Narrative theology, or what is sometimes called “post-liberal” theology, was developed during the last half of the twentieth century. It was inspired by a group of theologians at the Yale Divinity School. Its founders, George Lindbeck, Hans Wilhelm Frei, and other scholars were influenced by Karl Barth, Thomas Aquinas and to some extent, the nouvelle théologie, a school of thought proposing reform in the Catholic Church, led by French Catholics such as Henri de Lubac.
Narrative theology is the idea that Christian theology’s use of the Bible should focus on a narrative representation of the faith rather than the development of a set of propositions reasoned from the Scriptures themselves or what is commonly called a “systematic theology.”
Basically, narrative theology is a fairly broad term, but oftentimes it is that approach to theology that primarily looks to the meaning in story. This then is typically joined by a rejection of the meaning derived from propositional truths or its systematic theology.
敘述神學的觀點是聖經中 使用基督教神學應該關注 對信仰的敘述，而 不是關 從聖經本身或者通常所謂的”系統神學”所推理的 一組命題的發展。 基本上，敘述神學是一個相當寬泛的術語 ，但通常正是這種神學方法主要展望故事的意義。 這通常伴隨的是對來自命題真理或其系統神學意義的拒絕 。
At other times, narrative theology is associated with the idea that we are not primarily to learn principles, rules or laws from Scripture, but rather we are to learn to relate to God, and how to play our part in the greater panorama of our salvation. Other combinations of such a theology are also common. As such, there have been many debates and critics of the narrative or post-liberal theology-centered issues including that of incommensurability, sectarianism, fideism, relativism, and truth.
在其他時候，敘事神學與以下觀點相關聯： 我們主要不是 學習聖經的原則、規則或律法，而是我們要學會與神相關以及 在我們救恩的大全景中 如何發揮我們的作用 。對敘事或以後自由主義神學為中心的問題一直以來有很多爭論和批評，包括不能通約、宗派主義、僧侶主義、相對主義和真理的問題 。
Nonetheless, when used correctly, narrative theology can provide building blocks for systematic theology and for biblical theology (i.e., the progressive history of God revealing Himself to humanity). Narrative theology teaches that the Bible is seen as the story of God’s interaction with His people. Supporters of narrative theology maintain that this does not mean the Bible doesn’t make propositional truth assertions, but that the primary purpose of Scripture is to record the relationship between God and His people and how we today, in this post-modern world, can continue in this story. This then is to take precedence over the more exacting analysis of systematic theology. Supporters of narrative theology go on to argue that narrative theology is less likely to pull verses out of context to support doctrinal positions.
儘管如此 ，當正確使用的 時候，敘事神學可以為系統神學和 聖經神學提供構件 ( 即神向人類揭示自己的漸進 歷史 ) 。 敘事神學教導 ，聖經被視為神與他的子民互動的故事。敘事神學的支持者認為，這並不意味著聖經 沒有強調命題真理，而是聖經的主要目的是記錄神和他 子民之間的關係以及我們如今在這個 後現代的世界，如何能夠 繼續這個故事。這優先於系統神學更 為 嚴格的分析。敘事神學的支持者繼續認為敘事神學不太可能將經文從上下文中揪出來以支持教義的立場。
There are other aspects of narrative theology that are beneficial. For example, the Bible’s stories are there to teach us truth; we are supposed to learn from those truths, and to apply these lessons to our lives. As such, we should interpret and apply these stories according to the original intentions of the authors of Scripture—this is why the stories have been preserved for us (see Romans 15:4). Another positive influence of narrative theology is that it strengthens the value of community. In modern times, people have often made Christianity into that of one’s individual faith, but the Bible’s story of God’s relationship to His people reminds us that community is essential.
敘事神學還有其他方面是有益的。 例如，聖經的故事是用來教導 們真理 ；我們應該學習這些真理，而且將這些經驗應用到我們的生活中 。 因此， 我們 應該 依據聖經作者 的原始意圖解釋和應用這些故事 —— 這 就是 這些故事為我們保存的原因 ( 參見羅馬 書 15:4) 。 敘事神學 的另一個積極影響是，它加強了集體 的價值。 在現代，人們往往使基督教集中於一個人的個人信仰 上，但是神與他子民之間關係的聖經故事 提醒我們 ，集體是至關重要的。
It is true that the Bible contains huge portions of narrative that are intended to convey truth to us, so it is important for us to adopt some form of narrative theology. However, narrative theology does have its problems, especially when it has been used irresponsibly. And, without question, this even occurs in conservative circles. This is especially true when its teachers and preachers are unconcerned with the Bible’s original meaning and are driven by their own intuitions or by their own responses to the Scriptures. As a result, narrative is often used in harmful ways.
