William Stringfellow: The Christian Witness Against Death

What is it about?

William Stringfellow (April 26, 1928-March 2, 1985) was a theologian, an advocate for social reform, and an Episcopal layman. He practiced law in New York City and Rhode Island. He supported a variety of activist causes. He survived a serious illness and radical surgery, and subsequently reflected on his "second birthday." He was charged with harboring Daniel Berrigan as a fugitive after Berrigan's conviction for burning draft records to protest the war in Vietnam. He supported James Pike, a controversial Episcopal bishop whose orthodoxy was questioned, and he was an advisor to the first women priests in the Episcopal Church after their irregular ordination. In his theology and his advocacy Stringfellow identified the power of death in its many forms (personal and social) that threaten to diminish humanity through fear, intimidation, bigotry, greed, hate or anything less than God that would become a "ruling idol" in human hearts. This essay provides an overview of Stringfellow's life against death in the context of his personal history as well as key themes and images in his writing.

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Why is it important?

The Christian witness against death was the central concern in Stringellow's theology and life. He identified and unmasked the guises of death in the world. He believed in the victory of life over death in resurrection, and he eagerly anticipated its fulfillment in this world. Stringellow called on the church to claim and share the victory of life over death, and called Christians to participate in Christ's victory by resisting the power of death in their lives and in the world.