Listening to the story of the church : guidelines from a narrative hermeneutical perspective

摘要

A church as a denominational entity cannot but contemplate where it would like to be in the near future. Reasons for this are the losses of the past, the issues of the present and the uncertainties of the future. In the article this matter is approached from a narrative hermeneutical perspective within the framework of a social constructionist model. The focus is on: collective memories, the different emphases of narratology and narrative hermeneutics, the dialectic between foundational myths and everyday stories of people’s lives, the recollection of memories within a temporal framework, grand narratives and contra narratives, as well as the relationship between fiction and history. The aim of the article is to show how narrative strategy pertains to engaged hermeneutics and enhances self-actualization.