聖經確實包含大量的敘述部分 ，旨在向我們傳達真理 ，因此，對我們來說重要的是，採用敘事神學的某種形式。 然而 ，敘述神學也的確有它的問題，特別是當它被不負責任地使用時。毫無疑問，這甚至發生在保守的圈子內 。 當教師和牧師不關心聖經的原意 ，而是靠自己的直覺或靠自己對聖經的反應時，這點尤其真實 。 因此，敘事往往 以有害的方式被使用 。
Narrative theology has also been misused when people determine that the narrative does not have an underlying systematic theology, or that its underlying theology cannot be known. In such cases, it is implied that the lessons of narratives can be understood apart from the worldviews of the original writers or authors of the text itself. Basically, this results in false teaching with some proponents of narrative theology moving straight from story to application and doing away with more reasoned analysis of the Scriptures. But in reality, this can’t be done. Perhaps the most obvious influence of narrative theology is found in the emerging church with its distrust and relatively low regard for systematic theology.
當人們確定敘述沒有潛在的系統神學 時 ，或者人們不知道 它的潛在神學時，敘事神學也被濫用。 在這種情況下 ， 這是 在暗示， 敘述的經驗 可以脫離文本本身的原始作者或作者的世界觀而被 理解。 基本上，這導致錯誤的 教導，敘事 神學的一些 支持者直接將故事加以應用，並去掉了對聖經更多的理性分析。 但是在現實中，這是做不到的。 也許敘事神學 最明顯的影響可以在新興教會中找到，它對 系統神學不信任 以及 對較低的 評價 。
Advocates of narrative theology, especially in the emerging church, claim that theology is not something that we can be dogmatic about. They say that “good” people have come to different conclusions over the years, so why bother to make conclusive statements about theology at all? Thus, from their perspective, theology is not something concrete, absolute, and authoritative. They maintain that in the past, people believed one way or another; somebody was right and somebody was wrong.
敘事 神學的支持者 ， 尤其是在新興教會 中 ， 聲稱神學不是可以教條 我們的東西 。 他們說 這麼 多年來”好”人 得出 不同的結論 ， 所以何苦要對神學做出結論性的 陳述呢？ 因此 ，從他們的角度來看 ， 神學不是具體的、 絕對的以及 權威的東西。 他們認為，在過去，人們認為這樣或那樣 ； 某人 是對的 ， 某人是錯的。
As a result of all this, in some churches today, we have relativism gone rampant. Nobody seems to know who is right and who is wrong. And what’s worse is that it doesn’t seem to concern anyone. Consequently, the church falls prey to secular postmodernism, where what is true for one, may not be true for another. It’s where the church tolerates anything and everything and stands upon nothing.
由於這一切，今天在一些教堂 ， 相對來說， 我們已經變得猖獗。 似乎沒有人知道誰是對的 ，誰是錯的。 而且更 為糟糕的是，它似乎不涉及任何人。 因此 ， 教會成為 世俗的後現代主義 的犧牲品 ，其中對一個人來說是真實的東西可能並不適用於另一個 人 。 這就是教會容忍任何事和一切事卻沒有任何依靠之所在。
Some supporters of narrative theology, such as in the emerging church movement, do away with preaching altogether. Somebody might sit among a circle of peers and share what they think God is all about for them that particular day or week. They might even reference a Scripture which relates to their journey. But their experiences and feelings are the focal point, not the Word of God. They narrate a story or read a passage of Scripture and stop. There is no need to exhort, rebuke, or call to action. It is not about conforming to an authoritative statement of Scripture but rather using Scripture to reinforce fleshly desires of a journey that they take on their terms.
敘事 神學 的一些支持者 ，如新興教會運動，徹底廢除說教。 有人可能與同行坐一圈 ，分享特定的那天或那週，對他們而言，他們所認為的神的樣子。 他們甚至會引用 與他們的旅程相關的聖經。 但是他們的經歷和感受是焦點 ， 而 不是神的話 。 他們敘述一個故事或讀一段經 文，然後停止。不需要勸誡、責備或呼籲行動 。它不是要符合聖經的權威聲明，而是用聖經來強化肉體的慾望。
The church is supposed to be the pillar and supporter of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15), and truth is a body of doctrine as laid forth in the Bible through the Person of Jesus Christ. Though it has its benefits in other ways, as we’ve seen, narrative theology tends to appeal to postmodernists who like to shape their religion and their “God” based upon how they feel on a given day or about a certain passage of Scripture.
教會應該是真理的柱石和根基 ( 提摩太前書 3:15) ，而真理是聖經中通過 耶穌基督的人格所提出的大量的教義。 雖然 它 在其他方面有其好處 ， 正如我們所看到的 ， 敘述神學傾向於迎合後現代主義者 ， 他們 喜歡塑造他們 的宗教 以及他們的 ” 神 ” ， 基於他們在某一天或關於聖經的某段經文的感覺 。