The Power of the Storyteller in Religious Education

摘要

This article considers the role of the storyteller of religious narrative, not as presenter but as custodian of the narrative. Two case studies are examined. In the first it is shown how a storyteller can operate deliberately to attack and vitiate the received tradition about their chosen subject. In the second it is shown how an established religious story can be forced to illustrate counter-values to those of its originating tradition. From these it is argued that in religious education more attention needs to be paid to the power of the storyteller and the ethical issues that arise from the use and abuse of narrative.