irreducible’: they cannot be distilled down into a purer, simpler, ‘truer’ form ….
The irreducibility of narrative makes it one of the most powerful forms of discourse that humans possess.” And Jensen and Martel (2015:22) note that “a narrative — with its characters, plot, setting, conflict, and resolution — answers these fundamental questions that attempt to make sense of human existence in the world”. Ostoich (2018:5) simply says that “story is to the human race what water is to fish”. So, story or narrative is an essential and powerful tool to be used.
109 Newbigin (1989:loc. 364) terms it this way: “The way we understand human life depends on what conception we have of the human story. What is the real story of which my life story is a part? That is the question which determines what we believe to be success and what failure.” And Gerkin (1986:51) adds that “because time passes moment by moment, and because of the human capacity to transcend time through memory and anticipation, we humans structure life in time in terms of narrative”.
110 For example, Russell (2016:loc. 79) highlights the missional impact of the Bible; he states: “The Bible narrates the story of God’s missional outreach to a lost humanity and a broken creation. God engages
narratives we are told”.111 That is because, basically, what one does in creating and communicating a narrative is to “tell both what we believe to be true and what we know to be false. Through narratives, we construct our understanding of ourselves and even create the physical world” (Federman, 2016:155). For believers, this action is augmented by the impact of a superlative narrative that sits in judgement over all other narratives.112 That single incomparable story is gained, understood, and implemented113 via this avenue, as Crouch (2018:3) explains:
“Borrowing the tools of literary criticism, interpreters read the narrative of Scripture on its own terms and locate its central and unifying features the same way they would for any story.114 This primarily happens through analysing structure, assigning importance to events, and identifying the repetition of key concepts.”115
humanity within their cultures as means of transformation and redemption. The Scriptures continue to beckon us all to the life that God created for us to live.”
111 Longenecker develops this idea further by examining other areas of scholarship. He summarises his finding with these words: “As one scholar expressed it, any attempt ‘to offer a full description of human being must come to terms with the narrative structure of human identity’, or as another claims, ‘The movement of the story is the medium in which selfhood swims’” (2002:4). In a slight variation, Gerkin (1986:50) writes: “Human history becomes not simply the story of human triumphs and human failures, but rather human faithfulness and unfaithfulness to the grounding narrative that identifies persons as creatures of God”.
112 Crouch (2018:1) explains this truth well: “In the framework of narrative theology, the meta-narrative is the Christian story which encompasses all other biblical stories and sets the standard by which all narratives are interpreted”. Loughlin (1996:32-36) develops this idea further as he explains that “[t]he Christian story is a grand narrative of deligitimating legitimation. In Christ the world is affirmed, freed from the need to write itself, loved simply as that which is written.” Which is an action of assisting people in seeing how their story can be a part of God’s story, and not vice versa. That opposing message is what Jensen (2003:34) addresses when he writes: “Scripture’s story is not part of some larger narrative;
it is itself the larger narrative of which all other true narratives are parts. And so do not when reading Scripture try to figure out how what you are reading fits into some larger story; for there is no larger story.” In practical application, Stonestreet and Kunkle (2017) state: “If the Scriptures tell the true Story of the world, then our current cultural moment is part of its story line. Thus, the only way to make sense of our moment is by placing it in its true context.”
113 By walking in line with God’s story, personal transformation occurs. “Insofar as we allow the biblical story to become our story, it overcomes our reality. We no longer view the world as once we did; we view it from the point of view of a character in the Bible’s story”, writes Loughlin (1996:37). And Bartholomew and Goheen (2004:144) promote this significance as they write that “there is much to be gained from the recovery of reading the Bible as a grand narrative. Not only do we think this possible – and thus wish to commend it as a major way of doing biblical theology – but we also think it important if Scripture is to function as God’s Word in the life of his people.”
114 Loughlin (1996:35) recognizes that “narrative theology begins with the literal reading of the Bible as inspired testimony to God’s revelation: as Scripture”. And so, the statement of Crouch is reassuring; he writes: “Though we may at times lose ourselves in the different episodes and accounts that make up the Christian text, we have the ability to find the heart of the narrative, to find the meta-narrative of Scripture, the grammar that guides our faith” (2018:14).
