Story or Propositions: How Should We Present the Gospel?

“A story can’t be argued with or dismissed like a proposition” (Steve Rabey, In Search of Authentic Faith, 111).

In the context, Rabey argues for the use of stories in the place of propositions when telling non-Christians about the Christian faith. Propositions or statements of absolute truth are frowned upon among postmodernists. People today prefer to reject any source that claims absolute authority (hence the rejection of sola scriptura by many within the Emerging Church); instead, they prefer a sort of open-source authority. What does this mean? Postmodernists see absolute truth as being an elusive goal. They agree (usually) that absolute truth may exist, but ultimately they remain uncertain and unwilling to define that truth. Stories, therefore, are preferred by the Emerging Church for the dissemination of the gospel because they feel that stories avoid the postmodern, knee-jerk reaction to any absolute truth claim. Several problems, however, exist with this decision to promote stories over proposition. Before offering these problems, we must first agree that stories are useful and necessary in the proclamation of the gospel. After all, Jesus Himself used them.

Problems:

1. Stories, that are true, have many propositions contained with them. If the story is received as truth by the listener, then the listener is receiving a composition of propositions in narrative form.

2. Stories, that are presented as truth, can be argued with just like propositional truth claims. Higher criticism frequently attacked the biblical stories and labeled various elements within the stories as myths. Anyone remember the Jesus Seminar!

3. If biblical stories that are not presented as compilations of absolute truth, then the presenter is failing to present the words of the Prophets, the Apostles, and Jesus Himself as truth. Furthermore, the presenter is being unfaithful given his unwillingness to publicly proclaim that his beliefs align with Scripture and those beliefs are based on the final, absolute authority of Christ.

4. Paul and the other writers of New Testament epistles used propositions primarily to explain the stories within the Gospels. Propositions, therefore, seem useful for helping people understand the meaning of the stories.

5. If stories are all that is taught by a given church, then this church would have failed to preach and teach the Bible in its totality.