Stanley Hauerwas is worried about the church -- at least the church in the United States. I don't think it would be an overstatement of Hauerwas' position to say he believes that, like the Israelites at the foot of Mt. Sinai, the church in America has lost the ability even to recognize idolatry and is dancing merrily around a golden calf -- beautiful to be sure, but powerless to save.Some dismiss Hauerwas as merely a "bomb thrower" or an "ivory tower prophet." Maybe such comments contain some truth, and maybe they don't. This much is clear, at least to me: dismissing Stanley Hauerwas because you dislike him is a big mistake. He works tirelessly to remind us that Christians who happen to live in the United States are surrounded by seduction, and it is not altogether clear that we even know it. That's a dangerous place to be.
Not too long ago he spoke to a group of youth ministers at Princeton Theological Seminary and was, um, provocative (surprise!). Here's a slice of some typically controversial Stanley:
I went to church summer camp once when I was growing up in Texas. I remember the highlight of the camp was watching the sun go down on the last night from a mountain—well, a hill (it was Texas)—while we sang “Kumbayah.” This was an attempt to give us a “mountain top experience” that we could identify with being or becoming a Christian. About the last thing I would want is for you to have such an experience here. I do not want to make Christianity easy. I want to make it hard.This is the most provocative part of the essay, but by no means is this the best part. If you're still reading and want a little more, click this for Hauerwas' brilliant answer to the question, "Why did Jesus Have to Die?" You will be blessed.
I assume most of you are here because you think you are Christians, but it is not at all clear to me that the Christianity that has made you Christians is Christianity. For example:
How many of you worship in a church with an American flag?
I am sorry to tell you your salvation is in doubt.
How many worship in a church in which the Fourth of July is celebrated?
I am sorry to tell you your salvation is in doubt.
How many of you worship in a church that recognizes Thanksgiving?
I am sorry to tell you your salvation is in doubt.
How many of you worship in a church that celebrates January 1 as the “New Year”?
I am sorry to tell you your salvation is in doubt.
How many of you worship in a church that recognizes “Mother’s Day”?
I am sorry to tell you your salvation is in doubt.
I am not making these claims because I want to shock you. I do not want you to leave the Princeton Forum on Youth Ministry thinking that you have heard some really strange ideas here that have made you think. It is appropriate that you might believe you are here to make you think, because you have been told that is what universities are supposed to do, that is, to make you think. Universities are places where you are educated to make up your own mind. That is not what I am trying to do. Indeed, I do not think most of you have minds worth making up. You need to be trained before you can begin thinking. So I have not made the claims above to shock you, but rather to put you in a position to discover how odd being a Christian makes you.
10 comments:
You know, Stanley may be correct, my salvation may be in doubt. However, it is human to want to be a part of a group that wants to celebrate special occassions and honor long respected traditions. I think God is alright with that as long as I am clear about what I am doing and why I am doing it. I celebrate people I love because I love them, and I celebrate holidays because they are one way that I commune with my family and friends and honor God and Christ. It isn't all, just one thing. Does God care that I spend my life dedicated to the service of God and God's people? Does God care that I am an ever changing organic spirit who lives in righteous pursuit of grace, mercy and understanding? I believe, YES!! Does God care that I celebrate Thanksgiving, Mother's Day, New Year's Eve, etc.? Some how I think not. God is so much bigger than that, don't you think? As my Momma used to say, "That's why His name is God and not Fred!" I am not at all put off by Stanley's opinions. I respect his right to believe as he feels. I just think we can get so bogged down sometimes as Christians and make it way harder than it needs to be. God is, and because God is I am even when I mess up. As the negro spiritual says, "Ain'ta that Good News!!"
Theresa, I LOVE your momma's quotation and I'm gonna use it!!! "That's why His name is God and not Fred!" That is both hilarious and so true. She was quite a lady, your mom. I'm so glad I got to visit her in the hospital even though I never really got to know her.
Thanks for your very thoughtful comments. My understanding of Stanly Hauerwas is that it's not the time we spend with family and/or friends that SH thinks is such trouble for Christians. Hauerwas is actually concerned that Churches are more American than Christian, that our churches are marked more by national symbols (flag), national holidays (July 4, Thanksgiving), and "Hallmark holidays" (father's day, mother's day, etc.) than we are by the churches calendar.
Recently we observed Mother's Day at PCC in lieu of Pentecost Sunday (they happened to be on the same Sunday this year). I don't know that anyone even noticed -- let alone cared (outside of clergy staff). If anyone did, I didn't hear about it. Yet it is certain that Pentecost is critical for the church while Mother's Day has nothing distinctively Christian about it, and almost forces us not to deal squarely with some of Jesus' toughest teaching (Mark 3:31-35; Luke 14:26). Jesus wants us to celebrate our family, to be sure. The issue is, who is my family? Jesus seems to think HE is the one who defines who our family is, and it precisely those to whom we are related by the waters of baptism. That is a VERY hard teaching for those of us (like me) who have family members (by physical birth) who do not care for Jesus (spiritual birth). But there it is. Beware any teaching that makes Jesus more palatable or begins with, "What Jesus really means is...." It's not always wrong... but beware.
