Christianity is not some ideal toward which we ought always to strive even though the ideal is out of reach. Christianity is not a series of slogans that sum up our beliefs.
Stanley HauerwasRead
I have no doubt that for some to become a Christian may involve an experience of ecstasy. Yet I do not think such an experience is necessary for someone to be a Christian.
Interpretation
What this quote means
An ecstatic experience is not essential to being a Christian.
In this quote, Stanley Hauerwas emphasizes that while some individuals may find their faith through profound and ecstatic experiences, such feelings are not a prerequisite for being a Christian. Instead, he argues that the essence of Christianity can be embraced without the need for overwhelming emotional experiences.
Themes
FaithExperienceChristianityBeliefEmotion
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the diversity of faith experiences.
More from Stanley Hauerwas
All quotes →My way of putting it is that Christians are called to live nonviolently not because we believe nonviolence is a strategy to rid the world of war, but in a world of war as faithful followers of Christ, we cannot imagine being anything other than nonviolent.
Stanley HauerwasRead
Advent is patience it's how God has made us a people of promise, in a world of impatience.
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War is America's central liturgical act necessary to renew our sense that we are a nation unlike other nations.
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To kill, in war or in any circumstance, creates a silence. It is right that silence should surround the taking of life. After all, the life taken is not ours to take.
Stanley HauerwasRead
The most creative social strategy we have to offer is the church. Here we show the world a manner of life the world can never achieve through social coercion or governmental action. We serve the world by showing it something that it is not, namely, a place where God is forming a family out of strangers.
Stanley HauerwasRead
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