Living Gently in a Violent World

The Prophetic Witness of Weakness

Resources for Reconciliation

By Stanley Hauerwas and Jean Vanier

(paperback)

Product Details

Line: IVP Books
Length: 117 pages
Size: 5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches
Binding: paperback
Published: September 2008

ISBN-10: 0-8308-3452-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-8308-3452-5
IVP Order Code: 3452

Related Subjects

Christian Community
Justice/Peace
Theology

"Church takes time, patience, gentleness, vulnerability, friendship, hospitality, mutuality and peaceableness. In other words, church takes practice--this is the prophetic witness of the L'Arche communities not to the world, but to the church! And this prophetic witness is carried in this book by the gentle voice of Jean Vanier, the polemical one of Stanley Hauerwas, and the wise introduction and conclusion from John Swinton. Here is the prophetic edge that is even at the vanguard of the emerging church!"

"Hauerwas and Vanier insist on the holiness of people with disabilities. . . . the political implications of gentleness in the last chapter is worth the entire book."

"Agree or disagree, almost every page of this little book is beautifully and thrillingly provocative."

"This little book did not disappoint, offering a brief but compelling argument for the place of weakness in the life of the Church. An important book for our churches to read and reflect upon."

The world couls use some more dialogue on peace, and these two are happy to lead the way.

Theologian Stanley Hauerwas and L'Arche founder Jean Vanier discuss how these caring communities for persons with disabilities can teach the churcha bout peace and acceptance. Full of personal experiences, this easy read makes profound observations about acceptance of suffering and disability, the important of relationship over power, and the slow daily work of creating peace in everyday life.

Like the L'Arche communities, this book calls us to a humanism that is tender, patient and present. Its humanism is rooted in the incarnation, for "the Word became flesh to bring people together" (Vanier), and is lived in the church, which proclaims a "politics of gentleness" (Hauerwas).

"This collection of essays offers a compelling and much-needed challenge to the Church and its members to be a counter-cultural community of people who embrace one another as gifts from God that must be cared for with patience, hospitality, and joy."

"The questions raised and the reflections offered on those questions are indispensible for anyone living with, working with, or reflecting on those with mental disabilities."