Stanley Hauerwas and Jean Vanier, Living Gently in a Violent World: The Prophetic Witness of Weakness. InterVarsity Press, 2008.
Referenced in:
- Christian Perspectives on Economics and Public Policy
- Resources for Reconciliation — Duke University Divinity School
From the Publisher
How are Christians to live in a violent and wounded world? Rather than contending for privilege by wielding power and authority, we can witness prophetically from a position of weakness. The church has much to learn from an often overlooked community—those with disabilities.
In this fascinating book, theologian Stanley Hauerwas collaborates with Jean Vanier, founder of the worldwide L’Arche communities. For many years, Hauerwas has reflected on the lives of people with disability, the political significance of community, and how the experience of disability addresses the weaknesses and failures of liberal society. And L’Arche provides a unique model of inclusive community that is underpinned by a deep spirituality and theology.
Together, Vanier and Hauerwas carefully explore the contours of a countercultural community that embodies a different way of being and witnesses to a new order—one marked by radical forms of gentleness, peacemaking and faithfulness. The authors’ explorations shed light on what it means to be human and how we are to live. The robust voice of Hauerwas and the gentle words of Vanier offer a synergy of ideas that, if listened to carefully, will lead the church to a fresh practicing of peace, love and friendship. This invigorating conversation is for everyday Christians who desire to live faithfully in a world that is violent and broken.
About the Authors
Jean Vanier (Ph.D., L’Institut Catholique de Paris) is the founder of L’Arche, an international network of communities where people with and without learning disabilities experience life together as fellow human beings who share a mutuality of care and need. Today over 130 L’Arche communities exist in 34 countries on 6 continents. Jean’s books include Community and Growth, Becoming Human, From Brokenness to Community and Befriending the Stranger.
Stanley Hauerwas (Ph.D., Yale University) is Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics at Duke Divinity School, Duke University. He was named “America’s best theologian” by Time in 2001 and has written consistently about the theological significance of disability. One of the most widely read theologians of the late twentieth century, his books include Resident Aliens, Wilderness Wanderings, A Community of Character, A Peaceable Kingdom, Sanctify Them in the Truth, With the Grain of the Universe and A Better Hope.
***For additional information on this resource, including reviews, click the bookstore links. Check the reference at page top or the links below for resource guides on related topics.***
See Other Resource Guides on Christian Social Ministry:
- Social Ministry, Introduction
- Theological and Philosophical Foundations of Social Ministry
- Spirituality for Ministry of Social Compassion and Justice
- Strategies For Christian Social Ministry
- Perspectives and Strategies For Social Ministry Among the Urban Poor, Urban Ministry
- Christian Perspectives on Political Theory and Church-State Relations
- Christian Perspectives on Economics and Public Policy
- Evangelism