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ABSTRACT
Narrative theology is a facet of Hollenweger’s work that, so far, has not received much attention in the English-speaking world, although Hollenweger has on numerous occasions undertaken to relate critical biblical exegesis with narrative perspectives on faith and life. He entertained not only an engagement with his Pentecostal roots and rigorous Reformed theological training but also a dialogue with non-Western cultures and a conversation with the world at large. Narrative theology from Hollenweger’s perspective allows all Christians to be involved in the process of interpreting God’s Good News. This article illustrates Hollenweger’s narrative exegesis and shows how he employed this hermeneutical approach to open doors to share the gospel with the unchurched. After an introduction explaining his background and discovery of narrative communication, a look at one of his biblical plays provides a concrete example of Hollenweger’s narrative theology.
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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 The text is credited to Frances J. Crosby, the famous nineteenth-century hymn writer. Although not strictly part of the Holiness movement which was partially responsible for preparing the ground for the Pentecostal movement, her hymn Blessed Assurance would be widely sung in translation in Pentecostal churches all over the world.
2 For a summary see Hollenweger, ‘Narrative Theologie,’ 50–53.
3 The term narrative theology was born in the 1970s and 1980s referring to the linguistic particularities of religious speech. It focused on the fact that speaking about God (theo-logy) is often done in a narrative context. Hollenweger did not elaborate on the theory of this approach, he was more interested in communicating biblical content in ways that resonated with real life situations and could be understood by all. That is why he developed his narrative exegesis from the 1970s onward.
4 See the interview with Erica Hollenweger in this issue.
5 Price, Theology Out of Place, 6–7.
6 Hollenweger, Handbuch der Pfingstbewegung; idem, ‘Les mouvements charismatiques aujourd’hui, II – La théologie orale des pentecôtistes noirs,’ 2.
7 See in Hollenweger, Pentecostalism, 18–23.
8 See Hollenweger, ‘The Ecumenical Significance of Oral Christianity,’ 259–65.
9 Hollenweger, Erfahrungen der Leibhaftigkeit, 28–29. All translations from non-English texts are mine if no translated edition was published.
10 Schweizer, Michal: Die Frauen meines Mannes, 10, quoting Walter Hollenweger.
11 See Hollenweger, ‘Plaidoyer pour une théologie orale.’
12 Sapsezian, Auch eine «Theologie der Hoffnung» in Hollenweger, Kirche, Benzin und Bohnensuppe, 235.
13 Cf. Hollenweger’s three-volume work on intercultural theology in German, vol. 1, Erfahrungen der Leibhaftigkeit (1979), vol. 2, Umgang mit Mythen (1982) and vol. 3, Geist und Materie (1988).
14 Hollenweger, Pentecostalism, 322. Italics original.
15 Hollenweger, Klapperstorch, 41. See Wink, The Bankruptcy of the Biblical Critical Paradigm.
16 Marty and Niebuhr then wrote on public theology in the context of the American experience. See Tracy, The Analogical Imagination, 1981.
17 Hollenweger, ‘Theologie tanzen: Warum wir eine “narrative Exegese” brauchen.’
18 Originally, the play was prepared for the 1977 German Kirchentag in Berlin. It was subsequently published as a whole and in parts in German, French, Italian, English, and Indonesian. While the English version is out of print, the German edition is still available. The account here is based on Conflict in Corinth & Memoirs of an Old Man (1982) and Hollenweger and Korthaus, Konflikt in Korinth (1999).
19 Theissen, ‘Soziale Schichtung in der Korinthischen Gemeinde,’ and Lührmann, Wo man nicht mehr Sklave oder Freier ist, both quoted in Hollenweger, Konflikt, 59.
20 Price, Theology out of Place, 53.
21 The Deutscher evangelischer Kirchentag is a biennial gathering of the German Evangelical Church (mainly Lutheran and Reformed).
