Hauerwas Definition

After reading Hauerwas article on “How To Write A Theological Sentence,” I personally came away with a connection to the initial content as it relates to confidence in writing. The article was interesting as the author expressed the need to understand the power of writing thought provoking theological sentences, but his writing about what he perceives as a profound theological sentence, as with other forms of writing, is frequently seen best through the eye of the beholder.

As I read the article, there was an immediate connection with the article due to the fact that the feelings expressed by the author were some that I have had my own concerns with. The author referenced that difficulty numerous others feel writing about God due to a lack of confidence and the recognition is likely formed from the reflection of our confidence “in the one who makes that writing possible.” It is the age-old question, “Can God use me?”

With each read, a realization began to emerge that there is great effectiveness in the structure of a sentence, which often has little to do with the length of a sentence. It is the connection with the reader’s experience to the writer’s experience that emerges as the power behind what is
While I do believe a well-structured theological sentence is key in producing the connection a reader must have with the content of the writing, this I believe can be unduly subjective. Hauerwas shares that he believed Robert Johnson’s sentence about God and Israel took a lifetime to write. This is something I would never have gotten from reading a sentence like that. To this reader, the simplicity and power of a sentence like “God is good,” evokes those emotions, due to the years it has taken to even begin to grasp it. Well-structured theological sentences are absolutely necessary to convey spiritual ideas, but will have their efficacy felt strongest in the mind that has been prepared for