Breaking from Religion News Service:
Theologian Stanley Hauerwas has declined a series of lectures he was scheduled to give at New York’s General Theological Seminary in November in the wake of the crisis roiling the school.
On Wednesday (Oct. 8), the Christian ethicist said he does not want to get in the middle of a controversy involving the resignations or firings of eight faculty.
The Episcopal Café seeks to be an independent voice, reporting and reflecting on the Episcopal Church and the Anglican tradition. The Café is not a platform of advocacy, but it does aim to tell the story of the church from the perspective of Progressive Christianity. Our collective sympathy, as the Café, lies with the project of widening the circle of inclusion within the church and empowering all the baptized for the role to which they have been called as followers of Christ.
The opinions expressed at the Café are those of individual contributors, and, unless otherwise noted, should not be interpreted as official statements of a parish, diocese or other organization. The art and articles that appear here remain the property of their creators.
All Content © 2017 Episcopal Café
I would expect nothing less from a respected Christian Ethicist like Hauerwas. I hope that some organization asks him to lecture here in Manhattan in the near future
I am a relatively new member of St. Mary;s Episcopal Church in Middlesboro, Kentucky.
The discord between Dean Dunkle, the General Theological Seminary’s Board of Trustees, and the GTS Faculty has ramifications beyond the campus. The news reports about the problems at GTS are alarming to membvers of local parishes following the problem.
Why has the GTS’ troubles been allowed to reach this point? What sort of message is this sending to the world outside Episcopalianism? Now, we have a distinguished speaker refusing to appear on a campus because of internal religious politics.
This seems to me NOT the direction Christians should be handling their problems with each other — the dean, the trustees and the faculty are just punishing the students who came to GTS in good faith. As Shakespeare once wrote, in Romeo and Juliet, “All are punish’d. All are punish’d.”
Well said Donald–I will add an Amen.
Bless him!
Thank God for the simplicity of this witness and choice.