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
War is America's central liturgical act necessary to renew our sense that we are a nation unlike other nations.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that war is a defining ritual for America, reinforcing its national identity and uniqueness.
Stanley Hauerwas argues that war functions as a fundamental rite for the United States, essential for nurturing a belief in its exceptionalism. This perspective implies that through the experience and memory of war, Americans reaffirm their sense of nationhood and the values that they believe set them apart from others. The suggestion is that war, despite its destructiveness, plays a crucial role in shaping the collective identity of the nation.
Themes
WarIdentityNationExceptionalismAmerica
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the impacts of war on national identity.
More from Stanley Hauerwas
All quotes βMy 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.
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Advent is patience it's how God has made us a people of promise, in a world of impatience.
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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
Saints cannot exist without a community, as they require, like all of us, nurturance by a people who, while often unfaithful, preserve the habits necessary to learn the story of God.
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