Tokens

I am delighted to announce that our June 7, 2012 show—“Tales of Reconciliation”—will feature an interview with Professor Miroslav Volf of Yale Divinity School.  Volf is a highly respected theologian, with work in systematic theology, ethics, conflict resolution and peace-making.

I have used Volf’s Exclusion and Embrace (Abingdon, 1996) in my teaching:  a beautiful and haunting book about the scandal of the cross, which calls upon us to practice “double vision.”

He writes, “[W]e enlarge our thinking by letting the voices and perspectives of others, especially those with whom we may be in conflict, resonate within ourselves, by allowing them to help us see them, as well as ourselves, from their perspective, and if needed, readjust our perspectives as we take into account their perspectives”  (213).

Out of such a method, Volf contends that the cross of Jesus calls us first to “embrace,” to practice “welcoming.”  This basic posture Volf describes as “the will to give ourselves to others and to ‘welcome’ them, to readjust our identities to make space for them… prior to any judgment about others, except that of identifying them in their humanity.”

But this does not mean we can dispense with the task of seeking truth and justice.  We must maintain a struggle against “deception, injustice, and violence.”  But how?  How not to fall prey to purveying injustice in our pursuit of justice?  How not to decimate the truth in our struggle against deceit?

Hear Volf:  “within social contexts, truth and justice are unavailable outside of the will to embrace the other.”  And yet still, “the embrace itself—full reconciliation—cannot take place until the truth has been said and justice done” (29).

For more information on the June 7 show, see http://www.TokensShow.com/tickets.