Why I’m Excited #1: Stanley Hauerwas
In a continuing series on the blog, we're going to be hearing about parts of the Lineup for 2010 that people are particularly looking forward to. (For all Why I'm Excited posts, click here.)
To kick us off, Paul Northup lets us know about Stanley Hauerwas in the Talks programme...
I’m excited that Stanley Hauerwas will be at Greenbelt 2010. I’m excited because he’s a world-leading theologian who speaks my – and, hopefully, your – language.
I’m excited because he’s a pacifist, renowned for his commitment to nonviolence – but one who’s combative and dogged in an argument. I’m excited because he’s playful and controversial. And – despite the fact I disagree with some (sometimes lots) of what he says – he gets me thinking about stuff it’s all-too easy to gloss over.
I’m excited because he still believes in the Church, whatever we think that might be. But as for where you would find him worshipping? Is he Methodist, Catholic, Quaker, Mennonite, or what? He seems to fit nowhere and everywhere at the same time. (Reading him was the main catalyst for my returning to established church after a good few years taking a break from formal church involvement.)
I’m excited because the last time I heard him speak (about 10 years ago now) he said stuff that I’m still fuelled by and wrestling with today. I’m excited because he is always asking the difficult ‘what is the Christian thing to do?’ question, while being thoroughly committed to engagement and journey with those of other faiths and those of no faith.
I’m excited because he’s always surprising: just when you think you might have him pinned down as a conservative (with a small c) he comes out with an outrageously radical idea that, even at your most liberal, you might never have wondered.
I’m excited because he has a brain the size of the planet but a twinkle in his eye that is childlike and mischievous. I’m excited because he’s like an olden-times frontier cowboy, complete with Texan drawl. He doesn’t suffer fools gladly, but is happy to play the fool if it means waking us up to the way we live – especially when it comes to medical ethics.
I still can’t quite believe he’ll be at Greenbelt. I’ll still be pinching myself when I settle down for his first talk in August.
You can read an extract of Stanley Hauerwas' new book "Hannah's Child" by clicking here or read collected online articles, interviews and resources at stanleyhauerwas.blogspot.com.
