Getting into the theological journey of a lifetime! You could never be the same again.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007 at 9:19AM 
A friend of mine (zoob) emailed me this morning to ask for some advice about getting into Stanley Hauerwas. I thought I would post my response here. Once again, I would suggest that you cannot be a serious contemporary theologian without reading some Hauerwas! Come on, engage me on this!
If anyone else has some suggestions to make here (Wessel, Angus, Neville?) please post a comment. Blessings, D.Thanks for the mail. Wow, you are in for a spectacular ride!!! I would suggest that you simply cannot get by without getting yourself a copy of the 'Hauerwas Reader' Check out Angus' review here There is also a direct link from his post to order it from Kalahari. This book has a representative selection of his own essays and chapters from books, so it will give you a superb insight into his theology... In particular you should read the chapter in it which is entitled something like "Why gays (as a group) are morally superior to Christians (as a group)"... I don't have my book here with me in the office to give you the exact title. However he makes an incredibly creative argument for pacifism based on sexual orientation and US's hunger for war! Incredible!!!
Hauerwas is a MIND BEND! He will revolutionize your theology in a way you have not yet thought possible.
Another exceptional read is his Gifford lecture series called "With the grain of the Universe" (SCM Press, 2001). I would also suggest some reading for Easter, "The cross shattered Christ" (2007).
A fourth book to read is his 'festschrift' called "God truth and witness: Engaging Stanley Hauerwas" - Neville wrote a chapter in the book!!! How incredle is that!? In this chapter he relates Hauerwas ethics (and his notion of community and expression of his eclessiology) to what is happening in the Church in South Africa. An incredible read - it was the first time that I actually began to want to Barth by the way! Up to this point I had been a firm Kung and Rahner person.
Reader Comments (4)
Neville suggested:
"A peaceable kingdom" which is the clearest representation of Hauerwas' thoughts.
And, "A community of character".
Hope that helps!
Blessings,
D
And you can't read Hauerwas without first grasping Barth...
I think his "Prayers Plainly Spoken" is a good way to begin to understand Hauerwas' worldview-- and hilariously strange way of saying things. It's a collection of the prayers he prayed in our Ethics class at Duke. Also Hauerwas/Willimon's "Resident Aliens" is excellent. And I like an older book of his-- "Unleashing the Scriptures: Freeing the Bible from Captivity to America."
And I'd add that grasping Yoder (as well as Barth) is also part of the wonderful world of Hauerwas.
I just got my first bit of Hauerwas "The Hauerwas Reader" it's big and heavy - and I think if I was more familiar with Barth it would help.
It is also funny.
And too heavy to hold up comfortably while reading in bed.