During the 2009 General Convention of the Episcopal Church,
Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, gave a remarkable
sermon (a link is below). As part of the sermon, Williams
referred to
"one of your [the Episcopal church's] own prophets, the greatest Episcopalian theologian and perhaps the greatest American theologian of the twentieth century, William Stringfellow;
not the least of the gifts which the Episcopal Church has given the rest of us."
Here is a copy of
Williams' Sermon,
taken from
this
site.
Well, we all know about Rowan Williams, but what about
William Stringfellow?
William Stringfellow (1929-1985)
Iconic tribute to Stringfellow: William
Stringfellow: Keeper of the Word
Books by Stringfellow:
-
An Ethic for Christians and Other Aliens in a Strange Land
(160 pages).
Review (from Amazon): When one wishes, in these times, to identify oneself within the framework of Christianity and Society, I can find no better place to take up the challenge. Mind you, this is a tough read and Stringfellow was not afraid to use his own unique brand of polemics. If one wants compromise or comfort, it will not be found here. However, if one wants hard examination with hard logic and true genius, this is the gold standard. Theology students be warned: This man takes no prisoners. And, you may find yourself within a seeming abyss of depression- until you can discern the light which shines on recognition of what this man has said. A pearl of great price. Do you, can you, take the challenge?
-
A Keeper of the Word: Selected Writings of William Stringfellow
(452 pages).
Review (from Amazon): Stringfellow's prose is a joy to read. His thoughts on justice are timeless. Though he died in the mid-eighties, his comments shed light on social issues commonly discussed today. A Harvard educated lawyer going to practice in Harlem in the late forties was absolutely revolutionary at the time.... probably still is. A wonderfully droll sense of humor gives this social activist ornery Episcopalian a great edge. This book also gives one an interesting review of what was happening in the 60's and 70's among theologically aware folks. Hard to put down, it's very much a personal memoir within essays.
-
A Simplicity of Faith: My Experience in Mourning
(143 pages).
Review (from Amazon): The book did several things for me as I would expect Stringfellow to do. He challenges the easiness of our supposed faith. He has honest, justified anger at a God who in the silence of our mourning hearts says nothing to us that he/she has not said before. He grieves, he loves.
-
A Private and Public Faith
(94 pages).
Long Review (from Amazon)
Plus a dozen more books listed on Amazon and Wikipedia.
Stringfellow on Wikipedia (selected excerpts
full
article):
After his graduation [from Harvard Law School], he moved to a slum tenement in Harlem, New York City to work among poor African-Americans and Hispanics.
Stringfellow gained a reputation as a strident critic of the social, military and economic policies of the U.S. and as a tireless advocate for racial and social justice. That justice, he declared, could be realized only if it were pursued according to a serious understanding of the Bible and the Christian faith.
As a Christian, he viewed his vocation as a commitment, bestowed upon him in baptism, to a lifelong struggle against the "powers and principalities," as systemic evil is sometimes called in the New Testament, or "Power of Death." He proclaimed that being a faithful follower of Jesus means to declare oneself free from all spiritual forces of death and destruction and to submit onself single-heartedly to the power of life. In contrast to most younger liberal Protestant theologians of his time, Stringfellow insisted on the primacy of the Bible ....
He made pointed criticisms of theological seminaries: those of the liberal Protestant mainline were theologically shallow, their curriculum and ethos a mixture of "poetic recitations...social analysis, gimmicks, solicitations, sentimentalities, and corn." On the other hand, he considered fundamentalist/orthodox institutions to isolate themselves from modern society; he commented, "...if they actually took the Bible seriously they would inevitably love the world more readily...because the Word of God is free and active in the world." These conditions were, he felt, symptomatic of the twin errors of acculturated religious liberalism and authoritarian dogmatism, two options American Christians usually chose from in order to achieve the same goal: domesticating the Gospel and thus blunting its transformative impact on both individuals and the state.
Stringfellow's foremost contribution to theological thought is to see in "images, ideologies, and institutions" the primary contemporary manifestations of the demonic powers and principalities often mentioned in the Bible. This outlook made him categorically suspicious of activities of governments, corporations, and other organizations, including the institutional churches, ....
Links to material about Stringfellow:
Poem that came up during the discussion:
Carrion Comfort by
G. M. Hopkins
Prepared by Neal R. Wagner, last modified on 2009-07-15