115 While the effect is the same, Tolmie (1999:1) uses slightly different terminology; he writes: “‘Narratology’
– or ‘narrative criticism’ as it is often called – can be defined as the systematic study of the typical features of narrative texts. Narratology is based on the assumption that certain characteristics (universals) are found in all narrative texts – from antiquity until modern times.” Furthermore, he adds that the development of this task was long overdue as he states that “it seems self-evident that the dynamics of narrative should be high on the agenda of Biblical scholars. Strangely enough, it has taken them literally centuries to realize the importance of this facet for exegesis!”
There are great in-depth works on the development of narrative or literary criticism,116 but, because of the nature of this study, that complexity lies beyond the simplicity of this exploration for a BTOC. Instead, the goal is simply to demonstrate the need for narrative in the discussion of BTOC,117 and Fokkleman (1999:192) captures the essence of what needs to be understood in that setting, as he asserts that the “main questions of narratology [are]: who is the hero, what is his quest, what does he want to achieve, and how have his action and pursuit been shaped as a plot? How are the various themes distributed along the linear axis of the story?” As answers to those questions are sought, what must be determined are the components that are essential to understanding the story.118 Crouch (2018:5) explains why this is so: “Analyzing these features of the text allow scholars to look within Scripture to find its central, orienting narrative”. So, the choices about a metanarrative are based on studying the biblical text and not one’s own orientation.
The study of the biblical text obviously involves knowledge of different genres and styles of communication, and Kurz (1990:174) points out that the work of a narrative is to “simply ‘show’
the action taking place for the readers to observe, as it were”.119 If a narrator desires to communicate directly with the reader “it is normally through prefaces, asides, and similar devices that precede or intrude upon the actual narration of the events”.120 Even an epistle, which is correctly not classified in the narrative genre, when considered as a part of the metanarrative of Scripture, can be understood in beneficial ways via a narrative perspective.121
116 See Tolmie, F. 1999. Narratology and biblical narrative: a practical guide; Alter, R. 2011. The art of biblical narrative; Berlin, A. 1983. Poetics and interpretation of Biblical narrative; Fokkelman, J. 1999.
Reading Biblical narrative: an introductory guide; Longenecker, B.W. 2002. Narrative dynamics in Paul:
a critical assessment; Petersen, N.R. 1985. Rediscovering Paul: Philemon and the sociology of Paul’s narrative world; Resseguie, J.L. 2005. Narrative criticism of the New Testament: an introduction;
Schmid, W. 2010. Narratology: an introduction [secular]; Sternberg, M. The poetics of Biblical narrative:
ideological literature and the drama of reading.
117 Mead (2007:135) clearly demonstrates this link: Biblical theology thus becomes a narrative theology, with its method being informed by literary criticism of the ‘story’ rather than by historical criticism of the origin and form of its sources”.
118 Those elements are divided into what Crouch (2018:4) designates as kernels and satellites. Kernels are the essential aspects – those whose removal alters the story, while satellites are subsidiary aspects whose removal will not alter the story.
119 But that is not to say that there is no theological instruction in narratives, for Goldingay (2000:127) clearly states: “With biblical narrative, theological issues are the texts’ major concern, and the exegete who fails to pay attention to them, and focuses on (for instance) merely historical questions, has not left the starting line as an exegete”.
120 Tannehill provides much detail on a specific kind of story in the Gospels, called the pronouncement story. His explanation of five types of these stories can be explored further in his two articles in Semeia 20 (1981:1-27, 100-119).
121 Speaking of the Pauline epistles specifically, Longenecker (2002:3) notes that Beker’s statement: “Paul is a man of proposition, the argument and the dialogue, not a man of the parable or story” that ruled Pauline studies for a time but adds: “Narrative is increasingly becoming a tool for analyzing how Paul’s mind worked in order better to appreciate what he said and how he said it [Longenecker’s emphasis]”
(2002:10). And Petersen (1985:9) draws this connection between narrative and epistles: “In narratives,
Therefore, understanding the role of narrative is a vital aspect of grasping God’s story.122 It is also essential to teaching the lessons of God’s Word.123 These truths provide the connection to the next section, the role of conflict in narrative.124 However, it is important to remember that this connection is not innovative, but rather largely overlooked in theological circles. Brown (2015:18) states that “in terms of examples of biblical theology done in distinctly and consistently narrative ways, story is only beginning to make its mark”.