Abstract
This essay examines the use of language in narrating a sacred universe, focusing specifically
on the text of The Universe Story by Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme. It applies the narrative
hermeneutics of Paul Ricoeur, who argued for the role of narrative in influencing a life through its
creation of a world, to the text. It focuses specifically on Ricoeur’s five traits of a phenomenology
of the sacred. This step in Ricoeur’s hermeneutics is a reminder that religious language has been
shaped by demythologisation, and this in turn impacts any attempt to articulate in language what is
interpreted as an experience of the sacred. In designating the universe as sacred, The Universe Story is
confronted with the task of narrating such an experience. In examining the language of the text, this
essay analyses how this is preformed and the effectiveness of such an approach
on the text of The Universe Story by Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme. It applies the narrative
hermeneutics of Paul Ricoeur, who argued for the role of narrative in influencing a life through its
creation of a world, to the text. It focuses specifically on Ricoeur’s five traits of a phenomenology
of the sacred. This step in Ricoeur’s hermeneutics is a reminder that religious language has been
shaped by demythologisation, and this in turn impacts any attempt to articulate in language what is
interpreted as an experience of the sacred. In designating the universe as sacred, The Universe Story is
confronted with the task of narrating such an experience. In examining the language of the text, this
essay analyses how this is preformed and the effectiveness of such an approach
| Original language | English (Ireland) |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Religions |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| Publication status | Published - 13 May 2021 |