I am often criticized, or at least questions are raised, about what appears to be the absence of the Holy Spirit in my work.
Stanley HauerwasItโs hard to remember that Jesus did not come to make us safe, but rather to make us disciples, citizens of Godโs new age, a kingdom of surprise.
Stanley HauerwasThe movement that Jesus begins is constituted by people who believe that they have all the time in the world, made possible by Godโs patience, to challenge the worldโs impatient violence by cross and resurrection.
Stanley HauerwasConsider the problem of taking showers with Christians. They are, after all, constantly going on about the business of witnessing in the hopes of making converts to their God and church. Would you want to shower with such people? You never know when they might try to baptize you.
Stanley HauerwasThe most creative social strategy we have to offer is the church. Here we show the world a manner of life the world can never achieve through social coercion or governmental action. We serve the world by showing it something that it is not, namely, a place where God is forming a family out of strangers.
Stanley HauerwasAnother hallmark of Christianity is that salvation is not individualistic-it's not something one person receives for himself or herself. Salvation is the reign of God. It is a political alternative to the way the world is constituted. That's a very important part of the story that has been lost to accounts of salvation that are centered in the individual. But without an understanding that salvation is the reign of God, the need for the church to mediate salvation makes no sense at all.
Stanley Hauerwas