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!
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