Contents
Contents
1. Introducing Narrative Apologetics
Why Stories Matter
Why Facts Are Not Enough
Why Apologetics Matters
The Rationality of Faith
Narratives, Intelligibility, and Meaning
Christianity as a “Big Picture”
Christianity as a “Story of a Larger Kind”
2. The Theological Foundations of Narrative Apologetics
H. Richard Niebuhr on the Retrieval of Narrative
The Consolidation of Narrative Theology
The “Image of God”: A Theological Interpretation of Storytelling
Understanding or Coping? The Question of Suffering
3. The Practical Application of Narrative Apologetics
Meeting Objections: God as a Projection
Explaining Significance: Narrating the Incarnation
Translation and Transposition: Visualizing Sin
4. Biblical Narratives: Opening Windows of Perception
The Story of the Exodus: The Hope of Deliverance
The Story of the Exile: Where Do We Really Belong?
The Story of Jesus Christ: Rendering the Love of God
A Parable of the Kingdom: What Do We Really Desire?
5. Strategies and Criteria for Narrative Apologetics
Strategies for Narrative Apologetics
Telling a Better Story
Seeing the Christian Story as a Metanarrative
Offering Criticism of Rival Narratives
Criteria of Relevance for Narrative Apologetics
Offering a Realistic Account of Our World
Creating Space for the Reader
Making Sense of Our Existence
6. The Christian Story and the Meaning of Life
Meaning and Function: A Crucial Distinction
Personal Narratives: The Embodiment of Meaning
The Christian Narrative and the Disclosure of Meaning
Identity: Who Am I?
Value: Do I Matter?
Purpose: Why Am I Here?
Agency: Can I Make a Difference?
7. Handing Over: Developing Narrative Approaches to Apologetics
Using Biblical Narratives
Using Personal Narratives
Using Cultural Narratives
Notes
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