Indholdsfortegnelse

Sammenfatning og konklusion 191
of examination and pointed to the narrative as a self-contained category in the Biblical text
material.
Frei’s considerations on method in the work The Identity of Jesus Christ is then examined.
In this book Frei seeks to throw light on the identity of Jesus Christ by answering the questions:
"What is he like?" and "Who is he?". Both identity and narrative imply an interaction
between events and character, and in the examination of both he insists on proceeding as formally
as possible, so that the examination will not seize control over the examined and thus
determinate its own result.
The text concept itself is the theme of a passage which raises four points of consideration:
meaning, reference, history and historical correctness and finally truth. The text itself forms
its own meaning, and the aim of a reading of the text is the text itself and its inherent meaning.
Frei maintains a trust in the possibility of establishing the meaning of the text, its sensus
literalis, firstly from the text itself and later from the interpretation context of the text. He
moves from an actual linguistic work on texts to an interpretation - inspired by sociology - of
practise. The text reference is not ostensive but is a creating process, but thereby the relationship
between report and factual reality becomes indistinct.
In Types of Theology Frei puts forward a typology of theologies which handles the relationship
between theology and philosophy from the leading question: Is theology a part of
philosophy or an aspect of Christianity? From among theologians, embracing Em. Kant representing
the first viewpoint to D. Z. Phillips rejecting any philosophical interference in theology,
Frei chooses K. Barth as the person, whose theology best supports and matches a "literal"
reading of the Bible’s realistic narratives. Frei sharply refuses to let any philosophy form
the basis for theology, but at the same time he acknowledges that theology as thought will
always involve philosophy.
Frei’s thinking is a challenge for theology, partly because he throws new light on the text,
partly because, at all levels also that of theory of science, he insists on the particular. However
the question of reference and the relationship between text and factuality remains too
muddled. A decisive weakness in addition is made up by the postponement and failing examination
of the problem of truth.
Ch. 3 Debate Between Paul Ricoeur and Hans W. Frei. In this chapter the debate between
Ricoeur and Frei on narrative theology is examined. Ricoeur views narrative theology
as a necessity in order to emphasise the narrative as an independent category in the biblical
scriptures. It profits from resources in narratology but is rendered difficult by the indispensability
of a systematising work on the narratives. Frei considers narrative theology an acknowledgement
and a practical study of biblical texts as narratives, not a assertion of the narrative
as a ontological trait. Frei has catalysed a debate in K. J. Vanhoozer’s and B. K. Ug-