In this book, A Public Faith, Miroslav Volf calls for the followers of Christ in particular and every person on this planet earth in general for human flourishing. What is human flourishing? Many people in the West today define “a flourishing human life is an experientially satisfying human life” in other words experiencing satisfaction does not enhance flourishing but defines it (Volf 2011. Kindle Electronic Edition: Chapter 4, p.56). Volf presents the three shifts of the idea on human flourishing. The first was introduced by a fifth-century church father Augustine who defines a flourishing life as life centers on God who enables us to properly love and enjoy the love of God and neighbor. The second shift occurs in the “anthropocentric shift” which God is murdered signals the loss reference of the higher power to the notion of human flourishing (p.57). The third shift occurs in the late twentieth century in which human flourishing has lost universal solidarity, yet it is reduced to individual’s experience of satisfaction (p.59).
Volf argues that human flourishing is the central of whole religious system (p.64). The critical issue is our understanding of reality (I would like to call it illusional reality verses Reality). Volf demonstrates that our religious malfunctions of faith have hindered the work for human flourishing and common good. Volf says, “The Christian faith malfunctions when it is practiced as a mystical religion in which ascent is followed by a barren rather than creative return that has no positive purpose for the world but is merely an inevitable result of the inability of a flesh-and-blood human being to sustain unitive experience over time” (p.7).
Volf suggests the followers of Christ to adopt and practice what Nicholas Wolterstorff calls “reversing the direction of conformation” in which “Christian should re-describe the world anew with the help of the biblical story” (p.85). The biblical story of God’s acts in creation, redemption and restoration serves as our reality in re-picturing the world. In order to do this, we have to be aware acknowledge “cultural-linguistic compatibility” as well as “Christian readiness to listen and learn” (p.85). The followers of Christ are to share wisdom without manipulating others to embrace, however wisdom should be shared in love and forgiveness or in openness and hospitality.
Our challenge in our global context is of religious diversity. Again, Volf suggests to implement Wolterstorff’s idea of “consocial” that consists of two features (1) “it repudiates the quest for an independent source and it places no moral restraint on the use of religious reason” and (2) “it interprets the neutrality requirement, that the state be neutral with respect to the religious and other comprehensive perspectives present in society, as requiring impartiality rather than separation” (p.124). Volf also suggests “hermeneutical hospitality” in religious exchange in which he states “such hospitality will not necessarily lead to agreement in the interpretation of each other’s respective scriptures. And it will certainly not lead to overall agreement among different religious communities for the simple reason that they hold distinct – even if, in some cases, partly overlapping – texts as authority. But such hermeneutical exchanges of gifts will help people of faith to better understand their own and others’ sacred texts, to see each other as companions rather than combatants in the struggle for truth, to better respect each other’s humanness, and to practice beneficence toward one another” (p.135).
LYX