22 Hollenweger and Korthaus, Konflikt in Korinth, 8.
23 Eduard Schweizer, the well-known New Testament theologian said, ‘Brilliant seems to me the poetic retelling of the service in Corinth, in which a non-Christian experiences the reading of 1 Cor. 12–14 and the reactions of the different groups. Down to the details the report is scientifically secured.’ (Emphasis mine) Quoted in Konflikt in Korinth, 15 from Evangelische Theologie 38, 1978, 279.
24 Hollenweger, Erfahrungen, 47–49; idem, Klapperstorch, 53, 56.
25 Hollenweger, Umgang mit Mythen, 136.
26 It is important to note that Hollenweger carefully chose and shaped the role of protagonists in his plays. In the case of Corinth, Gaius was baptized (1 Cor. 1:14) and hosted Paul (Romans 16:23), Crispus is mentioned in Acts 18:8 and 1 Cor. 1:14. The character of Erastus was taken from Romans 16:23 and an inscription found on an archeological dig in Corinth during 1926–1930. Chloe is mentioned in 1 Cor. 1:11 as having people around her, and Hollenweger saw her as a voice on behalf of the Christian slaves. For the rest she is what one could call a ‘free radical’, to borrow a chemical term, that lends drama to the story and provides not only relevant and accurate context but becomes a catalyst to the hermeneutic process. Aquila is an invented character who as an educated slave does not quite feel at home with either the free high society or the dockworker who technically are fellow slaves. Aquila is attracted to the Christian faith but is also aware of the problems arising from associating with the people of the Way.
27 See Hollenweger, ‘Prophetie,’ 982–84.
28 Hollenweger, Erfahrungen, 40–41.
29 See Witherington, Conflict and Community in Corinth.
30 See the German edition, Hollenweger, Konflikt in Korinth, published by Metanoia.
31 Schweizer, Michal, 10.
32 The booklet Evangelism Today (1976) is a translation of Evangelisation gestern und heute. The two publication have different final chapters. The German original (1973) also includes helpful end notes.
33 Hollenweger continues,
This type of mission, however, was not useless. To be fair, one has to see, that all the educational institutions, the hospitals, even the basic political structure, has been laid by the missionaries … But they also introduced, perhaps unknowingly, the seed of independence and freedom.
34 That is why this passage, though often referred to as the conversion of Cornelius can just as much be called the conversion of Peter. Hollenweger makes reference to Emil Brunner’s notion of ‘truth as encounter.’
35 Other instances where the messenger learns from others, according Hollenweger, are found in Acts 2, Mark, John, and in the Apocalypse.
36 The exhortation in Galatians 1:9 not to preach another gospel still maintains its validity, because it is the gospel of Jesus Christ that needs to be proclaimed not our notions of good doctrine, liturgical procedures, morality etc. that we may deem as correct.
37 Hollenweger, Evangelism, 81.
38 Hollenweger, Theology out of Place, 114–15.
39 Hollenweger, Theology out of Place, 115.
40 Hollenweger, Klapperstorch, 66.
41 Hollenweger, Klapperstorch, 174.
42 These include plays on various parables of Jesus, the story of Job, a requiem for Dietrich Bonhoeffer, an ecumenical play on Mary the mother of Jesus, the fate of Gomer the wife of the prophet Hosea, Michal the wife of King David, Ruth the foreigner, Easter liturgies, a play on anointing the sick and much more. The German editions of these plays are available at Metanoia Verlag, Kindhausen, Switzerland, https://metanoia-verlag.ch/ accessed December 26, 2020.
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Notes on contributors
Jean-Daniel Plüss
Jean-Daniel Plüss holds a PhD in Religious Studies from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, that focused on the interpretation of narrative elements in worship. He chairs the European Pentecostal Charismatic Research Association and is president of the “Fondation du Forum Chrétien Mondial” in Geneva, Switzerland. He also engages in international ecumenical dialogues involving Pentecostals.