Living Gently in a Violent World: The Prophetic Witness of Weakness (Resources for Reconciliation)

I originally bought this book thinking it would be simply a Hauerwas book. I was surprised to see that it was more of an exchange or conversation between Hauerwas and Jean Vanier, the founder of L'Arche Communities. The book is brief, easy to read, and compelling in multiple ways.I actually found Vanier's sections more compelling and moving spiritually than Hauerwas' - though I appreciated what Hauerwas had to say. Vanier's communities emphasize great humility and gentleness of a sort that is unique in the world - a humility that comes from weakness. He seeks to treat those who we see as "handicapped" as equals. His is not a condescending love; but it is a love that says, "you are as important as I am and I have weaknesses just as you do." It is a radical departure from the conservative who tends to ignore the downtrodden and the liberal who tends to condescend toward others in telling them what's good for them.This kind of love is actually very much in tune with the love of Christ and his disciples in the NT. Hauerwas sees lessons to be learned by "the church" from Vanier and vice-versa. Vanier's communities are a great model for the way churches should be - and this is a vital point. He gives great emphasis to weakness and humility as well as to the critical import of shared meals and laughter - without pretense (all central NT concepts that are often missing in churches). One gets a sense that though there are great struggles and often a lot of pain in his communities, there is also great love, family acceptance and joy - isn't that a great model for a congregation?This book is a very worthwhile read, especially for those in Evangelical churches who tend to be condescending toward or simply ignore those who are downtrodden - whether from some physical handicap or from their sin. As the apostle Paul exemplified in his life, and as Christ exemplified in his life and death on the cross, the power of God is greatest in human weakness and humility. Vanier captures this well in his life.Though one may disagree with some of his theological perspectives (Vanier seems to place no importance on conversion - and this de-emphasis on conversion to Christ is one of the central problems with many modern Christian writers and groups who have given an important voice to reaching out to the poor), Vanier is still an exceptional example to the typical American Evangelical who tends to follow the worldly path of personal exaltation, success-driven confidence and condescension - rather than the Christ-centered path of weakness and abject humility. In life and attitude, he models Christ better than almost all churchgoing evangelicals.

Absolutely stunning! This "little" book delivers a simple, but essential, message, much like the parables of Jesus. Anyone interested in developing a deeper relationship with God, who also understands to do so requires developing deeper relationships with others, should read this book.

this gentleman is a saint and good for my soul....

packed full of wisdom from two great authors

Loved reading this book. After spending much time with people that the world tends to reject, I have learned so much about God and the way we ought to live. This book gives great insight into the truths about our sinful world and how we might live differently

...but a moving look at what living in a Christ-centered community looks like, regardless of where you live or your denomination.

The book is easy, inviting, stimulating, and theologically spot on! Vanier and Hauerwas offer insightful and thought provoking theological reflections on what it means to be a Christian community. A must read for anyone who is interested in ecclesiology and theology.

great

Jean Vanier is founder of L'Arche communities, where those with and without learning disabilities (intellectual disabilities) live together.In this short book Jean Vanier and Stanley Hauerwas write two essays each on how L'Arche may show a violent world another way of living - a place where the pace of life is slowed so that all may contribute, a place that celebrates life and the lives of all, a place where all are important, a place where people have fun with each other, a place that recognises the woundednesss of people and works slowly and patiently to heal those wounds."Love does not mean doing extraordinary or heroic things. It means knowing how to do ordinary things with tenderness" Jean VanierIn L'Arche communities fear of the other is conquered. A barrier has been established between those with and without learning disabilities - there is a certain fear on both sides. The fear needs to be conquered together - there needs to be a true equality (it is not just a matter of one group caring for the other, but of both groups recognising the wounded humanity of the other).Stanley Hauerwas explores the politics and theology of how those without learning disabilities relate to those with. In a social model dependent on seeing people according to how they may benefit others the value of those disabled may be diminished (and there may even be a mistaken view that it is better to abort the pregnancies of those carrying servilely disabled children). In a politics grounded in Christian theology the value, the dignity, of all is recognised up-front, the individual is as important as the wider society.Jean Vanier explores the meaning of peace and how it is achieved. Peace, for Jean, is not something accomplished by force or by silencing people - peace may involve strong disagreement, but disagreement in an environment where people stop to listen to each other, and the time required to listen to each other. Peace does not take time, but peace creates times as people come together to listen.A final thought I took from the book is that our mission is not to save the world - that is for God in God's time. Our mission is to live gently, peacefully, where we are, in our families, in our parishes, in our communities, in our workplace. Peace is created from the bottom up, and we start where we are, today. Jean Vanier has concentrated on those with learning disabilities, but what are the divisions around us today, in the very small part of the world we can influence, that we could each look to patiently and gently heal?

This is a remarkable little book. I have quite a lot of Hauerwas before (although not the recent stuff) and what struck me reading the book was, apropos to the subject at hand a gentler Hauerwas. I have heard the comment that whatever he may say to the contrary in much of Hauerwas' there is a functional equivalence between the church and the Kingdom of God otherwise. Such an approach is probably not helped by Hauerwas' rhetoric - he has said that were he ever to run for political office it would be under the slogan "It's the Church, stupid!".In reality though Hauerwas sees in the L'Arche movement a prophetic sign of the gentleness and inclusiveness of the Kingdom of God that far surpasses that manifested by the Church. The nub of the book's argument is summarised in a quote from the co-author Jean Vanier "In other words, people who are the weakest and least presentable are indispensable to the church. I have never seen this as the first line of a book on ecclesiology. Who really believes it? But it is the heart of faith, of what it means to be the church."Both Vanier (whom I have never read before but will certainly read more of in the future) and Hauerwas have in this insightful dialogue made a good case for the value of diversity in the Body of Christ but, more than any work of theology for a while, this is also a spiritually encouraging work that gives me hope that God is at work in the world.

Careful, this book could change your life forever. Anyone who works with or is a parent of someone of learning difficulties must read this book. It's brilliant, loved it!

Very pleased with this purchase

Really enjoyed this read