Hannah's Child: A Theologian's Memoir - Softcover

Stanley Hauerwas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0334043689 ISBN 13: 9780334043683

Publisher: SCM Press, 2010

Synopsis

A loving, hard-working, godly couple has long been denied a family of their own. Finally, the wife makes a deal with God: if he blesses her with a child, she will dedicate that child to God?'s service. The result of that prayer was the birth of an influential some say prophetic voice. Surprisingly, this is not the biblical story of Samuel but the account of Stanley Hauerwas, one of today?'s leading theologians in the church and the academy. / The story of Hauerwas?'s journey into Christian discipleship is captivating and inspiring. With genuine humility, he describes his intellectual struggles with faith, how he has dealt with the complex reality of marriage to a mentally ill partner, and the gift of friendships that have influenced his character. Throughout the narrative shines Hauerwas?'s conviction that the tale of his life is worth telling only because of the greater Christian story providing foundation and direction for his own.

About this title

About the Author

Stanley Hauerwas is Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics at Duke Divinity School with a joint appointment at the Duke University School of Law

Review

'Those who know and admire Hauerwas' lively mind and commitment to say what he believes without worrying about the consequences will be interested in his own insights into his career ... The author is candid about his own struggles and perceptions of life ... you get a sense of a man thoroughly committed to God and the gospel, and passionate about exploring all the dimensions in the public arena.' 'What does it mean to become a Christian? Stanley Hauerwas has written a deeply engaging and courageous memoir which answers the question in terms of his own lifelong discovery of God's presence and challenge through experience both of grace and of darkness, often inseparably bound together. A book of profound compassion, depth and wisdom from one of the greatest Christian minds of our time.' -- Archbishop Rowan Williams 'Both painfully honest and intellectually daring, Hauerwas places his own story alongside that of his theology to create a magnificent autobiography. Some would call this testimony, others narrative theology at its most convincing. I'd just say it was utterly brilliant.' -- Giles Fraser, St Paul's Cathedral 'Stanley Hauerwas, the most important living influence in Anglo-Saxon theology, has given us the story of his journey from blue collar origins to the heights of academia, in tones that are remarkably at once candid and restrained. The tale has the ring of entire authenticity and it had to be written because Hauerwas's work of writing and his work upon himself are so clearly, as with Michel de Montaigne, one and the same. The title will remind older British readers of the very Victorian and yet compelling 'Ladybird book' picture of the child Samuel summonsed by Jehovah in the darkness. Stanley Hauerwas is just that kind of prophet.' -- John Milbank, University of Nottingham

Edition details

• Publisher: SCM Press
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0334043689
• ISBN 13: 9780334043683
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288