Singleness is the one practice of the Church that most profoundly shows that it has accepted and wishes to participate in the hope that God secured through Christ’s cross, resurrection, and ascension. Singleness embodies the Christian hope that God’s kingdom has come, is present, and is still to come … when the Church loses the significance of singleness, I suspect it does so because Christians no longer have the confidence that the gospel can be received by those who have not been, so to speak, “raised in it”.
Stanley Hauerwas, "The Radical Hope of the Annunciation: Why both Single and Married Christians Welcome Children", in The Hauerwas Reader, 512
An interesting notion: that singleness is a sign to the church of our hope being in Jesus and not in our ability to have kids, and that the gospel cuts through physical family lines and creates a new spiritual family founded in Christ.
A question: how far the does the concept and practice of “family” extend in your church?
An interesting notion: that singleness is a sign to the church of our hope being in Jesus and not in our ability to have kids, and that the gospel cuts through physical family lines and creates a new spiritual family founded in Christ.
A question: how far the does the concept and practice of “family” extend in your church?
5 comments:
I think that Hauerwas overstates his case. I can't think of any Biblical passages that would back up his view of singleness.
The issue of "family" is a troublesome one. We are encouraged to view our fellow Christians as family, but we need to make sure that the family doesn't exclude outsiders. This is particularly true for we Sydney Anglicans, who so often seem to be related to each other.
we eat alot together, and make hospitality the chief means by which we welcome the outsider. We arrived into a church that has many single people, and an unusual number of childless couples. Interestingly, they speak about rosters as the 'family duties' and the children call adults aunty and uncle. I thought it was a freaky cult at first, but then wondered whether I had a strong enough theology of family. Its struck me how the aposlte Paul uses family language.
Thanks for your thoughts guys. It does seem that there is a strong link between fmily and food. I think of my own church experiences and the most family oriented have been around meals. Is the dining table to be understood as a family thing? Note also the 28th article according to the Anglican tradition...the supper (while not only this) is a sign of love between Christians.
Hi Martin
Like your blog!
Sam
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