Marginal Christianity

“To want no other life than the life we have lived, a life that often has moments of failures and betrayals, is made possible for Christians because our lives can be located in a determinative narrative that makes it possible for us to make sense even of those aspects of our life about which we are not sure we can or should make sense. ” ( Stanley Hauerwas, “The Good Life”) I ponder, pray, and reflect on this comment more the older I get. It makes an honesty I otherwise would not be capable of possible and a hope I would never dare on my own conceivable. Perhaps it will do the same or more for you, dear reader.

Joseph Hartropp 23 June 2017 | 12:13 PM American theologian and ethicist Professor Stanley Hauerwas has hit out at Donald Trump and offered a stark challenge to the contemporary Church. 'Donald Trump is an idiot who wants you to be in his reality show', Hauerwas said. 'The challenge is not to let him dominate your life.' The man Time Magazine once named as 'America's best theologian' was critical of Trump, but said that the president may remind the Church what it truly stands for. He was speaking this week at lectures for both the think tank Theos , and St Mellitus College , in London. He said: 'Trump may not be good for America but he may be pretty good for the Church. 'Trump forces Christians to be a people of justice rather than looking for the state to give justice.' Read more at https://www.christiantoday.com/article/trump.wants.you.to.be.in.his.reality.show.us.theologian.stanley.hauerwas.challenges.the.church/110162.htm...

John (1:9-11) “Discipleship of the Crucified leads necessarily to resistance to idolatry on every front. This resistance is and must be the most important mark of Christian freedom." [1] Ah, this quote – vintage Ernst Käsemann! And a most appropriate way to describe John the Seer. He practiced such freedom and leaves his vision for us that we too may practice such freedom in our age of Trump. The Religion of Trump                                                                                                           Christians, don’t be fooled: Trump h...

I assume most of you are here because you think you are Christians, but it is not at all clear to me that the Christianity that has made you Christians is Christianity. For example: —How many of you worship in a church with an American flag? I am sorry to tell you your salvation is in doubt. —How many worship in a church in which the Fourth of July is celebrated? I am sorry to tell you your salvation is in doubt. —How many of you worship in a church that recognizes Thanksgiving? I am sorry to tell you your salvation is in doubt. —How many of you worship in a church that celebrates January 1st as the “New Year”? I am sorry to tell you your salvation is in doubt. —How many of you worship in a church that recognizes “Mother’s Day”? I am sorry to tell you your salvation is in doubt. I am not making these claims because I want to shock you. I do not want you to leave the Youth Academy thinking that you have heard some really strange ideas here that have made you...

By Stanley Hauerwas : ___ The nature and mission of the Church, the relationship between Church and world, the role of Scripture and tradition, the question of teaching authority (the Magisterium) within the Christian community, the connection between teaching authority and theological exploration, the meaning of doctrine and dogma--the Roman Catholic Church is working through these questions on behalf of the entire Christian community. Of course there are other Christian communities addressing these questions. Some communities, however, are not capable of that. Much of liberal Protestantism has lost the points of reference, even the vocabulary, required for deliberation and debate on such questions. Most of conservative Protestantism, especially fundamentalist Protestantism, is not aware of the questions. [Catholics] changed when [they] came to America. By "came" I mean when Catholics took up the project of being Americans rather than Catholics who happen to live in ...

A Purpose-filled Life Fr. Stephen Freeman Leave a Comment The project of modernity was to produce people who believe they should have no story except the story they choose when they had no story. Such a story is called a story of freedom – institutionalized economically as capitalism and politically as democracy. That story, and the institutions that embody it, is the enemy we must attack through Christian preaching.   Stanley Hauerwas, “Sanctify Them in the Truth,” 197-198. +++ The chart I am sharing with this post came to my attention through my newsfeed on social media. It is an outstanding example of how the modern world understands the meaning and role of the individual. It is, on its surface, a guide towards “purpose.” And, as can be seen, purpose is composed of the intersection of what we love, what the world needs, what we’re good at, and what we can pay for. It is a map of a “responsible” version of the American Dream. It is also an illustration of the false...

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/septemberweb-only/46-41.0.html?paging=off 70-year old Duke theologian Stanley Hauerwas explains his new memoir, addresses his critics, and explains why he says, 'We're all congregationalists now.' Interview by Andy Rowell / September 9, 2010 'The Gospel Makes the Everyday Possible' 70-year old Duke theologian Stanley Hauerwas explains his new memoir, addresses his critics, and explains why he says, 'We're all congregationalists now.' Interview by Andy Rowell / September 9, 2010   F or 40 years, Stanley Hauerwas has challenged Christians to live like Christians. He does not fit neatly into the conservative vs. liberal categories that have dominated discussions of American Christianity since the early fundamentalist vs. modernist controversies. Some call him a "post-liberal" because he urges all Christians to return to historical Christianity and to sharpen their thinking.   In 19...

http://www.allanbevere.com/2013/09/911-and-33-ad.html Stanley Hauerwas at Homiletics Online: ___ ...one of the things that bothers me deeply about the situation we're in is how seldom preachers tell their congregations the truth! That's where you've got to start in a genuine politics. What would it mean to preach truthfully today? Seldom do congregations hear sermons on dying. You're going to die! Seldom are we told that and what it means to respond Christianly to that. Seldom are we told how Christians should understand war. What possesses the souls of mainline Christians in America? Greed! Everyone concentrates on sex, but greed is what's tearing us up. We concentrate on sex because we think we can figure out when we've done that wrong, but people can't figure out when they're greedy. What would they say? Owning two SUVs may be an indication of greed? What would it mean for us to acknowledge the fact that we're really possesse...

Stanley Hauerwas ABC Religion and Ethics 2 Sep 2013 http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2013/09/02/3839028.htm Americans are a people born of war, and only war can sustain the belief that they are a people set apart. War is necessary to sustain their belief that they are worthy of the sacrifices of past wars. Credit: www.shutterstock.com Pacifists always bear the burden of proof. They do so because, as attractive as nonviolence may be, most assume that pacifism just will not work. You may want to keep a few pacifists around for reminding those burdened with running the world that what they sometimes have to do is a lesser evil, but pacifism simply cannot and should not be, even for Christians, a normative stance. Nonviolence is assumed to be unworkable, or, to the extent it works at all, it does so only because it is parasitic on more determinative forms of order secured by violence. Those committed to nonviolence, in short, are not realistic. In contra...