The Dark Interval: Towards a Theology of Story

by John Dominic Crossan

From myth to parable, Crossan identifies five types of stories. Among these types it is parable that subverts the world and undercuts the safe shelter we build. Using literary theory, philosophy, theology and biblical studies, he demonstrates the subversive power of the parable.

Genres: Theology, Religion, Philosophy, Christianity, Literary Criticism

114 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

John Dominic Crossan is generally regarded as the leading historical Jesus scholar in the world. He is the author of several bestselling books, including The Historical Jesus, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, The Birth of Christianity, and Who Killed Jesus? He lives in Clermont, Florida.

John Dominic Crossan was born in Nenagh, County Tipperary, Ireland in 1934. He was educated in Ireland and the United States, received a Doctorate of Divinity from Maynooth College in Ireland in 1959, and did post-doctoral research at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome from 1959 to 1961 and at the École Biblique in Jerusalem from 1965 to 1967. He was a member of a thirteenth-century Roman Catholic religious order, the Servites (Ordo Servorum Mariae), from 1950 to 1969 and was an ordained priest in 1957. He joined DePaul University in Chicago in 1969 and remained there until 1995. He is now a Professor Emeritus in its Department of Religious Studies.

Reviews

[Dhanaraj Rajan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and Half Stars.

[Walter · Rating 2 out of 5]

A short little two-star gem, not quite singular in thought, not quite incoherent, short enough for its construction not to matter much, this book has nuggets and if nothing else is a good introduction to structuralism, some epistemology, and a few interesting ideas on literature.
The theology isn't revealed until the four page epilogue in which he shows how god is again, perhaps with some novelty, the great iconoclast.
Summary: the world we live in is story, parable is the subversion of it, and Jesus spoke in parable and finally became parable in deed. The challenge is whether we will respond.

[Richard Barry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent - among other things, emphasizes the importance of poets and their poetry.

[mahatmanto · Rating 5 out of 5]

yohannes membuka injilnya dengan pernyataan yang keren: "dunia ini diciptakan dengan kata-kata".
ternyata tidak hanya yohannes yang memproklamasikan peran penting bahasa atau kata-kata dalam menciptakan realita. dalam folklore jawa dikatakan bahwa kawasan percandian di selatan gunung merapi itu terjadi karena disabdakan saja, dibuat oleh ujaran dewa.
demikian pula dengan buku tipis ini [sekitar 100-an halaman].
buku ini menggarap peran 'kisah' atau 'story' dalam alkitab, khususnya perjanjian baru.
peran story di dalam alkitab itu bukan mengisahkan suatu peristiwa di luar cerita. ia bukan sedang mendeskripsikan peristiwa historis yang disaksikan oleh penulisnya. bukan.
kisah dalam alkitab itu menciptakan realitas. ia seperti puisi yang melahirkan dunia baru.
karena itu keliru bila membenturkan realitas fisik dengan realitas yang sedang diceritakan oleh pengisah dalam alkitab. penulis-penulis dalam alkitab itu bukan saksi mata, tapi saksi iman dari peristiwa yang terjadi dan dimaknai penulisnya serta para pembacanya.
perspektif ini menantang pandangan lama yang menganggap bahwa kitab suci itu melaporkan peristiwa historis yang sungguh-sungguh terjadi.

bagi saya,
buku ini inspiring. mencerahkan dan melegakan.
sebab dengan perspektifnya ini (bahasa sebagai pencipta realita, atau dalam bahasa kitab sucinya "dunia ini diciptakan oleh firman") justru saya bisa lebih mudah memahami alkitab dan mitos-mitos dari agama lain.
membaca buku ini membuat saya bersyukur.

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is a parable? What is myth? With these central questions Crossan sets up parables as a subversion of the reality set up by myth, exploring the books of Ruth and Jonah, the stories of Kafka and Borges, and finally, the parables (and parabolic actions) of Jesus. Though I read it in a day I have lots to mull over with this one, and will surely be returning to it. Grateful to Eugene Peterson for referencing this elsewhere so I could encounter it.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a new book but a really great one about how parable works and whether we can ever get out of the religious language game we're in.

