The Hauerwas Reader [Paperback]

"Stanley Hauerwas is the theological ethicist of our times. Those who disagree with him need to know why they do and those who agree, as do I, need his splendid case made clear. This reader, the best of his work, is the way for either sort to come to terms with this American master."- James W. McClendon, Jr., Distinguished Scholar in Residence, Fuller Theological Seminary "If you don't know Hauerwas yet, this fine collection is the way to begin, along with its wonderful introductions and guides to Hauerwas's work. If you do know him, well, then, you already know that each reading and re-reading will bring surprises. And blessings."-Peter Ochs, Bronfman Professor of Modern Judaic Studies, University of Virginia "It would be hard to overestimate the value of Stanley Hauerwas's contributions to theological conversation and religious life in today's world. Alternately brilliant and exasperating, his work is indispensable in helping us find our way in a dark time. This wonderful Reader is the best introduction to Hauerwas currently available."- Robert N. Bellah, coauthor of Habits of the Heart "Texans and Christians are troublesome. At odds with enlightened liberal cosmopolitan pretensions, they embrace particularity. One cannot deduce either Texas or Christianity from reason or from human nature. Hauerwas as a Texan Christian has for three decades reminded us forcefully of the importance of taking the troublesome particularity of Christianity seriously. These essays provoke, engage, and instruct. They are a superb selection from the work of one of the most important theologians of our time. Everyone, whether Christian or non-Christian, believer or atheist, should read these essays; they are key to understanding the religious, moral, and metaphysical struggles of our age."- H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr., Ph.D., M.D., Rice University, Baylor College of Medicine "Stanley Hauerwas challenges, informs, provokes, and inspires anyone who reflects seriously on faith and life. The Hauerwas Reader is an invitation to accompany one of today's most provocative and creative thinkers on a transforming theological journey beyond our comfortable idolatries." -Bishop Kenneth L. Carder, Mississippi Episcopal Area, The United Methodist Church "For decades now Stanley Hauerwas has been the most eloquent voice proclaiming the morality of particularism and the immorality of universalism. In a liberal culture that voice is heard as both alien and unreasonable, accusations Hauerwas no doubt cherishes."- Stanley Fish, author of The Trouble with Principle "This one-volume Hauerwas provides us with a rounded view of one of the greatest theological minds, who is equally one of the greatest ecclesial forces, of the postmodern era."- John Milbank "Stanley Hauerwas is an unparalleled force for courage and generative thinking across the spectrum of Christian thought. Sometimes he heals and energizes, sometimes he (deliberatedly) infuriates. Always he claims attention and redefines the theological task. For his allies as well as his adversaries, the publication of his papers is a welcome resource. It makes available much that is needed for continuing work. Hauerwas draws us into the contemporary theological emergency and points us in fresh ways through it."- Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary "Covering a range of ethical concerns from healthcare to warfare, these essays show again how Stanley Hauerwas brings together Evangelical and Catholic foundations for an ethics based on faith. The articles ring true, which is to say they speak first of Christ and only then of life in Him."- Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago "Stanley Hauerwas is the most prolific and provocative theological ethicist writing in the U.S. I dissent strongly from many, perhaps most, of his conclusions. His arguments and scholarship often strike me as unsound. It is not easy to know whether he is raising or lowering the standards of debate over the ethical significance of Christian commitments. But Hauerwas is too important to be ignored. This volume puts a representative sample of his most interesting and challenging writings between the covers of a single book. The next time I teach my introductory course on Christian ethics, it will be required reading."- Jeffrey Stout, Princeton University. "For many years Stanley Hauerwas has been lobbing peaceable bombs into the moral theologians' payground, awakening them from their undogmatic slumbers to the importance of truthful action. The best of these bombs are here, in a wonderful arsenal of Hauerwas's essays. Beware! Hauerwas is always challenging, provocative, illuminating, exasperating, disturbing, and fresh."