Hauerwas

Question 1

According to Hauerwas the task of Christian ethics is not to establish universal moral principles that all people—Christian and non-Christian—agree upon, but to

Answer 1

call Christians to take seriously the narratives (scripture) and community (church) that make Christian virtues possible.

Question 2

Key themes in Hauerwas (4)

Answer 2

a. Ethics always requires an adjective or qualifier
b. The importance of biblical narratives for ethics
c. The importance of the church
d. Pacifism

Question 3

Hauerwas opens his book by saying there are no

Answer 3

ethical absolutes

Question 4

Hauerwas believes that no ethical system can be

Answer 4

neutral

Question 5

The upside of Hauerwas’ position is it allows him to emphasize ——-; the downside is it does not allow him to ——-

Answer 5

1. the uniqueness of Christian ethics

2. speak of universal, shared moral principles.

Question 6

Hauerwas is interested, not in expressions of truth within the narratives that could be expressed non-narratively, but —————-

Answer 6

in the narratives themselves.

Question 7

Because the world does not “speak the language” of the church, Hauerwas believes it is useless to ————-. Instead _______ is required

Answer 7

try to transform the culture.

conversion

Question 8

Hauerwas’s view of church and society leads him to argue that the church —————–

Answer 8

has no business in some of the work of society.

Question 9

—————– adopts pacifism as an effective tool for social change. The pacifism of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. are examples of effective pacifism.

Answer 9

“effective pacifism,”

Question 10

Hauerwas is a ————- where the Christian is a pacifist not because pacifism is an effective social policy, but because pacifism is a faithful response to the gospel.

Answer 10

“witness pacifist,”

Question 11

Hauerwas said “The church should be a —————– in a world filled with violence.

Answer 11

witness to the gospel of peace

Question 12

Postliberals emphasize (3)

Answer 12

1) biblical narratives
2) importance of community
3) a rejection that there is a notion of a universal, self-evident foundation for knowledge. Therefore, they refuse to defend the rationality of the Christian faith by appealing to arguments based on shared reason

Question 13

For Hauerwas, this postliberalism means that we can speak of “Christian ethics,” but

Answer 13

not a shared set of universal ethical absolutes.

Question 14

Many are in agreement with Hauerwas on stressing the importance of virtue for Christian ethics. Also many agree with his emphasis on scripture and the church for ethical formation.
However, many question whether ——————–

Answer 14

there are no ethical absolutes

Question 15

Many argue that a ————— leads one to affirm absolute ethical truth claims.

Answer 15

strong doctrine of creation

Question 16

For Hauerwas the church functions primarily as ——-, and as a ——- it does seek to influence the world

Answer 16

witness

Question 17

Hauerwas believes governing, policing, and military intervention are necessary actions in a fallen world, but that Christians ______________

Answer 17

are not to be engaged in these activities.