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Yale Scholar to Deliver Religion Lecture at FSC


By Cary McMullen
LEDGER RELIGION EDITOR

Published: Thursday, February 28, 2008 at 5:17 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, February 28, 2008 at 6:36 a.m.

In November 2007, a letter signed by dozens of Christian leaders was published in a full-page advertisement in The New York Times. Titled "Loving God and Neighbor Together," it was a response to a document distributed a few months earlier by leading Muslim scholars who were seeking common ground with Christians.

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One of the drafters of the letter, professor Miroslav Volf of Yale Divinity School, will give the Warren W. Willis Lecture on Religion on Friday at Florida Southern College on the topic "Muslims and Christians on Loving God and Neighbor." Volf, professor of systematic theology and director of the Center for Faith and Culture at Yale, is known for his studies on reconciliation and dialogue between religions and cultures.

The lecture will be at 9 a.m. in the Hollis Room at FSC, with discussion to follow. The discussion will continue after lunch until 1:15 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. During the lunch break, from 11:15 a.m. to noon, the school's Water Dome fountain will be turned on.

Volf is a native of Croatia who grew up under the communist regime in Yugoslavia. He is the author of several books, including "Exclusion and Embrace" and "After Our Likeness," which have won awards from both liberal and evangelical Christian organizations.

Volf was invited to speak at FSC by Waite Willis, professor of religion at FSC, who shares a common interest with Volf in the theology of German theologian Jürgen Moltmann. .

The letter in the Times was criticized by some evangelicals for not being sufficiently Christian in its expressions of faith. But Willis said Volf's interests in reconciliation stem from Moltmann's view of the nature of God as a trinity, a specifically Christian doctrine.

"Some would say by staying close to Christian doctrine, it narrows down your scope. But Moltmann says if you're a Trinitarian Christian and hold close to the cross of Jesus, the more inclusive your vision is. In the cross, God reaches out to the ungodly and even to God's enemies," Willis said.

Volf's homeland in the Balkan peninsula has been the scene of recent unrest.

The former Serbian province of Kosovo, which is predominantly Muslim, recently declared its independence, and rioters burned a United States embassy in response, claiming that American policies favored Kosovar independence.

[ Cary McMullen can be reached at cary.mcmullen@theledger.com or 863-802-7509. His blog, Scriptorium: A Religion Panorama, can be read at religion.theledger.com. ]


This story appeared in print on page B1

Comments

  1. Wowza says...
    February 28, 2008 6:43:14 am

    RE: Read the article
    There are some good reasons why evangelicals were critical of the "letter," Cary.

    Here are a few examples/responses:
    Link 1
    Link 2
    Link 3

  2. gstein2 says...
    February 28, 2008 11:11:35 am

    I highly recommend this lecture to the general public; it should provide for some fruitful discussion and vigorous exchange of ideas, which is exactly what should happen in an academic atmosphere.

    Perhaps some of the local evangelicals who objected to the letter will attend the lecture. They should.

  3. Millrock42 says...
    February 28, 2008 1:07:31 pm

    Excellent idea GStien. For some people to be so closed minded and to choose to remain that way is nothing more than a path to stagnation. And once stagnant those same people critisize, comlain and comdemn those with broader views. It's sad really, to know that those stanate people will die bitter and lonely people.

  4. Millrock42 says...
    February 28, 2008 3:30:07 pm

    Wow. I expected more of a community response to this thread. What happened?

  5. crush says...
    February 28, 2008 3:37:22 pm

    Sounds very interesting. I wonder if the earth is flat people will be there.

  6. Millrock42 says...
    February 28, 2008 3:42:36 pm

    Don't know about that Crush. But I'd bet there won't be any 6000 year folks there.

  7. gstein2 says...
    February 28, 2008 3:49:09 pm

    So did I, Mill. The subject matter seems perfect for plenty of responses.

  8. Gyotaku says...
    February 28, 2008 3:51:13 pm

    First, as a Christian I see no commonality. The muslim god is not the same God of Christianity. Jesus cannot even be compared to mohamed. There is no correlation. mohammed was a man. Jesus is God.

  9. Gyotaku says...
    February 28, 2008 3:53:04 pm

    Doubtful. Many in attendance welcome a one world religion would be my guess.

  10. gstein2 says...
    February 28, 2008 4:47:53 pm

    Incorrect assumption, Gyo. You should go to the lecture; it might open your mind and heart to different possibilities that wouldn't necessarily threaten your faith. It's also disingenuous to suggest that those who see the similarities between Christianity and Islam (and they ARE there--Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are all Abrahamic faiths) must want "a one world religion." I don't even know what that means. Would it be the worst thing in the world to unite together across faiths rather than perpetuate divisions, rifts, and misunderstanding? Lectures such as these provide not-to-be-missed opportunities to learn and engage new ideas. Being open to different ideas and possibilities can change your entire outlook.

    That's a good thing.