From the work of Hegel and Schelling to the dialectical theology of Barth, Bultmann and Gogarten, "Revelation" has developed a long, rich tradition of diverse thought, as well as many misunderstandings. Meaning, first and foremost, "God's encounter with those to whom God wishes to communicate God's own self", Revelation seeks to be recounted and communicated to others. As a theological expression, Revelation aims to direct oour 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 "story", 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. Mediating between German systematic theology's concern for revelation and the current Anglo-Saxon interest in narrative theology and centrality of "story", the book illuminates both traditions.
Exploring "revelation" and "story" from both theological and philosophical perspectives, the book connects these concepts with questions of the authority of religious and literary texts, particularly the Bible. Believing that God's revelation precedes and forestalls all human perception of God, all speech about God, and every attempt to experience anything about God or know Him, scholars from both Anglo-Saxon and German traditions are brought together to present a diverse range of conceptions relating to how God's revelation occurs, resulting in a new theory of the relation of revelation and story which transcends the traditional cultural divide. The book is intended as a contribution to systematic theology, hermeneutics and the study of the authority of Scripture, as well as presenting insights into important overlaps between British and German theology.