Resident Aliens: A Provocative Christian Assessment of Culture and Ministry for People Who Know that Something is Wrong
by Stanley Hauerwas, William H. Willimon
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Book Summary Information
Author: Stanley Hauerwas, William H. WillimonEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1989-10-01
ISBN: 0687361591
Number of pages: 175
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Book Reviews of Resident Aliens: A Provocative Christian Assessment of Culture and Ministry for People Who Know that Something is Wrong
Book Review: Consider this a must read
Summary: 5 Stars
As far as the promised focus on pastors, the authors took their time but did come through strong, especially in chapter six. On one hand, they put the preponderant weight of mission and mandate on pastors' shoulders. On the other hand, they made a cogent case for the entire church becoming defined as a radical colony, collectively comprised of resident aliens trying to become Christ before a blind, fallen world. While this vision is not the sole work of pastors, their training and influence places them in a unique position of power that must be properly focused for the church to survive this hostile world. At the same time, the authors deftly managed to direct the same responsibility to the entire body. Their arguments were well supported and persuasive--as well as inspiring and anointed. The book is a masterpiece that every pastor and concerned Christian should read.
A sole criticism concerns the unseemly position the authors clearly took in favor of abortion--it "may" be wrong; it is a "sensitive, personal" issue; it is "conventional" and "most" agree with it (71). On the very next page, they decry all such modern "watering down [of] Christian ethics" (72), almost as if to underline their own clear contradiction. At least, at a later point, the authors correctly state that the girl considering abortion is the church's problem, not the girl's by herself (83).
The above point is literally the only criticism the reviewer has, however, and otherwise has both thumbs way, way up for this powerful book that both resonated eloquently with prior personal experiences and rang perfectly true with current knowledge and awareness. This is a deeply penetrating yet surgically accurate analysis of the current state of affairs of this thing called church of which all believers are members. The book is not for those who are determined by sheer stubbornness to defend their little corner of reality or their particular position in society that is simply too entrenched, like a cancer, to be dislodged by any amount of eradicating truth. The secondary subtitle narrows the readership to those outside such immovable camps--"for those who know something is wrong."
Having lived in a Christian commune for an extended period, the reviewer especially appreciated the words, "Christian community, life in the colony, is not primarily about togetherness . . . it is about Jesus Christ" (78). So many worthy points and astute observations are packed in this small volume, for example, "Learning to be moral is much like learning to speak a language" (97) and by listening and imitating, with the parallel that the church should expose its members to the saints so they can see and learn living examples who have walked in their shoes. Another thought too rich to absorb all at once: "Ethics [is] . . . an ordinary person living the Christian life before other ordinary people" (111).
With uncompromising clarity, the book's theme is as necessary as life and death in a world that has substantially changed from any prior period or culture, as captured with, "The death of Christendom (still alive in our culture but terminally ill with no hope of recovery)" (114). Pastors are called to help the Christian colony survive in a "culture of unbelief" that does not believe faith is necessary because it still has a "residue of Christian civilization" (115). The authors issue a clarion call and reminder: "The church was called to be a colony, an alternative community, a sign, a signal to the world that Christ had made possible a way of life together unlike anything the world had seen" (132). For the reviewer, words like this and so many more have awakened a brand new, more biblical, and more relevant sense of what it means to be Christian and to do church.
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Summary of Resident Aliens: A Provocative Christian Assessment of Culture and Ministry for People Who Know that Something is Wrong
In this bold and visionary book, two leading Christian thinkers explore the "alien" status of Christians in today's world and offer a compelling new vision of how the Christian church can regain its vitality, battle its malaise, reclaim its capacity to nourish souls, and stand firmly against the illusions, pretensions, and eroding values of today's world. Hauerwas and Willimon call for a radical new understanding of the church. By renouncing the emphasis on personal psychological categories, they offer a vision of the church as a colony, a holy nation, a people, a family standing for sharply focused values in a devalued world.Christian Living Books
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