Narrative or History? — A False Dilemma

Abstract

The twentieth century saw a paradigm shift in christology from a christology determined by the terminology of the Chalcedonian doctrine to one with a focus on Jesus in the context of his time. A common understanding of the theological significance of the historical Jesus, however, is yet to be achieved. In the last decade three scholars — William Loewe, Brendan Byrne and Luke Timothy Johnson — have argued that the historical Jesus has limited theological significance. This article examines the way in which these authors understand the relationship between narrative and history and argues for an interpretive view of that relationship. The views of Loewe, Byrne and Johnson are critiqued from this perspective.