The Making of Stanley Hauerwas: Bridging Barth and Postliberalism

In the past half-century, few theologians have shaped the landscape of American belief and practice as much as Stanley Hauerwas. His work in social ethics, political theology, and ecclesiology has had a tremendous influence on thechurch and society. But have we understood Hauerwas's theology, his influences, and his place among the theologians correctly?

Hauerwas is often associated—and rightly so—with the postliberal theological movement and its emphasis on a narrative interpretation of Scr...