“The church can’t survive on sentiment and nostalgia. If we try to do that, we will wake up at midnight and discover that our lamps are going out. Sentiment, nostalgia, optimism: these are weak, thin fuels. We need premium oil for our lamps if we are to keep the light of the church burning in the time of trial. Christianity is not for sissies. Continue reading Christianity Is Not for Sissies
Tag Archives: optimism
Hope Beyond Optimism (Series on “Minding the Web”)
In the essay “Minding the Gaps, or, Theologians Writing Memoirs,” Stanley Hauerwas examines the similarities and divergences between the British theologian A.E. Harvey’s memoir and his own, Hannah’s Child. In addition to belonging to the subset of “memoirs written by theologians,” both works also reflect upon a shared reality of life with a spouse suffering from mental illness. Here is an illuminating quote from near the end of the essay: Continue reading Hope Beyond Optimism (Series on “Minding the Web”)