The demanding call and the difficult question

Abstract

This article suggests that both Stanley Hauerwas and Rowan Williams write for a Church that lives under the judgement of God. For Hauerwas this entails presenting the Church with a demanding call, and for Williams it means presenting it with a difficult question. I argue that their discourse is thus intentionally lopsided, but as such neither voice is sustainable on its own. By considering the notion of ‘the stranger’ I then explore how such a call and question are worked out, and argue for the necessity of holding them together.