Performing the Faith

March 1, 2004
Widely regarded as one of America's preeminent theologians, Hauerwas (The Peaceable Kingdom; With the Grain of the Universe) succeeds again with this fine collection of new essays. Even those familiar with his large corpus of writings will discover new insights and creative ideas in this work, particularly in the early chapters dealing with Dietrich Bonhoeffer and performative faith. The subtitle is a bit misleading, as only the first of the book's three major sections deals with Bonhoeffer. Here, Hauerwas persuasively presents Bonhoeffer's political theology as arising from his commitment to a church located in the midst of the world. The second section, "Truthful Performances," covers such topics as narrative theology and theological insights from Victor Preller and Wittgenstein. The third section, addressing nonviolence, has chapters on such ethical issues as the Christian understanding of prison incarceration and the Christian response to 9/11. One can sense the inner tension Hauerwas experiences as a pacifist trying to address these difficult issues, and it makes for fascinating reading. Recommended for academic libraries.-John Jaeger, Dallas Baptist Univ. Lib., TX

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2004
If the cover and subtitle lead readers to expect a sustained engagement with Bonhoeffer, they will be disappointed. For better or worse, Hauerwas is an occasional writer, and this is another collection of the occasional pieces for which he is known, organized around a cluster of issues related to pacifism and pacifist response to the events of September 11, 2001, and their aftermath. It does contain an engagement with Bonhoeffer, one that will prompt many to wish it were more sustained. Bonhoeffer and Hauerwas are natural allies on the matter of faithful performance, and the combination of Bonhoeffer, Hauerwas, and the late John Howard Yoder, facilitated by Hauerwas' many pieces on Yoder, makes for a potentially revolutionary conversation. This collection, particularly its first part, constitutes a tentative, fragmentary, and provocative first step toward including Bonhoeffer in such a conversation. Tentativeness, fragmentariness, and provocation are almost certainly what Hauerwas had in mind, for they are consistent with his manner of working and are certainly what his readers have come to expect.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)