War and the American Difference: Theological Reflections on Violence and National Identity by Stanley Hauerwas, and: A Cross-Shattered Church: Reclaiming the Theological Heart of Preaching by Stanley Hauerwas (review)

Hauerwas opens War and the American Difference with an “immodest” statement of purpose: “to convince Christians that war has been abolished” (xi). This claim, which he admits may appear absurd, is unpacked through a three-part exploration of American exceptionalism, the liturgy of war, and the church as the alternative to war. Despite Hauerwas’s reputation as a pacifist, this collection of essays is his first on war, and he does not focus on defending pacifism against Just War theory. As he puts it, “The moral challenge of war is too important for us to play the game of who is and who is not guilty for past or future wars. We are all, pacifist and nonpacifist alike, guilty” (xiv). Rather than assign blame, Hauerwas seeks to understand what makes war so compelling, especially for Americans.

His analytic approach is visible in the first three essays of the book on the unique role of war in American society. Most striking is “Why War Is a Moral Necessity for America” wherein Hauerwas questions the “realism” of limited war by examining how the Civil War shaped the American view of war. In particular, Hauerwas focuses on how Christian ministers on both sides narrated the war as an atoning sacrifice and the casualties as martyrs calling out for revenge. He concludes that “if the Civil War teaches us anything, it is that when Christians no longer believe that Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient for the salvation of the world, we will find other forms of sacrificial behaviors that are as compelling as they are idolatrous” (34).

The theme of sacrifice is continued in the second section, “Sacrificing the Sacrifices of War.” Here Hauerwas argues that although the Christian belief that Christ is the end of sacrifice should free us of the “necessity to secure our existence through sacrificing our and others’ lives on the world’s altars,” Christians still find the sacrifice of war attractive (56). Hauerwas agrees with Carolyn Marvin and David Ingle that American patriotism has a religious power unmatched by any Christian denomination, and so he does not advocate a better Christian atonement theory or ethic of war as the solution. Rather, “the Christian alternative to war is worship” (68).

Hauerwas develops his idea of the church as the alternative to war in the final section of the volume. Here Alasdair MacIntyre and—unexpectedly—Karl Rahner are invoked to underwrite an account of the church as diaspora. Next, Hauerwas defends the British Anglican parish system as superior to the voluntary character of the American church. As he explains, “A voluntary church cannot develop the disciplines necessary to distinguish the universalism of the gospel from the allegedly universal presumptions of a democratic social order” (156). Finally, Hauerwas generously summarizes and responds to Nate Kerr’s recent criticisms in his Christ, History, and Apocalyptic, although Hauerwas also admits to not understanding some of Kerr’s distinctions or the practical import of his concept of mission.

Other highlights include a critique of C.S. Lewis for relying on natural law arguments against liberal pacifism while neglecting the possibility of Christological and eschatological non-violence. Hauerwas’s narration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s journey to and practice of Christian non-violence is also strong. Perhaps the only weak note is struck by “Jesus, the Justice of God,” where Hauerwas draws on former student Dan Bell to mount a critique of Nicholas Wolterstorff that appears tangential to his overall argument.

Hauerwas’s writing is vivid, compact, and peppered with references. At times the footnotes threaten to dominate the page, with entire paragraphs of quotes and arguments embedded below...