Hey everybody! Today I am giddy! I am thrilled to be able to have Dr. Miroslav Volf as a guest today. He is probably one of my favorite living theologians. I think you will enjoy this week’s episode as we explore his book Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation.
Miroslav Volf is the Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School and is the Founder and Director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture. He was educated in his native Croatia, the United States, and Germany, earning doctoral and post-doctoral degrees (with highest honors) from the University of Tübingen, Germany.
He has written or edited more than 20 books, over 100 scholarly articles, and his work has been featured in the Washington Post, Christianity Today, Christian Century, Sojourners, and several other outlets, including NPR’s Speaking of Faith(now On Being with Krista Tippett) and Public Television’s Religion and Ethics Newsweekly.
Some of his most significant books include:
- Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation (1996; revised edition, 2019), translated in 9 other languages, winner of the Grawemeyer Award in Religion, and one of Christianity Today’s 100 most important religious books of the 20th century
- Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace (2006), which was the Archbishop of Canterbury Lenten book for 2006
- Allah: A Christian Response (2011), on whether Muslims and Christians have a common God
- After Our Likeness: The Church as the Image of the Trinity (1998), winner of the Christianity Today Book Award
- A Public Faith: How Followers of Christ Should Serve the Common Good (2011)
- The End of Memory: Remembering Rightly in a Violent World (2006; revised edition, 2020), winner of the Christianity Today Book Award
- Flourishing: Why We Need Religion in a Globalized World (2016)
- For the Life of the World: Theology that Makes a Difference (2019), his most recent book, co-authored with Matthew Croasmun
Prior to his appointment at Yale Divinity School in 1998, he taught at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Osijek, Croatia (1979–80 and 1983–90) and Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California (1990–1998).
A member of the Episcopal Church in the U.S.A. and the Evangelical Church in Croatia, Professor Volf has been involved in international ecumenical dialogues (for instance, with the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity) and interfaith dialogues (on the executive board of C-1 World Dialogue), and is active participant in the Global Agenda Council on Values of the World Economic Forum.
Miroslav regularly teaches and lectures in Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, and across North America. He has given over 30 prestigious lectureships at universities around the world, including Harvard University; Oxford University; Stockholm School of Theology; Duke University; Calvin University, University of Birmingham.
Recommended Resources:
- For the Life of the World Podcast
- Episode 105: The Emergence of Sin, and Interview with Matthew Croasmun
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Debbie and I serve as the FMI Global Associate Director for MENACA and Europe. We focus on cultivating disciples, leaders, and church planting movements.
