Archive for the ‘humility’ Category

A conversation had in the lobby of Oakwood Hall at MVNU . Some alterations may or may not exist toward the end of the conversation for the purposes of communicability:

Ryan Walker : Do you like the Decemberists?
Travis Keller : I don’t know. Are they post-rock instrumental?
Ryan (hereinafter called "Toast") : Have you ever listened to them?
Travis : Yes, I think so. But I have listened to many musical things so sometimes I cannot specifically recall who sings what and if it is good. Are they good?
Toast : Yeah. They’re good.
Travis : How do you know?
Toast : It’s an opinion.
Travis : So they really might not be good?
Toast : To some people.
Travis : So it’s just your perception and musical taste or flav’a that defines what is good? Then how can one know if anything is ever really good? What does it mean to be good anyway? For example. I loathe country music.
Toast : Yeah.
Travis : Country music is not good. Or is it? Who am I to think that I can authoritatively say what is good and what is not good? Maybe country music is good. Maybe all forms of music are good and I’m just too arrogant or self-absorbed to value the person(s) creating a certain type of music. What if all music is good and I simply don’t appreciate it?

What does it mean for something to be good?
What is goodness?

Please comment.

Peace to you:
A series offering peace to those who have dramatically effected my thinking and life.

Miroslav Volf.

Your book Free of Charge and the excerpts that I have read from Exclusion and Embrace have allowed me to think more clearly and humanly about giving and receiving rightly. It was good to be with you at Princeton where your responses to some problematic questions were articulated patiently with immense thoughtfulness. Your words are not marked by an agenda for the self but rather with respect and value for the other. Peace to you, Miroslav Volf.

Director, Yale Center for Faith and Culture
Henry B. Wright Professor of Systematic Theology

B.A., Evangelical-Theological Faculty, Zagreb
M.A., Fuller Theological Seminary
Dr. Theol., University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

Professor Volf’s recent books include Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace(2006), Archbishop of Canterbury Lenten book for 2006; Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation (1996), a winner of the 2002 Grawemeyer Award; and After Our Likeness: The Church as the Image of the Trinity (1998), winner of the Christianity Today book award. A member of the Episcopal Church in the U.S.A. and the Evangelical Church in Croatia, Professor Volf was involved in international ecumenical dialogues (for instance, with the Vatican Council for Promotion of Christian Unity) and interfaith dialogues (most recently in Christian-Muslim dialogue). A native of Croatia, he regularly teaches and lectures in Central and Eastern Europe.

Curriculum Vitae (PDF)

BOOKS CLICK HERE FOR ORDERING INFORMATION

The Sun Is Not Afraid of the Darkness: Theological Meditations on the Poetry of Aleksa Santic, 1986

Zukunft der Arbeit — Arbeit der Zukunft. Der Arbeitsbegriff bei Karl Marx und seine theologische Wertung, 1988

Work in the Spirit: Toward a Theology of Work, 1991

Gerechtigkeit, Geist und Schöpfung: Die Oxford-Erklärung zur Frage von Glaube und Wirtschaft 
(ed. with Hermann Sautter, 1992)

The Future of Theology: Essays in Honor of Jürgen Moltmann
(ed. with T. Kucharz and C. Krieg, 1996)

Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation, 1996

After Our Likeness: The Church as the Image of the Trinity, 1998

A Spacious Heart: Essays on Identity and Belonging
(with Judith M. Gundry-Volf, 1997)

A Passion for God’s Reign: Theology, Christian Learning, and the Christian Self
(ed., 1998)

Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace, 2005

…Travis.

That is what you can call me.

I was talking with some friends and family this week about the coming academic year and future doctoral plans. If I do proceed with a doctoral education I am currently most interested in post-reformation European history and pre-colonial, western church history. I have also considered work in psychology, sociology, and higher education. This year I will be finishing my graduate courses at NNU and also teaching an introductory course for freshmen students at MVNU.  A few comments were tossed up by some friends calling me "doctor" and "professor." It was all in good humor. They knew it would get under my skin 1) because I am neither a doctor nor a professor and 2) because if I were I would rather just be called Travis. That is who I am. I do not quite understand all the elitist titles that are meant to distinguish one person from another. While I have witnessed some Ph.D.s handle their achievements with humility I have seen others affected quite negatively by the possession of a "title."

Why do we classify people?

Can letters behind one’s name be used for good?

Do titles produce arrogance or humility?

Is it beneficial for a community to have a classification system?

I had the pleasure of meeting with Dan Merchant briefly this evening at the ACSD conference. Dan is the writer/director/producer of the documentary, “LORD, save us from your followers.” I also attended the viewing of the film. I was entertained, confronted, and reaffirmed all at the same time. I am definitely going to be purchasing the film and hosting a screening as a part of the film forum of Oakwood Hall. I will also be meeting with Dan hoping that he may visit our community at Mount Vernon Nazarene University.

The following trailer is somewhat vague and does not come close to providing a full representation of the movie. Please visit the website to watch more video clips and read more information.

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=ihvf4ClxLLA]

I was just browsing Shelfari and came across a member whose screen name is “nonconformist.” Isn’t it somewhat conformist to claim oneself as a nonconformist? There are enough people claiming the label of “nonconfirmist” that it is now conforming to do so. The pattern toward which conforming is really taking place is that of arrogance. There exists a certain connotation toward pride of self when one labels oneself as a person who does not “conform” as if everybody else does conform to some measurable standard or cultural norm. So to all self-proclaimed “nonconformists,” I say, “Quit conforming” to the patterns of this world.
May we seek humility.