Witness Is Presence: Reading Stanley Hauerwas in a Nordic Setting

In a postsecular cultural situation the conditions for understanding and communicating a Christian tradition have changed. None of the established religions can any longer claim monopoly in the marketplace of religions. A claim of this study is that a postsecular situation characterized among other things by dwindling memberships in established churches as well as a new visibility of alternative religious expressions opens up a need to reflect on alternative ways of understanding Christianity in its context. This study focuses on the question how can a Christian tradition be communicated understandably in a postsecular context? In traditional terms: how can Christian witness be understood in our situation? It is to this need according to this study that the ecclesiology of Stanley Hauerwas provides a meaningful perspective. This perspective becomes relevant because in a postsecular context a Christian church even a folk church cannot assume to be in a position of majority or power. There is therefore a need to ask how to understand Christianity as a community of witness that is neither in power nor a majority. The study suggests that embodiment of Christian convictions becomes a central factor in a meaningful postsecular notion of witness. This book is a wonderful indication of not only the great relevance of Hauerwas theological-ethical vision for the wider church of Christ in general but also with regard to particular contexts such as the Nordic lands. Thoroughly knowledgable of the intricacies of the post-secular European ecclesiastical context and the theological nuances of the leading American ethicist Miika Tolonens patient and insightful investigation is a call for the church to live up to its message. Indeed having read this inspiring text convinced me that whatever else it might be primarily witness is presence. --Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen Fuller Theological Seminary Miika Tolonen (BA MA DrTheol) is lecturer at Iso Kirja College in Keuruu Finland.