- Duncan Forrester, New College, The University of Edinburgh. "The Hauerwas Reader is of specific importance for the ethical discourses in the European context. Hauerwas forcefully presents a church-oriented social ethics in ways that help to rediscover the critical impact of a forgotten tradition on mainstream protestant ethics. Because of his innovative theological revision of the moral issues in the ethical discourse of our present time, the serious engagement of Hauerwas's work is a must for European ethicists."- Hans G. Ulrich, Institut fur Systematische Theologie, University Erlangen-Nuernberg "The God met through the Jewish and Christian Scriptures is always good but rarely safe. No other living theologian-and not many throughout history-has grasped that truth more excitingly than Stanley Hauerwas. This invaluable guide will help varied readers see the Christian tradition through Hauerwas's eyes, and discover it is a treasure chest spiked with political, social, and spiritual dynamite."- Rodney Clapp, author of Border Crossings and A Peculiar People "If Kierkegaard knew Hauerwas, he would have seen that it is possible, after all, for one person to be a close friend of Jesus' and of Socrates' at the same time. On behalf of all of us in the Abrahamite traditions, Hauerwas cracks open modern society's lazy moral speech and lets us see, lying neglected inside it, God's commanding word. In this way, he helps clear a space in contemporary America for Jews, and I trust Muslims, as well as Christians to narrate their stories of what God wants of us. If you don't know Hauerwas yet, this fine collection is the way to begin, along with its wonderful introductions and guides to Hauerwas' work. If you do know him, well, then, you already know that each reading and re-reading will bring surprises. And blessings."- Peter Ochs, Bronfman Professor of Modern Judaic Studies, University of Virginia "This book might be called "The Essential Hauerwas," in both meanings of the term: It captures the gist of the person and enterprise, and understanding Hauerwas is necessary to understanding theological ethics in our time. Nobody writing today offers a more bracing mix of piquancy, outrageousness, erudition, and intellectual intensity in proposing that we get serious about being Christians."- (The Rev.) Richard John Neuhaus, Editor-in-chief, First Things "The editors have made a happy and extensive selection from the mercurial essayist-theologian, which allows us to come to grips with his thought on a broad front. Stanley Hauerwas could not and would not accommodate himself to the ponderous demands of a Systematic Ethics; but if we think that we can see here a possible shape for that impossible book, it is a measure of how closely the editors have come to their author and discerned the ordered structures of his apparently disorderly mind. If somebody asks you why this man has been important to the moral thinking of a generation, thrust this collection at him. Then he will understand."- The Reverend Oliver O'Donovan, Canon of Christ Church "This collection is obviously a labor of love. Fortunately, it is also a labor of editorial care and precision. In addition to first rate introductory material, the writings of a master provocateur are gathered here in a fresh, synthetic format. Re-reading these essays was humbling."- Jean Bethke Elshtain, Laura Spelman Rockefeller Professor of Social and Political Ethics, University of Chicago

Stanley Hauerwas is one of the most widely read and oft-cited theologians writing today. A prolific lecturer and author, he has been at the forefront of key developments in contemporary theology, ranging from narrative theology to the 'recovery of virtue.' Yet despite his prominence and the esteem reserved for his thought, his work has never before been collected in a single volume that provides a sense of the totality of his vision. The editors of "The Hauerwas Reader", therefore, have compiled and edited a volume that represents all the different periods and phases of Hauerwas' work.Highlighting both his constructive goals and penchant for polemic, the collection reflects the enormous variety of subjects he has engaged, the different genres in which he has written, and the diverse audiences he has addressed. It offers Hauerwas on ethics, virtue, medicine, and suffering; on euthanasia, abortion, and sexuality; and, on war in relation to Catholic and Protestant thought. His essays on the role of religion in liberal democracies, the place of the family in capitalist societies, the inseparability of Christianity and Judaism, and on many other topics are included as well. Perhaps more than any other author writing on religious topics today, Hauerwas speaks across lines of religious traditions, appealing to Methodists, Jews, Anabaptists or Mennonites, Catholics, Episcopalians, and others.