A World Without the Other
Volf discovers, in visiting the newly formed country of Croatia, that he could not just relax and enjoy the pleasure of being proud of his heritage. Instead, he discovers that having friends in Serbia and living in the United States somehow disqualified him: "I must be Croat through and through, or I was not a good Croat."
I think it is easy to see parallels to this struggle within the United States today. If you question a decision of the government, you're not being "patriotic;" if you call for an end to the presence of military personnel in Iraq, you're not "supporting the troops." We must be all for the country all the time, with no room for critical thinking or disagreement. We must be American through and through, or we are not good Americans.
Yet this type of thinking can only lead to a very narrow field of vision, and, in fact, leads down a dangerous path for everyone. What does it mean to be Croat through and through? What does it mean to be American through and through? How far back do you have to trace your ancestry in order to have the "right" blood? Where do you have to live? What do you have to believe? What kind of life experiences must you have in order to completely qualify? All of these are questions of identity, and are asked with the goal of creating the same identity, a suitable identity, for every single person.
I think it is fair to say that this is not what God intends. The sheer variety and difference among people around the world must be part of a creative Creator's intentions. Our effort to fit everyone into tidy little boxes is clearly at odds with God's work. And yet, we keep at it, seemingly unable to help ourselves. Only when we can begin to recognize that each person is fundamentally different than the next person, even the person you grew up with and know "everything" about, can we begin to break out of the trap of universality.
Social Arrangements, Social Agents
To this end, Volf examines three current options: 1) Universalism, 2) Communitarianism, 3) Postmodernism. All three options fall short, though, because they "share a common concentration on social arrangements." This concentration on structure instead of content misses the struggle that is at the heart of Volf's work. "Instead of reflecting on the kind of society we ought to create in order to accommodate individual or communal heterogeneity, I will explore what kind of selves we need to be in order to live in harmony with others."
This change in emphasis makes simple sense. We know that the only thing we can change in the world is how we act and react within the events taking place around us. We cannot force other people to change, at least not in ways that are healthy and appreciated, but we can choose to change ourselves. Focusing, therefore, on how we can change in order to live in harmony with others allows us to approach the difficulties of difference from a practical point of view.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Preface & Introduction, pages 9-16
Summary of the Preface
The preface of Volf's book is a powerful setting of the stage for the work to follow. His recounting of his own internal struggle when asked if he could embrace those responsible for the widespread devastation of his homeland is honest and clear. This is the question that he wrestled with, and that we will begin to wrestle with: "How does one remain loyal both to the demand of the oppressed for justice and to the gift of forgiveness that the Crucified offered to the perpetrators... The tension between the message of the cross and the world of violence presented itself to me as a conflict between the desire to follow the Crucified and the disinclination either simply to watch others be crucified or let myself be nailed to the cross."
Introduction: Images of Three Cities
The three cities Volf is referring to are Sarajevo, Berlin, and Los Angeles, which Volf says are "connected by a history of vicious cultural, ethnic, and racial strife." Of course, these cities are not alone in their strife, and these cities are not only centers of violence. But for Volf, they signify the widespread conflicts that arise around the world, and throughout time. These conflicts, taken at their most basic level, all come down to the fact that one person is different from another person, and that difference cannot or will not be tolerated. As Volf says at the end of this section, "the problem of ethnic and cultural conflicts is part of a larger problem of identity and otherness."
In theology, the term "other" is used to help us be aware of the fact that we are all different from each other, while all created in the Divine image. Even the person I know better than anyone else in the world is "other" than myself; I cannot know every thought in that person's head, every feeling in that person's heart, or every experience that person has ever had. If I cannot know these things about the person I am closest to, then it is clear I cannot know these things for any other person on the face of the earth.
As human beings, we tend to think that the people around us feel the same way we do about everything. Just think of a time when you have been surprised by someone else's opinion on a current event, or when you've seen a bumper sticked that shocked you and you wondered how someone could think that way. This tendency can become a serious problem if we do not constantly remind ourselves that each person on this earth is different, intentionally created that way by God. Using the term "other" is a very helpful way to keep that fact in our minds, especially as we consider what it means to "love our neighbor as ourselves."
The preface of Volf's book is a powerful setting of the stage for the work to follow. His recounting of his own internal struggle when asked if he could embrace those responsible for the widespread devastation of his homeland is honest and clear. This is the question that he wrestled with, and that we will begin to wrestle with: "How does one remain loyal both to the demand of the oppressed for justice and to the gift of forgiveness that the Crucified offered to the perpetrators... The tension between the message of the cross and the world of violence presented itself to me as a conflict between the desire to follow the Crucified and the disinclination either simply to watch others be crucified or let myself be nailed to the cross."
Introduction: Images of Three Cities
The three cities Volf is referring to are Sarajevo, Berlin, and Los Angeles, which Volf says are "connected by a history of vicious cultural, ethnic, and racial strife." Of course, these cities are not alone in their strife, and these cities are not only centers of violence. But for Volf, they signify the widespread conflicts that arise around the world, and throughout time. These conflicts, taken at their most basic level, all come down to the fact that one person is different from another person, and that difference cannot or will not be tolerated. As Volf says at the end of this section, "the problem of ethnic and cultural conflicts is part of a larger problem of identity and otherness."
