Biblical Narratives and Human Flourishing: Knowledge Through Narrative (Routledge Studies in Analytic and Systematic Theology)

Biblical narratives include some of the most important and influential narratives in human history, shaping human understanding of the most basic questions of human life as lived individually or in social association with others. These narratives have lasted for so many centuries because they offer deep insights into the nature of the human condition and human flourishing. This volume includes chapters by accomplished philosophers and theologians who bring their expertise to bear on biblical narratives to show the way in which each narrative contributes something distinctive to our understanding of human flourishing. They broaden the ongoing work in analytic theology with a new focus on narrative and the knowledge of persons in philosophical-theological biblical exegesis. They also illustrate the narrative cognition that this methodology can provide. The book will be of interest to scholars of philosophy, theology, and biblical studies. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Acknowledgements List of Contributors 1. Knowledge through Narrative: Philosophical and Theological Explorations of Biblical Stories PART I: Biblical Narratives and Human Flourishing 2. God, Humanity, and Meaning in the Book of Jonah 3. Ecclesiastes and the Good Life for Human Beings 4. The Unbinding of Isaac: Maimonides on the Aqedah 5. Abraham, Lazarus, and Returning to Life: Kierkegaard on Existential Faith PART II: Biblical Narratives and Human Flourishing in Relation to God and Others 6. Why God Does Not Share His Secrets with Us: What We Can Learn from Thomas Aquinas’s Commentary on John 15:14–16 and the Biblical Narrative of Abraham 7. Give Truth to Jacob 8. Divine Disappointments: Humans and Other Animals in the Book of Bereishit 9. Creation and Participation in John’s Gospel 10. Identifying the Risen Christ: Some Reflections on the Epistemology and Theology of the Road to Emmaus Story PART III: Biblical Narratives and Human Flourishing in the Midst of Disorder and Distress 11. A Narrative and Apocalyptic Philosophy of Prayer: Being Towards God 12. Jonah, Alienation, and the Meaning of Life 13. Images of Mercy: Narrating the Gospel through a Rwandan Catholic Shrine Index