Chapter 1: Christian Ethics as Informed Prayer
Stanley Hauerwas and Samuel Wells
The authors have chosen to perceive the discipline of Christian Ethics through the lens of Christian worship, especially the Eucharist.
Why Study Ethics Through Worship? Typically worship and ethics have been separated both in academia and in the life of Christians. There are reasons that this has been so.
1. Ethics is about the real; worship is about the unreal. The authors argue that worship is what we are made for, and hence is very real.
2. Worship is bout beauty; ethics is about the good (and theology is about the truth). The authors do not buy the idea that beauty, good, and truth can be detached from each other.
3. Worship is about the internal; ethics is about the external.
4. Worship is about words; ethics is about action. Christian worship is about action—“baptize them”, “Do this …”, etc.
How Does the Liturgy Inform and Shape the Christian Life? An example of how the Eucharist shaped the lives of a newly evangelized tribe.
Worship as a Series of Practices. The book is divided into the general sections of the Eucharist (or what I would call the service).
· Meeting God and One Another (greeting, praise, and confession).
· Re-Encountering the Story. (the Word and preaching)
· Being Embodied. (Baptism and Marriage)
· Re-Enacting the Story. The Eucharist itself (or what I would call communion)
A Story.