God Is Not a Story: Realism Revisited - Hardcover

This is a complex book, with many strands and much excellent argument... as an excellent and profound discussion of narrative within theology, this is highly recommended. (Stephen Carr, Theology)

a demanding, somewhat maverick, quirky, playful, even, at times... has brilliant moments, with sharp shafts of illumination into contemporary questions and issues (Clive Marsh, The Journal of Theological Studies)

Learned, complex, intellectually demanding...a throughly good read...I hope that all my postgraduate students read this book, to sharpen their wits and recover a little of the practice of that civilized, thoughtful and informed debate in theology which can put to good use the good film, play or novel in its genuine concern for doctrines, beliefs and methods. (David Jasper, Literature and Theology)

A challenging critique of narrative theologies, including the works of George Lindbeck, Robert Jenson, and Herbert McCabe. Francesca Aran Murphy argues that the use of the concept of story or narrative in theology is circular and self-referential, and that the widespread notion that the role of the theologian is to 'tell God's story' has not helped theology to advance the reality of its doctrines. Murphy contends that the scriptural revelation on which Christian theology depends is not a story or a plot but a dramatic encounter between mysterious, free, and unpredictable persons. She offers her own alternative approach, making use of cinema and film theory, and engaging in particular in a dialogue with the work of Hans Urs von Balthasar.