Stanley Hauerwas is one of the most important and robustly creative theologians of our time, and his work is well known and much admired. But Nicholas Healy -- himself an admirer of Hauerwas s thought -- believes that it has not yet been subjected to the kind of sustained critical analysis that is warranted by such a significant and influential Christian thinker. As someone interested in the broader systematic-theological implications of Hauerwas s work, Healy fills that gap in "Hauerwas: A (Very) Critical Introduction."
After a general introduction to Hauerwas s work, Healy examines three main areas of his thought: his method, his social theory, and his theology. According to Healy, Hauerwas s overriding concern for ethics and church-based apologetics so dominates his thinking that he systematically distorts Christian doctrine. Healy illustrates what he sees as the deficiencies of Hauerwas s theology and argues that it needs substantial revision."