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.
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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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