Unlearning Protestantism

by Schlabach, Gerald W.

• ISBN13: 9781587431111
• ISBN10: 1587431114
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-04-01
• Publisher: Brazos Pr

Summary

In this clearly written and insightful book, Gerald Schlabach addresses the "Protestant dilemma" in ecclesiology: how to build lasting Christian community in a world of individualism and transience. Schlabach, a former Mennonite who is now Catholic, seeks not to encourage readers to abandon Protestant churches but to relearn some of the virtues that all Christian communities need to sustain their communal lives. He offers a vision for the right and faithful roles of authority, stability, and loyal dissent in Christian communal life. The book deals with issues that transcend denominations and will appeal to all readers, both Catholic and Protestant, interested in sustaining Christian tradition and community over time.

Author Biography

Gerald W. Schlabach (PhD, University of Notre Dame) is associate professor of theology and director of the justice and peace studies program at the University of St. Thomas. He is the founder and director of Bridgefolk, a movement of Mennonites and Roman Catholics who come together to celebrate each other's traditions, explore each other's practices, and honor each other's contribution to the mission of Christ's Church. He is also the author or editor of several books.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 9
The Protestant Dilemma	p. 21
The Permanent Principle of Reform
The Nagging Dilemma of Undoing
The Puzzle of Protestant Identity
Hauerwas's Hunch
The Matter of Continuity	p. 47
Mennonites amid the Acids of Modernity
Four Strategies: The Debate That Was “the Goshen School”
Freedom and Discipline: Lessons from an Unruly Synthesis
Continuity Anyway (or, Why Hauerwas Really Is Not Yoder but Nonetheless Is Right about Mennonite Community)
The Practice of Stability	p. 87
Mobility in Question
Stability in the Rule of St. Benedict
Replies to Objections
Stability beyond Monastic Walls
A Not-So-Innovative Postscript
Stability Writ Large	p. 115
“Participatory Hierarchy”
Toward a Stable Narrative of Vatican II
Stability under the Mantle of Aggiornamento
Authority and Dissent in a Richer Theological Context
Stability Strained but Holding
Stability in Hard Times: Loyal Dissent	p. 151
Obedience and Dissent: Three Archetypal Stories
The Virtue That Catholics Struggle to Name
Five Loyal Dissenters
One More Story
Giving the Gift of Stability to a Globalizing World	p. 191
A Meditation on Globalization and Gaudium et spes
A Long-Deferred Objection—Why Now?
The Rationality of Traditions
Notes	p. 213
Bibliography	p. 255
Index	p. 267
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