In theology, the term "other" is used to help us be aware of the fact that we are all different from each other, while all created in the Divine image. Even the person I know better than anyone else in the world is "other" than myself; I cannot know every thought in that person's head, every feeling in that person's heart, or every experience that person has ever had. If I cannot know these things about the person I am closest to, then it is clear I cannot know these things for any other person on the face of the earth.
As human beings, we tend to think that the people around us feel the same way we do about everything. Just think of a time when you have been surprised by someone else's opinion on a current event, or when you've seen a bumper sticked that shocked you and you wondered how someone could think that way. This tendency can become a serious problem if we do not constantly remind ourselves that each person on this earth is different, intentionally created that way by God. Using the term "other" is a very helpful way to keep that fact in our minds, especially as we consider what it means to "love our neighbor as ourselves."
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Reading Schedule December through February
I'm trying to keep the readings manageable, so we'll stay below 10 pages a week. With that said, here's our schedule:
12/9 Pages 9-16 Preface; Introduction: Images of Three Cities
12/16 Pages 16-22 Introduction: A World Without the Other; Social Arrangements, Social Agents
12/23 Pages 22-31 Introduction: The Cross at the Center; The Scandal and the Promise; Themes and Steps
12/30 Pages 35-43 Chapter 1: Complicity; Departing...
1/6 Pages 43-50 Chapter 1: ...Without Leaving
1/13 Pages 50-55 Chapter 1: Culture, Catholicity, and Ecumenicity
1/20 Pages 57-64 Chapter 2: Exclusion; The Dubious Triumph of Inclusion
1/27 Pages 64-71 Chapter 2: Differentiation, Exclusion, Judgment; The Self and Its Center
2/3 Pages 72-79 Chapter 2: The Anatomy and Dynamics of Exclusion
2/10 Pages 79-85 Chapter 2: Contrived Innocence
2/17 Pages 86-92 Chapter 2: The Power of Exclusion
2/24 Pages 92-98 Chapter 2: Cain's Assault
12/9 Pages 9-16 Preface; Introduction: Images of Three Cities
12/16 Pages 16-22 Introduction: A World Without the Other; Social Arrangements, Social Agents
12/23 Pages 22-31 Introduction: The Cross at the Center; The Scandal and the Promise; Themes and Steps
12/30 Pages 35-43 Chapter 1: Complicity; Departing...
1/6 Pages 43-50 Chapter 1: ...Without Leaving
1/13 Pages 50-55 Chapter 1: Culture, Catholicity, and Ecumenicity
1/20 Pages 57-64 Chapter 2: Exclusion; The Dubious Triumph of Inclusion
1/27 Pages 64-71 Chapter 2: Differentiation, Exclusion, Judgment; The Self and Its Center
2/3 Pages 72-79 Chapter 2: The Anatomy and Dynamics of Exclusion
2/10 Pages 79-85 Chapter 2: Contrived Innocence
2/17 Pages 86-92 Chapter 2: The Power of Exclusion
2/24 Pages 92-98 Chapter 2: Cain's Assault
Our first book
No starting off slow here! We're going to start our theology reading with Exclusion and Embrace by Miroslav Volf, a book that was named one of the top 100 books of the 20th century by "Christianity Today." Volf was born in Osijek, Croatia in 1956, and his identity as a Croat informed his writing of this book. He is a professor of theology at Yale University Divinity School, and the author of several books and articles.
Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation tackles the hard question of what it means to be a Christian and forgive your enemy, especially if your enemy has done something that is unforgivable. This question is especially relevant now in the current atmosphere of fear and hatred of those who are different. Volf's wrestling with this question comes from his own experience of struggling with forgiving the Serbian fighters who tore his country apart. I think we have an amazing opportunity to "sit at his feet" as we read this book, and seek to deepen our understanding of forgiveness and reconciliation.
This is how we'll proceed: each week there will be a suggested number of pages for reading, which will be posted here and in the Sunday morning bulletin of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Clinton. I will summarize the pages at the beginning of the week, as well as post any thoughts or questions that come up because of the reading. If there are any terms that might be unfamiliar, I'll try to define them as a part of the summary. Then anyone can log onto this blog and add comments or questions. This way we'll be able to engage in some dialogue as we work our way through this book.
Happy reading!
Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation tackles the hard question of what it means to be a Christian and forgive your enemy, especially if your enemy has done something that is unforgivable. This question is especially relevant now in the current atmosphere of fear and hatred of those who are different. Volf's wrestling with this question comes from his own experience of struggling with forgiving the Serbian fighters who tore his country apart. I think we have an amazing opportunity to "sit at his feet" as we read this book, and seek to deepen our understanding of forgiveness and reconciliation.
This is how we'll proceed: each week there will be a suggested number of pages for reading, which will be posted here and in the Sunday morning bulletin of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Clinton. I will summarize the pages at the beginning of the week, as well as post any thoughts or questions that come up because of the reading. If there are any terms that might be unfamiliar, I'll try to define them as a part of the summary. Then anyone can log onto this blog and add comments or questions. This way we'll be able to engage in some dialogue as we work our way through this book.
Happy reading!
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