"Well written and perspicaciously framed, Unlearning Protestantism represents a stimulating contribution to ecumenical dialogue. Gerald Schlabach lifts up the practice of stability and the virtue of fidelity for Christian ecclesial communities with characteristic hospitality and humility. His own story of becoming a Mennonite Catholic provides a hopeful model for the sort of virtuous empathy he recommends to Christians as they plumb the depths of their own traditions while engaging in dialogue across ecclesial traditions."--__Margaret Pfeil__, University of Notre Dame  
  
"Many of us Protestants are not Catholic enough to know what we are protesting. This book is a unique celebration of the stability of Catholicism while also recognizing that the church needs a revolution every few hundred years. A monumental step toward the unity Jesus dreamed of as he prayed that the church would be one as God is one."--__Shane Claiborne__, author and activist, www.thesimpleway.org  
  
"In this fascinating, scintillating book, Schlabach shows how absolutely crucial the practice of stability and the virtue of fidelity are for sustaining Christian communities today. Perhaps most important is Schlabach's claim that loyal dissent, far from being a threat to a community and its traditions, is rooted in a community's traditions and aims to enrich them. Thoughtful, insightful, and refreshingly challenging, Schlabach's Unlearning Protestantism is a gift for Christians whose impatience with imperfect communities tempts them to forget that God is present in the very ordinary--and often trying--circumstances of our lives."--__Paul J. Wadell__, St. Norbert College  
  
"The question before Christians today is not whether the Reformation is over but, as Schlabach frames it so well, whether Protestants will be able to sustain faithful Christian communities over time apart from a serious engagement with the Catholic tradition. Written in an accessible and winsome style, this book needs to read by every scholar and layperson interested in the unity and witness of the church. In particular, Schlabach's treatment of the relationship between stability and dissent is nothing short of masterful."--__Barry Harvey__, Honors College, Baylor University

__Gerald W. Schlabach__ (PhD, University of Notre Dame) is professor of theology and director of the Justice and Peace Studies program at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is the founder and director of Bridgefolk, a movement of Mennonites and Roman Catholics who come together to celebrate each other's traditions, explore each other's practices, and honor each other's contribution to the mission of Christ's church. He is also the author or editor of several books.

In this clearly written and insightful book, Gerald Schlabach addresses the "Protestant dilemma" in ecclesiology: how to build lasting Christian community in a world of individualism and transience. Schlabach, a former Mennonite who is now Catholic, seeks not to encourage readers to abandon Protestant churches but to relearn some of the virtues that all Christian communities need to sustain their communal lives. He offers a vision for the right and faithful roles of authority, stability, and loyal dissent in Christian communal life. The book deals with issues that transcend denominations and will appeal to all readers, both Catholic and Protestant, interested in sustaining Christian tradition and community over time.

Addresses the "Protestant dilemma" in ecclesiology: how to build lasting Christian community in a world of individualism and transience.

Introduction  
1\. The Protestant Dilemma  
The Permanent Principle of Reform  
The Nagging Dilemma of Undoing  
The Puzzle of Protestant Identity  
Hauerwas's Hunch  
2\. The Matter of Continuity  
Mennonites amid the Acids of Modernity  
Four Strategies: The Debate That Was "the Goshen School"  
Freedom and Discipline: Lessons from an Unruly Synthesis  
Continuity Anyway (or, Why Hauerwas Really Is Not Yoder but Nonetheless Is Right about Mennonite Community)  
3\. The Practice of Stability  
Mobility in Question  
Stability in the Rule of St. Benedict  
Replies to Objections  
Stability beyond Monastic Walls  
A Not-So-Innovative Postscript  
4\. Stability Writ Large  
"Participatory Hierarchy"  
Toward a Stable Narrative of Vatican II  
Stability under the Mantle of Aggiornamento  
Authority and Dissent in a Richer Theological Context  
Stability Strained but Holding  
5\. Stability in Hard Times: Loyal Dissent  
Obedience and Dissent: Three Archetypal Stories  
The Virtue That Catholics Struggle to Name  
Five Loyal Dissenters  
One More Story  
6\. Giving the Gift of Stability to a Globalizing World  
A Meditation on Globalization and Gaudium et spes  
A Long-Deferred Objection--Why Now?  
The Rationality of Traditions  
Bibliography

Schlabach, Gerald W.

Cover Page

Title Page

Copyright Page

Introduction

1. The Protestant Dilemma 

The Permanent Principle of Reform

The Nagging Dilemma of Undoing

The Puzzle of Protestant Identity

Hauerwas's Hunch

2. The Matter of Continuity 

Mennonites Amid the Acids of Modernity

Four Strategies: The Debate that was "the Goshen School"

Freedom and Discipline: Lessons from an Unruly Synthesis

Continuity Anyway (or, why Hauerwas Really is not Yoder but Nonetheless is Right about Mennonite Community)

3. The Practice of Stability

Mobility in Question

Stability in the Rule of St. Benedict

Replies to Objections

Stability beyond Monastic Walls

A Not-So-Innovative Postscript

4. Stability Writ Large

"Participatory Hierarchy"

Toward a Stable Narrative of Vatican II

Stability under the Mantle of Aggiornamento

Authority and Dissent in a Richer Theological Context

Stability Strained but Holding

5. Stability in Hard Times: Loyal Dissent

Obedience and Dissent: Three Archetypal Stories

The Virtue that Catholics Struggle to Name

Five Loyal Dissenters

One More Story

6. Giving the Gift of Stability to a Globalizing World 

A Meditation on Globalization and Gaudium et spes

A Long-Deferred Objection—Why Now?

The Rationality of Traditions

Notes

Bibliography

In this clearly written and insightful book, Gerald Schlabach addresses the"Protestant dilemma" in ecclesiology: how to build lasting Christian community in a world of individualism and transience. Schlabach, a former Mennonite who is now Catholic, seeks not to encourage readers to abandon Protestant churches but to relearn some of the virtues that all Christian communities need to sustain their communal lives. He offers a vision for the right and faithful roles of authority, stability, and loyal dissent in Christian communal life. The book deals with issues that transcend denominations and will appeal to all readers, both Catholic and Protestant, interested in sustaining Christian tradition and community over time.

Addresses the 'Protestant dilemma' in ecclesiology: how to build lasting Christian community in a world of individualism and transience. This title deals with issues that transcend denominations and is suitable for readers, both Catholic and Protestant, interested in sustaining Christian tradition and community over time.

In this clearly written and insightful book, Gerald Schlabach addresses the 'Protestant dilemma' in ecclesiology: how to build lasting Christian community in a world of individualism and transience. Schlabach, a former Mennonite who is now Catholic, seeks not to encourage readers to abandon Protestant churches but to relearn some of the virtues that all Christian communities need to sustain their communal lives. He offers a vision for the right and faithful roles of authority, stability, and loyal dissent in Christian communal life. The book deals with issues that transcend denominations and will appeal to all readers, both Catholic and Protestant, interested in sustaining Christian tradition and community over time.

Gerald W. Schlabach (PhD, University of Notre Dame) is associate professor of theology and director of the justice and peace studies program at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is the author or editor of several books.

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