03/07/2026 09:00
- 12:20
HALL: Pola - School of Journalism
Contact:
Howell C.
Chair:
Howell C.
At the outset of God as the Mystery of the World, Eberhard Jüngel declares that "narrative has its own place and time" according to faith's distinctive "structure of perception." From this claim unfolds a hermeneutical vision in which theology begins not from metaphysical first principles but from the concrete, storied expressions through which God is encountered, confessed, and interpreted. Approaching theology from narrative in this way resists the dominance of totalizing metaphysical systems while opening new possibilities for theological order and critique.
This panel explores the role of narrative in hermeneutical theology as a mode of theological reasoning that operates beyond, against, or alongside classical metaphysical frameworks. Rather than treating narrative as merely illustrative, the panel investigates how narrative itself generates theological intelligibility, shaping accounts of truth, meaning, and normativity. In doing so, it examines how theology can remain critically ordered without recourse to comprehensive metaphysical architectures, and how narrative construals of faith negotiate plurality and difference within theological discourse.
The panel is conceived as an open forum and invites paper proposals from a wide range of theological, philosophical, and interdisciplinary perspectives. Papers may address, but are not limited to, the following topics:
• Narrative as a mode of theological rationality
• Theology beyond metaphysical first principles
• Narrative, history, and temporality in theological interpretation
• Language, metaphor, and storytelling in theology
• Theological order, plurality, and normativity without system
• Narrative, power, and difference in theological traditions
By bringing diverse voices and methods into dialogue, the panel aims to clarify the promise and limits of narrative as a post-metaphysical theological strategy and to foster constructive exchange across disciplinary and confessional boundaries.
