Managing Monday with Walter Brueggemann
Walter Brueggemann (1933- ) is one of the most influential Old Testament scholars. Though in the first instance a distinguished academic, his work has reached a far wider readership, and the depth of his insights have spoken to many. There is no final reading of the text. We will always read it again, and it will take us somewhere else. Walter Bruggemann Hope, on one hand, is an absurdity too embarrassing to speak about, for it flies in the face of all those claims we have been told are facts. Hope is the refusal to accept the reading of reality which is the majority opinion; and one does...
Read MoreStanley Hauerwas – take 3
Stanley Hauerwas (1940- ) is a noted American theologian, ethicist and academic. Here is a third look of some of his thoughts. For those who would like to read more of Hauerwas, here is a link to Patrik Hagman’s blog which provides a complete guide to his work. 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 Hauerwas The courageous have fears that cowards never know. Stanley Hauerwas A social order bent on producing wealth as an end in itself cannot avoid the creation of a...
Read MoreWhy Pastors should (must) Pastor: Seven Musts…
It’s never been easy to be a pastor. Though it is often claimed that contemporary ministry is more difficult and complex than it has ever been, that usually signals that the claimant knows very little about previous periods of church history. For example, I am a Baptist pastor. Is it really more difficult to be a Baptist pastor today, than it was back in the 1600’s when the denomination was first founded? Hardly likely! Do you know what they did to so many Baptist pastors back then? Having said that, it is a challenging privilege to be a pastor – and both are true. It...
Read MoreManaging Monday with Stanley Hauerwas: Take 2
Stanley Hauerwas (1940- ) is a noted American theologian, ethicist and academic. Here is a second taster of some of his thoughts… The great enemy of Christianity in America is not atheism, it’s sentimentality. Stanley Hauerwas As Christians we do not seek to be free but rather to be of use, for it is only by serving that we discover the freedom offered by God. Stanley Hauewas The basis for the ethics of the Sermon on the Mount is not what works but rather the way God is. Cheek turning is not advocated as what works (it usually does not), but advocated because this is the way God...
Read MoreManaging Monday with Stanley Hauerwas
Stanley Hauerwas (1940- ) is a noted American theologian, ethicist and academic. Here is a tiny taster of some of his thoughts… The kingdom, it seems, grows through rejection. Success is not a sign of faithfulness. Stanley Hauerwas You learn who you are only by making yourself accountable to the judgment of others. Stanley Hauerwas Nationalism is a religion and war is its liturgy. Stanley Hauerwas …you need to read the fathers reading Scripture as part of our common life if we are to sustain a sense that we don’t get to make Christianity up. We receive it through the lives of...
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