Searching for the Self: Classic Stories Christian Scripture and the Quest for Personal Identity

Who am I? If you are unsure of your personal identity you are not alone. Our postmodern culture multiplies identity-crisis. Identity comes from story--the better our story the healthier our identity and our behavior. Searching for the Self helps you discover your own story and discern how cultural narratives shape your behavior. Channeling the ancient wisdom of classic stories--including Christian Scripture viewed as true story--this book offers hope to anyone searching for a better story to live by. Searching for the Self provides a groundbreaking synthesis of narrative psychology cultural analysis biblical studies and English Literature 101--all written in an engaging style and interwoven with revealing personal anecdotes. We all want to live a meaningful life but it is hard to make sense out of our lives particularly since our culture wants to rob us of the grand narrative that imbues our life with significance. Adrian Smith masterfully guides us as he helps us understand the story of our lives in the light of the greatest story of all. He importantly and insightfully introduces us to the life-transforming power of story. Searching for the Self is an intelligent book that gets us thinking deeply about our lives in a way that draws us closer to God. No one will read this book and not be changed for the better. --Tremper Longman III Distinguished Scholar of Biblical Studies Westmont College Making sense of life is hard. This deeply informed but highly accessible book will help. Here is a gateway to a narrative journey the quest for wisdom the discovery of meaning through story showing us patterns and pathways to begin to understand our own stories in the light of Gods story. --Dan G. McCartney Professor of New Testament Interpretation Redeemer Seminary Adrian T. Smith has taught biblical studies for twenty years at numerous seminaries including Westminster (Philadelphia and Dallas) Erskine (Due West South Carolina) and Redeemer (Dallas). He is Visiting Professor of New Testament at Missional Training Center (Phoenix). Adrian is ordained as a Minister of the Gospel (Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church). He is the author of The Representation of Speech Events (2014). Adrian is married with two children and lives in Texas where he teaches humanities at Covenant Academy in Cypress.