By the way, in the interest of full disclosure, I was in favor of trying the Mother's Day route this year simply in an attempt to draw guests back to worship (Mother's Day was the week after our Friendship Connection Sunday). I am not sure I'd do that again.
In any event, part of the concern SH has in the beginning of the article (I hope our entire class follows the link and reads it -- and I am impressed that you did) is that we do not seem to recognize how odd our lives should look to the world because we are too busy fitting in, marching to the world's beat. Is it possible that maybe we have not yet come to terms with how hard it really is to follow Jesus? I keep thinking of Jesus telling would be followers to "count the cost." We preacher types tend to say, "count the blessings."
By the way, thanks for your comments in class this morning. ALWAYS insightful and on point!!
if i am reading SH correctly, his concern is that to some/most of us, being a loyal american is more important than being a loyal follower of christ, and if that take is correct, then i'd say that pcc as an institution is more concerned about being american than being christian. not that it is either/or, but what if people had to renounce their american citizenship to become christians? how many members would we have left?
As you know, Hauerwas irritates me. I do not see why someone can not honor his/her country and still give their ultimate allegiance to God. There is been a lot of criticism of the United States recently, but I know of no other country that allows one to pursue their faith as freely. As for Mother's Day, I wonder if Mary thinks it is acceptable to honor mothers. I did what I could to honor my mother with a white rose, my aunt who lost her only child, and Pentecost with a red tie. Sorry Randy, but I love my mother, I love my aunt, I love my country, and I believe in giving thanks as often as possible.
Lamar, if I read Hauerwas correctly, he is not saying that Christians can't honor their country, rather that "we" don't know what "our country" is. Christians tend to view themselves as citizens of whatever country in which they happen to have been born, rather than the nation into which they have been "born again." We therefore show ultimate allegiance to whatever country in which we happen to live. This is evident in the fact that Christians in the United States, for example, tend not to be pacifists as the earliest Christians were, nor even "just war advocates." Hauerwas claims that the vast majority of Christians in this nation are what he labels "blank check Christians." We will kill whomever the duly elected President of the United States orders us to kill -- without question. That may not be the only measure of "ultimate allegiance," but it seems to me to be a pretty good one.
While Christians in the United States are not overtly persecuted (or covertly in any meaningful sense), a fact for which we should be always thankful, I wonder if there is a society that more Satanically seduces Christians into a denial of the absolute Lordship of Jesus than ours. This nation does not attack Christians head on like dictatorships might. Instead it just asks us to let God and Caesar share the throne. Leaving aside the whole "killing for Caesar" thing, there is the pursuit of stuff. can anyone say with a straight face that this is not the "god" of the USA? Can anyone seriously claim that Christians (in general) have not bought entirely into Caesar's "values": preserve "our" way of life at virtually any and all cost?
I think we can honor "our" nation once we decide we are citizens of heaven who just happen to live in the United States. That means King Jesus will have our allegiance, sharing the throne with no one.
For the record, Lamar, Hauerwas irritates me, too! I love this country (the United States). Too much, I am sure. Fortunately for us (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective), Stanley lives in, and his church is located in the USA. Thus the church in the USA receives the most criticism from him. It is the church he knows.
As for the whole Mother's Day idea, it wasn't Stanley Hauerwas who said, "hate your mother," but he is definitely trying to remind us that it's in the Bible.
A tricky way to get me to scan all four gospels. I suppose you are referring to Matt 10:37. Jesus says that anyone to puts father and mother above me is not worthy. He does not teach us to hate our parents. God gave us a mother as the first example of how to be a Christian. Who gives more freely by bearing us and nuturing us? That is my point, God created a good world and we should honor that goodness and thank God for it.
Lamar, as much as I'd like to trick you (and then call Courtney and Tiffany to brag about it!!!), I was actually referring to Luke 14:26: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple." Also pertinent (one might even be so bold as to say "impertinent") is Mark 3:31-35: "Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you." "Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."
Speaking for Hauerwas (which clearly puts me in the "stooopid" category because I think he might disagree with my reading), his point is (or should be, LOL) that Jesus' call to discipleship is a call to total allegiance, unmitigated subservience in all things. Any other relationships or loyalties will look like "hate" when compared to our love for him. His concern with celebrating Mother's day (as a church) is that it enthrones and magnifies -- in our worship, no less!! -- someone other than Jesus Himself. It is clear from Jesus' statement in Mark 3 that he was not particularly concerned with what most of us might consider "honor[ing] your mother." Yet at the cross he did precisely what the Bible considers honoring one's mother when he asked John to care for her. Can you imagine Jesus making Mary (or even motherhood) the focus of synagogue worship services? I can't.
You've got me there. Most of the popular translations use the word, "hate", but the New Living Translation seems to make it a little clearer, "If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. " Yes, put God first, but God is love not hate.
Wouldn't it have been great if we had tied the excitement of Pentecost, Motherhood, and PCC's birthday together in a celebration dedicating ourselves to Christ's mission?
so, are you, randy going to wear an ugly tie this sunday?
O heck yeah. If my salvation is in doubt, I see no reason not to wear an ugly tie. I won't wear on with little flags on it on Sunday July 6th, however.
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