In the Beginning Were Stories, Not Texts

Stories are the most basic mode of human communication. Writers, painters, sculptors, artists, and indeed, people of all walks of life live by the telling of their stories. Christianity itself is deeply rooted in storytelling – the vast majority of the Hebrew Scriptures, for example, consist of stories, and Jesus proclaimed and taught about the Reign of God through stories and parables. At the heart of the Christian faith are stories, not concepts, propositions, or ideas.In the Beginning Were Stories, Not Texts laments the fact that Christian theology is all too often expressed in terms of abstract systems of concepts and ideas, and offers an alternative way of addressing the substance of Christian faith through narrative rather than abstraction. Through stories, both biblical and non-biblical, the author offers a bold and invigorating rethinking of the task of the modern Christian theologian.

Religion & Spirituality

Song, C.S.

Christian Books & Bibles

James Clarke & Co.

Jesus, the Crucified People

A deeply moving and challenging book, Jesus, the Crucified People breaks a theological stranglehold on the figure of Jesus and glimpses in a new, non-Western way both Jesus and Christianity. Against the rich cultural background of Asia, Song's volume explores the mystery of the Word that from the beginning of time now comes poignantly to us in the stories and testimonies of women, men, and children. Song eloquently fashions a people hermeneutic to sketch an account of Jesus' life, ministry, death, and resurrection for our world today. A powerful Asian Christology. The suffering of Asian women, men, and children struggling for life in the face of death confronts us with the passion of Christ in our neighbor. -- Letty M. Russell, Yale Divinity School C.S. Song groans, cries, shouts, protests, and argues passionately against the God who crucified Jesus among the people of Asia..... This theology is a great leap from Western and Latin American liberation theologies. -- David Kwang-sun Suh, EWHA Woman's University, Seoul, Korea Drawing upon a vast storehouse of Asian wisdom, ancient and modern, Song helps us to recover the authentic tradition of Jerusalem..... -- Douglas John Hall, McGill University Choan-Seng Song, a native of Taiwan, is professor of theology at the Pacific School of Theology and the author of several books, including Jesus, The Crucified People and The Compassionate God.

History

World

Academic Renewal Press

The pioneer of contextual theology concludes his trilogy on the person and message of Jesus with a profound meditation on the significance of Jesus for a post-Christian world.

Jesus in the Power of the Spirit

Fortress Press

C. S. Song here invites Christians to see the whole Christian panoply through a story-centered lens. Focusing on Life, Hope, Faith, and Love, Song delves into each theme or locus (1) as it can be approached in people's experiences or stories, (2) as it appears in related stories from other religious traditions, (3) how its central import can be expressed theologically, and (4) how it can appear in practice. Thus story becomes theology, then theology becomes story. "Central to these stories," says Song, "is the heart that believes in spite of hardships and despair, the heart that struggles to make sense of what seems senseless in life and history." Song's strong narratives and engaging style will make this volume appealing in a variety of settings, especially for introductory students, clergy in search of homiletic material, church groups, and Christians open to insights from non-Western cultures.

The Believing Heart: An Invitation to Story Theology

For C. S. Song, theology begins with the conviction that God is somehow at work in our lives and our world, often in ways we hardly perceive. Interrogating our own experience in the light of the gospel is, for him, the heart of theology. In this volume he helps readers pose ten of the most anguishing, nettling, perplexing issues of faith, some that arise perennially and others newly sharpened by a postmodern age rife with questions. The questions are: Beginning and End? Did Jesus Rise from the Dead? Is There Life after Death? Healed or Saved? Do All Roads Lead to Rome? With What Can God's Reign Be Compared? Why Church? Is Mission Viable? Are You "Spiritual"? What Do You Say God Is? Song provides a process for readers to ask themselves: What do I believe? As he says, "What you will find here is a process leading from our daily experiences to our awareness of God in the world internal and external to us.... Stories of our life turn out to be stories of God." Includes stories and illustrations from around the world.

Tracing the Footsteps of God: Discovering What You Really Believe

A deeply moving and challenging book, Jesus, the Crucified People breaks a theological stranglehold on the figure of Jesus and glimpses in a new, non-Western way both Jesus and Christianity.  Against the rich cultural background of Asia, Song's volume explores the mystery of the Word that from the beginning of time now comes poignantly to us in the stories and testimonies of women, men, and children. Song eloquently fashions a people hermeneutic to sketch an account of Jesus' life, ministry, death, and resurrection for our world today.  A powerful Asian Christology. The suffering of Asian women, men, and children struggling for life in the face of death confronts us with the passion of Christ in our neighbor. -- Letty M. Russell, Yale Divinity School  C.S. Song groans, cries, shouts, protests, and argues passionately against the God who crucified Jesus among the people of Asia..... This theology is a great leap from Western and Latin American liberation theologies. -- David Kwang-sun Suh, EWHA Woman's University, Seoul, Korea  Drawing upon a vast storehouse of Asian wisdom, ancient and modern, Song helps us to recover the authentic tradition of Jerusalem..... -- Douglas John Hall, McGill University  Choan-Seng Song, a native of Taiwan, is professor of theology at the Pacific School of Theology and the author of several books, including Jesus, The Crucified People and The Compassionate God.

