I recently wrote a piece for Active Rain for the purpose of letting those living in Dallas know that a famous American theologian and Duke University professor named Stanley Hauerwas would be giving several lectures at my church, The Episcopal Church of the Incarnation. (Click here to read it: Stanley Hauerwas.)
Last evening Patty and I invited our friends, John and Cindi Burnside, to join us for an early dinner and then a quick trip to Incarnation for the service and the performance of Dr. Hauerwas.
Dr. Hauerwas was ill-prepared, he rambled, he wouldn't look at his audience, he used vulgar and profane language in our church's sanctuary, and quite frankly he was a total bore. I was embarrassed for those at the church who chose him and for him, himself for his bad behavior.
The bottom line is this: the man is a pacifist who opines about God's wishes without sighting Bible references to back up his opinions. Thus, his arguments lack sufficient evidence. I regret that the format wasn't a debate with a Bible scholar. He would have been smashed like a helpless ant.
A lot has changed since I left college life for the last time in about 1967. Dr. Hauerwas is a member of that large group of college and university instructors who have generated such outrage from parents and friends of their students. It's time for change.
I apologize to anyone who attended any of Dr. Hauerwas' lectures on my recommendation.
BILL CHERRY, REALTORS
DALLAS - PARK CITIES
Our 45th Year
214 503-8563
This happens all too often. It is easy to get scheduled for a talk or lecture at a local church, especially if you have some academic or clerical credentials. We had a Maryknoll sister give a talk about 10 years ago and it was also very embarrassing. The sad thing is that these people travel around peddling their garbage on the dime of well-meaning contributors who probably have no nidea what they are funding.
Bill,
Sorry that the lecutre was a complete bust, and hopefully others will get the message and avoide him in the future.
Bill,
Told with total honesty and open-ness.....perhaps he's going senile and forgot where he was lecturing and who he was giving his talk to. Then again....
Jo
Having met Dr. Hauerwas and read a number of his books, I can attest that he is not going senile and that he does not peddle garbarge. He is one of the most engaging and generous people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. A transcript of one of his talks that you may have attended is here: http://covenant-communion.net/index.php/forums/viewthread/1306/ Is this the one you were referring to?
BTW, Dr. H answers his own phone. Look him up on Duke's website, give him a call and tell him why he was such a bore. I think you'll be surprised by his willingness to engage with you. Seems to me that's the Christian thing to do.
I had read three of the transcripts of his prior talks on the Internet before we made the decision to go hear him in person. I found them interesting, so I encouraged others to attend one of his addresses to our congregation.
Frankly, after hearing him at our church, I've had all of Dr. Hauerwas I want for the remainder of my life. He managed to waste our evening and to be horribly offrensive with his gutter language. Both of those are things he was totally in control of.
(Dr. Hauerwas is one month younger than I. I probably have more formal education than he does.)
Sorry for the disapointment. Things do change.
FYI, I believe Hauerwas uses profanity in his speech (and writing) because in his opinion, doing so is a class issue rather than a moral issue.
Shannon, to do so shows no respect whatsoever for his audience.
I worked in broadcasting as an avocation for nearly 50 years. I don't think there was any group of people on the planet who were, in general, more foul-mouthed. (I wasn't one of them.) The FCC made it clear in those days that use of that language on the air could cause loss of license and heavy fines.
These foul mouthed announcers had no problem working their shifts day after day without so much as a smudge of a crude or profane comment.
The FCC'spoint was that when you, the broadcaster, are holding the audience hostage, you have no right to purposely offend any of them. Especially when the airwaves belong to the audience and not the brodcaster.
Dr. Hauerwas showed no respect for those in the audience who would be offended by his language, and he knew that a substantial number of us -- the average age above 60 -- would be. He also knew he was an invited guest, not the owner of the place where he was speaking.
What the clergy of Church of the Incarnation thinks of his "performance" might be that it was OK. I don't know. But I can tell you that a substantial portion of those in attendance thought otherwise. He has a tinge of showing himself to be more of a pseudo-intellectual.