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Concept
Postliberal theology
Summary
Postliberal theology (often called narrative theology) is a Christian theological movement that focuses on a narrative presentation of the Christian faith as regulative for the development of a coherent systematic theology. Thus, Christianity is an overarching story, with its own embedded culture, grammar, and practices, which can be understood only with reference to Christianity's own internal logic.
The movement became popular in the late twentieth century, primarily among scholars associated with Yale Divinity School. Supporters challenge assumptions of the Enlightenment and modernity, such as foundationalism and the belief in universal rationality, by speaking in terms of Ludwig Wittgenstein's concept of language-games. They argue that the biblical narrative challenges the dominant presuppositions of liberalism and liberal Christianity, including its emphasis on the autonomous individual.
Postliberal theology arose amongst scholars who either taught or studied at Yale Divinity School, such as George Lindbeck, Hans Wilhelm Frei, and alumnus Stanley Hauerwas. It is sometimes referred to as the "Yale school" or "narrative theology." The term "postliberal theology" came about shortly after the publication of Linbeck's The Nature of Doctrine: Religion and Theology in a Postliberal Age (1984).
The movement is theologically influenced by Karl Barth, Thomas Aquinas, and to some extent, the nouvelle théologie of French Catholics such as Henri de Lubac. The clear philosophical influence, however, was Ludwig Wittgenstein's philosophy of language, the moral philosophy of Alasdair MacIntyre, and the sociological insights of Clifford Geertz and Peter Berger on the nature of communities. Philosophers of science such as Thomas Kuhn and literary theorists such as Erich Auerbach also influenced the new approach.
This movement has influenced other movements, such as radical orthodoxy, scriptural reasoning, paleo-orthodoxy, the emerging church movement, and postliberal expressions of evangelical Protestantism and Roman Catholicism.
Official source
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