Discerning the Spirit

: A Constructive Exploration of the Pneumatological Ecclesiology of Stanley Hauerwas

Abstract

“If I had to start again would I begin with the Holy Spirit…? Probably.” [Stanley Hauerwas during a personal interview on 28th September 2020 at St Martin's in the Fields, London, UK]. This is a fascinating comment from Stanley Hauerwas, a theologian accused of under-developed pneumatology or logically excluding the Spirit through ecclesio-centrism.

The first part of this thesis offers a chronological consideration of Hauerwas’ corpus showing how pneumatological development takes place to the extent that, by 2015, Hauerwas offers an exegetical depiction of the doctrine of the Spirit and a re-framing of the major themes of his work in pneumatological terms. In Chapter One, I identify within secondary literature two streams of interpretation of Hauerwas as either conducive to pneumatological development (exemplified by Sam Wells) or logically excluding the Spirit (exemplified by Nicholas Healy). Reflecting on his earliest formative works (Chapter Two), I argue for the first reading, before showing the increasing centrality of the Spirit through the remainder of his corpus (Chapters Three and Four), such that Hauerwas’ work can be considered “pneumatological ecclesiology.”

The second part critically evaluates the adequacy of this pneumatological understanding from two perspectives. First, in Chapter Five, I consider ambiguities within Hauerwas’ work, accusations of pragmatism, and over-emphasis on the visibility of the Spirit’s work. I respond through the constructive proposal that Hauerwas’ pneumatology resonates with the apophatic trinitarianism of Karen Kilby.

Second, in Chapter Six, I evaluate the ability of Hauerwas’ pneumatology to account for key critical issues (including a critical distance between the Spirit and the church, the imperfection of the church, and the role of the individual alongside the community) in comparison to the pneumatologies of Reinhardt Hütter and Healy. Hauerwas’ pneumatology is comparatively stronger due to the apophatic limitations and pragmatic approach centred on scripture as first-order language. This leads to a final constructive suggestion, as the basis for future research, that the exegesis central to Hauerwas’ work aligns with Pentecostal theologian Gordon Fee. This is suggestive that Pentecostal practice offers resources requiring greater appreciation in Hauerwas’ work, whilst Hauerwas’ theological approach offers a means of recapturing the work of the Spirit without over-emphasis on individual experience.

Date of Award	7 May 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bristol
Sponsors	The St Luke's College Foundation, Church of England & Foundation of St Matthias
Supervisor	David Leech (Supervisor) & Sig Sønnesyn (Supervisor)