I have just reread this book and find the first chapter especially (p.1-30) so rich and provocative in his analysis of language and how it shapes our view of reality--and reality is a RELATIONSHIP between what is out there and our way of construing the world. We are co-creators of reality. He makes it abundantly clear why poets are so important and how Plato knew what he was doing when he banished the poets from The Republic because of their vast power.
I will undoubtably return to this first chapter again and again.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the literary and language theory this book explores and exposes through the thinking tools of the parables. This book has given me so much inspiration in my approach to literature and my academic studies in education. Thanks Professor Crossan.

[Michael Greer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviews are written for the edification of the reader. Criticism is written for the edification of the writer. Since the writer of this book has entered into deep old age I can only hope that whatever of value is here will find its way to him.

Edification of the Reader: All lives our bound by limits. That is, all lives are capable of being expressed in terms of stories. Each person has a story to tell about their confrontation with the limitations they endured while visiting planet Earth. Why begin discussing stories then by presenting the inevitable limits of experience? First, we are constantly reminded of death as the limit experience of each mortal human. The most profoundly shocking experience of course is murder/suicide. But we also notice in passing the passing of the elderly and infirm. Quoting Rilke: "...all that's here is so fleeting, (we) the most fleeting of all...once and then no more...And [on top of that] never again...but at least this once can never be cancelled."

Life moves toward death. Here we are in Book IX, Chapter 14, 15; Chapters 20-22; Book XIII, Chapters 8-11 of St. Augustine's The City of God. Briefly: Our life from beginning to end is marked by death; demons assault us on various fronts; perhaps there is a mediator in whom we can find salvation from these dire straits.

Crossan's approach has less to do with meditations on death than in playing games. The lessons of all games is finitude. We cannot always win, and so there is a value in losing. If someone were always winning he or she would not be considered 'playing' because nothing is at stake. Crossan compares the person who always gets a hole in one in golf as a circus act. So, why play? Do we look forward to losing? No. Do we wish to win? Yes. But the point is that winning and losing both add up to a lesson on the meaning of morality.

[Sonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought-provoking. I especially liked the first couple of chapters.

[Angela Constantian · Rating 3 out of 5]

It makes you think quite a bit of you're interested in interpreting religious material as parable.

[Evan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will we live in myth or in parable? This book challenged me in so many ways in so few pages — you can’t read this and think about the world in the same way as you always have before.

[Clay Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I keep accidentally choosing these very Christian books to read, but luckily, so far, they've been pretty okay. Crossan's book is smart and gathers quotations from a broad swath of literary criticism and poetry, and his basic breakdown of the five types of stories is brilliant and useful. The book pretty quickly becomes an evaluation specifically of parable over-and-above the other types of stories, and most specifically the parables of Jesus. It's evaluation of what parables are and how they work is pretty effective, and gives me a new lens through which to read Borges, of nothing else. Definitely worth a read.

[Ancient Weaver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Less than 150 pages, yet chocked full of scholarly goodness - The Dark Interval explores literary theory, myth, discussions of the nature of reality, of meaning, and of theology. Dr. Crossan is very serious about his scholarship, but never takes himself too seriously. Despite the fact that he has a Ph.D., is a theologian, and is writing about lit crit, Wittgenstein, Borges, etc., he presents interesting arguments and does so without resorting to pretentious, academic jargon.

[Larry Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

to understand the Bible, we need to understand parable, myth, story, apologue, action, and satire. this book explains them

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful ideas and different ways of approaching the theme of narrative and story.

[Robert Munson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short book but really got me thinking about stories, especially as they relate to faith and theology. I especially appreciated his perspective on myth versus parable. I strongly recommend the book.

[Jonathan Frazier]

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