Jesus: The Crucified People (001) (The Cross in the Lotus World, Vol 1)

Crossroad Pub. Co

Description: The Christian Bible is fundamentally a story. Writers, painters, sculptors, artists, and indeed, people of all walks of life live by the telling of their stories. Stories are the most basic mode of human communication. Thus it is vital to ask why Christians and above all Christian theologians so often fail to express their faith in terms of story. The vast majority of the Hebrew Scriptures, for example, consist of stories. Jesus proclaimed and taught about the Reign of God through stories and parables. At the heart of the Christian faith are stories, not concepts, propositions, or ideas. Given the deep rootedness of the Christian faith in storytelling, this book seeks to address the fact that Christian theology has too often taken the form of concepts, ideas, and systems. This book is an attempt to speak of Christian faith and theology in stories rather than systems. Through stories, both biblical and non-biblical, this book shows how we might reimagine the task of Christian theology in the life of faith today. At its heart is the conviction that in the beginning there were stories and that, in the end and indeed, beyond the end, are stories, not texts, ideas, and concepts. Endorsements: "A consummate storyteller, C. S. Song has been at the leading edge of contemporary Christian theology for several decades now. This latest work is essential reading for anyone who has grown weary of systematic formulations. Song's faithful narrative is a story well told." -James Treat University of Illinois "C. S. Song has been a consistent and prolific writer of story theology. He has given us rich material over the years. Here is more. His work is brilliant, imaginative, metaphorical, instructive, and faithful." -Archie Smith Jr. Pacific School of Religion and Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley "C. S. Song the Griot chants with the entrancing cadence of an old-hand peddler of tales. Story-telling is a human practice of meaning-making, he reminds us, and through webs of stories we catch potent expressions of divine mystery and human struggle. Uninvested in cultural-linguistic expositions for narrative classification and hermeneutic regulation, Song simply invites readers/listeners into story worlds across time and cultures so that we may live into the fantastical nature of God-talk and human-talk." -Mai-Anh Le Tran Eden Theological Seminary, St. Louis About the Contributor(s): C. S. Song is Chair Professor of Theology at Yu Shan Theological Seminary and Chang Jong Christian University in Taiwan.

Wipf and Stock

The pioneer of contextual theology concludes his trilogy on the person and message of Jesus with a profound meditation on the significance of Jesus for a post-Christian world.

Wipf & Stock Pub

Third-Eye Theology

With 'Theology from the Womb of Asia', Song continues to demonstrate that he is one of the most creative and important theologians of our time. He forces us to expand the horizons of our theological vision, not only by drawing on the resources of Asian thought and experience, but also by insisting that we do theology with passion. Here he offers images, fables, poems, parables, and visions, woven together with his own compelling prose. The biblical stories with which we thought we were familiar become new and more compelling stories when we revisit them with this able and wise guide. And our whole approach to life and living is transformed by the freshness he breathes into all that he surveys with us. --Robert McAfee Brown, Professor Emeritus of Theology and Ethics, Pacific School of Religion In 'Theology from the Womb of Asia', C. S. Song shows how the story of God's compassion in Jesus and the many heartrending stories and poems of the Asian people are reaching out towards each other. Doing theology in this perspective is not a matter of application of doctrine, but of recognition of a relation between the suffering God and suffering humanity, which transcends many artificial and alienating distinctions. The book is an appeal to Asian theologians, but at the same time a necessary challenge to a Western academic theology and missionary thinking. --Bert Hoedemaker, Professor of Missions and Christian Ethics, University of Groningen, the Netherlands A splendid example of doing theology with Asian resources. A breath of fresh air to liven up traditional theology, using original reflections and observations with the backing of close knowledge of traditional theology. A book no theological college can do without. --Yeow Choo Lak, The South East Asia Graduate School of Theology, Singapore C. S. Song is Professor of Theology and Asian Cultures at Pacific School of Religion. His recent publications include 'The Believing Heart'.

Theology from the Womb of Asia

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Song, C.S.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Song, C.S.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Song, C.S.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

In the Beginning Were Stories, Not Texts

Jesus, the Crucified People

Jesus in the Power of the Spirit

The Believing Heart: An Invitation to Story Theology

Tracing the Footsteps of God: Discovering What You Really Believe

Jesus: The Crucified People (001) (The Cross in the Lotus World, Vol 1)

In the Beginning Were Stories, Not Texts

Jesus in the Power of the Spirit

Third-Eye Theology

Theology from the Womb of Asia