Ecclesiological aspect of theological narrative in early works of S. Hauerwas

Abstract

Theology in the postmodern era tries to overcome methodological grounds of modernism. Postliberal theological tradition actualized the use of narrative method in the second half of the twentieth century. In the article early works on the history and methodology of ecclesiological model by contemporary American theologian Stanley Hauerwas is discussed. The article also talks about the correlation and difference of his narrative methodology with postliberal theological tradition (Lindbeck G., Frei H.). The article focuses on Hauerwas emphasizing the practical significance of his method in contrast to academic style of postliberal theologians. The growth of two stages of narrative method of Hauerwas are highlighted: the anthropological and theological ones. In the article the author shows how Stanley Hauerwas’s methods altered from anthropological to theological. The work gives the genesis of each stage and takes into account the ecclesiological problems. The paper shows how narrative methodology of S. Hauerwas was transformed in the transition from the anthropological to theological.

Also, there is a try to investigate the methodology of theological theory in context of a key aspect of Hauerwas’s theological conception – virtue of peacemaking/Christian pacifism. The paper demonstrates how Christian pacifism gave ground for Hauerwas’s theological narrative.