The Work of Theology

Stanley Hauerwas

• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9780802871909
• eBook ISBN: 9781467443524
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Theology

A "how-to" book on theology from a world-renowned theologian In this book Stanley Hauerwas returns to the basics of "doing" theology. Revisiting some of his earliest philosophical and theological views to better understand and clarify what he has said before, Hauerwas explores how theological reflection can be understood as an exercise in practical reason.Hauerwas includes chapters on a wide array of topics, including "How I Think I Learned to Think Theologically," "How the Holy Spirit Works," "How to Write a Theological Sentence," and "How to Be Theologically Funny." In a postscript he responds to Nicholas Healy's recent book Hauerwas: A (Very) Critical Introduction. "What we believe as Christians," says Hauerwas, "is quite basic and even simple. But because it is so basic, we can lose any sense of the extraordinary nature of Christian beliefs and practices." In discussing the work of theology, Hauerwas seeks to recover that "sense of the oddness of what we believe as Christians."

Table of contents

• Preface
• Introduction
• 1. How I Think I Learned to Think Theologically
• 2. How the Holy Spirit Works
• 3. How to Do or Not to Do Protestant Ethics
• 4. How to Be an Agent: Why Character Matters
• 5. How to Tell Time Theologically
• 6. The “How” of Theology and the Ministry
• 7. How to Write a Theological Sentence
• 8. How to Be Theologically Ironic
• 9. How to (Not) Be a Political Theologian
• 10. How to Think Theologically about Rights
• 11. How to “Remember the Poor”
• 12. How to Be Theologically Funny
• 13. How (Not) to Retire Theologically
• Postscript: By Way of a Response to Nicholas Healy’s Book, Hauerwas: A (Very) Critical Introduction
• Index