Second VideoPodcast

Thanks for the Thanksgiving greetings! Hope your weekend has been great!

I think that Steve was responding to a particular sentiment in my post, that being the exasperation I expressed about the idea of "any old church will do". He resonated with the idea that there are particular sensibilities that ought to be "givens" in any Christian felowship, just as Bonhoeffer also felt detached from the "decency" that was equated with churchmanship, and the "thousandfold hullo" that flattened the notions of church to barely more than the "thereapeutic" purpose that Pastor John and Hauerwas and others have written about. As I remember it now, he didn't specifically comment on the Hauerwas quotes.

Anyway, I'm just about to finish up The Beloved Community. It is a fantastic book.

First of all, Happy Thanks giving, bro!

I went back and read your post from May 15, 2005 and the comments. I agree with both your and Anthony's sentiments concerning Hauerwas. What I don't entirely get, is if Steve Bush thanked you for that post, why he went on to write his "Stereoscopic" piece which, in my opinion, grossly distorts and misrepresents Hauerwas. I actually have a long post (essay, I guess) that is like 95% written that responds to Bush's essay from a couple months ago that I hope will clarify some things. I hope Steve would get a chance to read it considering he's ceased blogging for now.

I look forward to hearing about the Charles Marsh book! I'm currently reading John R. Franke's excellent The Character of Theology: An Introduction to Its Nature, Task, and Purpose. I don't think I'll have much time to post anything on it as I really just want to read through some stuff right now. Besides, the Generous Orthodoxy ThinkTank already has some excellent posts on it.

Peace,

Eric

This piece from the post specifically narrows my focus of critique on the "Progressive" churches that are so often bereft of communal, formative structures such as that of COS:

I have a problem with the lack of a serious communal structure of Church life, even among, (and seemingly especially among) the Churches who are are outspoken about war and the present scandal of accountability in this government for what their real goals are. There seems to be this modus operandi that to speak it is enough; that we are somehow supposed to be able to sustain this protest ourselves, by talking about it. That would be a logical first step, but then there is the question of what kind of alternative life do we model? If we are not called into this conversation of a people following the way of Jesus by being invited into a way of life and a radically accountable and committed fellowship, then the political strife seems to become the end all.

This is a strong theme in Charles Marsh's book "The Beloved Community". I found that Gordon Cosby had been praising that book in COS circles, and Jamie Smith praised it in his "Evangelicals Out of the Box" interview. I finsihed another chapter last night, and it is GREAT. He focuses on just this problem of how "activism" is apt to peter out and lose its moorings when not anchored in strong ecclesia (or "the Beloved Community").
I'll certainly be posting on it real soon. I already have on stuff from his frist two chapters on MLK and Clarence Jordan.

Thanks. The "rant" to which I referred is here, and I was just noticing that Harbinger has taken down all of his site except for the last two posts, which I noticed when I tried to look up a post he made thanking me for making my "rant" post.

I find it interesting that this is the issue that left me open for Radical Orthodoxy and Hauerwas to step in and begin addressing this issue of that "community of character" without which we are sitting ducks for the "addiction of culture" (and which is also Gordon Cosby's point over and over in his preaching and in Becoming the Authentic Church

Excellent comment about the marriage thing! ("any ol' marriage will do")--Especially in light of the fact that marriages are a symbol of God's love for God's church.