Love love love me some Hauerwas. The Church is the most crucial element he always comes back to. God creates a community in Christ and gives them the Spirit, grafts them into the promises of His people Israel, and confers on them a Kingdom. Life in the Church is the primary witness to the rest of the world the truthfulness of the Christian Gospel. This is a fundamental challenge to liberal social orders that assume the primacy of the individual, autonomy, “rights,” etc.

The single best essay on abortion I have ever read is in this collection. It’s profoundly challenging.

The only problem I have with Hauerwas is his lack of exegetical engagement. He’s more philosophical, which is fine considering the problems he confronts in the church in America are usually philosophical (e.g. assumptions we have in a liberal democracy are primarily philosophical beliefs we’ve inherited). However, he often needs correction from Scripture and exegesis, and also to recognize its more foundational role in his reflection.

Even still, thank God for our brother Stanley.