The Johannine corpus is centered on two key theological themes: radical adherence and allegiance to Christ and mutual love within the community of God’s followers (“And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another” (1 John 3:23). For John radical Christocentrism and radical community are the two touchstones of fundamental Christian commitment and conviction. These convictions supersede and eclipse any other priority that might be placed upon the church by “the world.”
Interestingly enough, the marks of the Johannine corpus are good descriptors of the theological project of Stanley Hauerwas. Hauerwas’s whole project is centered on calling the church to radical allegiance to Christ over-against other loyalties and stimulating the church towards nurturing a vital common life as a community. As such, we could understand Hauerwas as a fundamentally Johannine theologian.
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