For Christians do not place their hope in their children, but rather their children are a sign of their hope . . . that God has not abandoned this world.
Stanley HauerwasFrom the perspective of the one committing suicide, his or her act can be one of the most perverse forms of moral manipulation, as it abandons those left behind to their shame, guilt, and grief. Suicide is something like a metaphysical "I gotcha!" It is often an attempt to kill or wound others.
Stanley Hauerwas[W]e must first experience the kingdom if we are even to know what kind of freedom and what kind of equality we should desire. Christian freedom lies in service, Christian equality is equality before God, and neither can be achieved through the coercive efforts of liberal idealists who would transform the world into their image.
Stanley HauerwasA social order bent on producing wealth as an end in itself cannot avoid the creation of a people whose souls are superficial and whose daily life is captured by sentimentalities. They will ask questions like โwhy does a good God let bad things happen to good people โ such people cannot imagine that a people once existed who produced and sang the psalms. If we learn to say โGod โ we will do so with the prayer โMy God my God why have you forsaken me?
Stanley Hauerwas