For the Life of the World / Yale Center for Faith & Culture

Slavery did not end in the nineteenth century—it persists today, hidden in global supply chains, religious justifications, and systems of power. Kevin Bales and Michael Rota join Evan Rosa to explore modern slavery through history, psychology, and theology, asking why it remains so difficult to see and confront. “It’s time some person should see these calamities to their end.” (Thomas Clarkson, 1785) “There are millions of slaves in the world today.” (Kevin Bales, 2025) In this episode, they consider how conscience, power, and religious belief can either sustain enslavement or become forces for abolition. Together they discuss the psychology of slaveholding, faith’s complicity and resistance, Quaker abolitionism, modern debt bondage, ISIS and Yazidi slavery, and what meaningful action looks like today. https://freetheslaves.net/ –––––––––––––––––– Episode Highlights “There are millions of slaves in the world today.” “Statistics isn’t gonna do it. I need to actually show people things.” “They have sexual control. They can do what they like.” “Slavery is flowing into our lives hidden in the things we buy.” “We have to widen our sphere of concern.” –––––––––––––––––– About Kevin Bales Kevin Bales is a leading scholar and activist in the global fight against modern slavery. He is Professor of Contemporary Slavery at the University of Nottingham and co-founder of Free the Slaves, an international NGO dedicated to ending slavery worldwide. Bales has spent more than three decades researching forced labor, debt bondage, and human trafficking, combining academic rigor with on-the-ground investigation. His work has shaped international policy, influenced anti-slavery legislation, and brought global attention to forms of enslavement often dismissed as historical. He is the author of several influential books, including Disposable People and Friends of God, Slaves of Men, which examines the complex relationship between religion and slavery across history and into the present. Learn more and follow at [https://www.kevinbales.org](https://www.kevinbales.org/) and [https://www.freetheslaves.net](https://www.freetheslaves.net/) About Michael Rota Michael Rota is Professor of Philosophy at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, where he teaches and researches in the philosophy of religion, moral psychology, and the history of slavery and religion. His work spans scholarly articles on the definition of slavery, the moral psychology underlying social change and abolition, and the relevance of theological concepts to ethical life. Rota is co-author with Kevin Bales of *Friends of God, Slaves of Men: Religion and Slavery, Past and Present*, a comprehensive interdisciplinary study of how religions have both justified and resisted systems of enslaving human beings from antiquity to the present day. He is also the author of *Taking Pascal’s Wager: Faith, Evidence, and the Abundant Life*, an extended argument for the reasonableness and desirability of Christian commitment. In addition to his academic writing, he co-leads projects in philosophy and education and is co-founder of Personify, a platform exploring AI and student learning. Learn more and follow at his faculty profile and personal website [https://mikerota.wordpress.com](https://mikerota.wordpress.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) and on X/Twitter @mikerota. –––––––––––––––––– Helpful Links And Resources Disposable People by Kevin Bales https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520281820/disposable-people Friends of God, Slaves of Men by Kevin Bales and Michael Rota https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520383265/friends-of-god-slaves-of-men Free the Slaves [https://www.freetheslaves.net](https://www.freetheslaves.net/) Voices for Freedom [https://voicesforfreedom.org](https://voicesforfreedom.org/) International Justice Mission [https://www.ijm.org](https://www.ijm.org/) Talitha Kum [https://www.talithakum.info](https://www.talithakum.info/) –––––––––––––––––– Show Notes – Slavery named as a contemporary moral crisis obscured by twentieth-century abolition narratives – Kevin Bales’s encounter with anti-slavery leaflet in London, mid-1990s – “There are millions of slaves in the world today … I thought, look, that can’t be true because I don’t know that. I’m a professor. I should know that.” – Stories disrupting moral distance more powerfully than statistics – “There were three little stories inside, about three different types of enslavement … it put a hook in me like a fish and pulled me.” – United Nations documentation mostly ignored despite vast evidence – Decades of investigation into contemporary slavery – Fieldwork across five regions, five forms of enslavement – Kevin Bales’s book, Disposable People as embodied witness with concrete stories – “Statistics isn’t gonna do it. I need to actually show people things. There’s gonna be something that breaks hearts the way it did me when I was in the field.” – Psychological resistance to believing slavery touches ordinary life – Anti-Slavery International as original human rights organization founded in U.K. in 1839 – Quaker and Anglican foundations of abolitionist movements – Religion as both justification for slavery and engine of resistance – Call for renewed faith-based abolition today – Slavery and religion intertwined from early human cultures – Colonial expansion intensifying moral ambiguity – Columbus, Genoa, and enslavement following failed gold extraction – Spanish royal hesitation over legitimacy of slavery – Las Casas’s moral conversion after refusal of absolution – “He eventually realized this is totally wrong. What we are doing, we are destroying these people. And this is not what God wants us to be doing.” – Sepúlveda’s Aristotelian defense of hierarchy and profit – Moral debate without effective structural enforcement – Power described as intoxicating and deforming conscience – Hereditary debt bondage in Indian villages – Caste, ethnicity, and generational domination – Sexual violence as mechanism of absolute control – “They have sexual control. They can beat up the men, rape the women, steal the children. They can do pretty much what they like.” – Three-year liberation process rooted in trust, education, and collective refusal – Former slaves returning as teachers and organizers – Liberation compared to Plato’s allegory of the cave – Post-liberation vulnerability and risk of recapture – Power inverted in Christian teaching – “The disciples are arguing about who’s the greatest, and Jesus says, the greatest among you will be the slave of all… don’t use power to help yourself. Use it to serve.” – Psychological explanations for delayed abolition – The psychological phenomenon of “motivated reasoning” that shapes moral conclusions – “The conclusions we reach aren’t just shaped by the objective evidence the world provides. They’re shaped also by the internal desires and goals and motivations people have.” – Economic self-interest and social consensus sustaining injustice – Quaker abolition through relational, conscience-driven confrontation – First major religious body to forbid slaveholding – Boycotts of slave-produced goods and naval blockade of slave trade – Modern slavery as organized criminal enterprise – ISIS enslavement of Yazidi women – Religious reasoning weaponized for genocide – “They said, for religious reasons, we just need to eradicate this entire outfit.” – Online slave auctions and cultural eradication – Internal Islamic arguments for abolition – Restricting the permissible for the common good – Informing conscience as first step toward action – Community sustaining long-term resistance – Catholic religious sisters as leading global abolitionists – Hidden slavery embedded in everyday consumer goods – “There’s so much slavery flowing into our lives which is hidden… in our homes, our watches, our computers, the minerals, all this.” – Expanding moral imagination beyond immediate needs – “Your sphere of concern has to be wider… how do I start caring about something that I don’t see?” – “It’s time some person should see these calamities to their end.” (Thomas Clarkson, 1785) –––––––––––––––––– #ModernSlavery #FaithAndJustice #HumanDignity #Abolition #FreeTheSlaves Production Notes - This podcast featured Kevin Bales and Michael Rota - Edited and Produced by Evan Rosa - Hosted by Evan Rosa - Production Assistance by Noah Senthil - A Production of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School https://faith.yale.edu/about - Support For the Life of the World podcast by giving to the Yale Center for Faith & Culture: https://faith.yale.edu/give

“Our longings are much more powerful than our logic, and our desires are stronger than our reason.” (Graham Tomlin on the thought of Blaise Pascal) The Rt. Rev. Dr. Graham Tomlin (St. Mellitus College, the Centre for Cultural Witness) joins Evan Rosa for a sweeping exploration of Blaise Pascal—the 17th-century mathematician, scientist, philosopher, and theologian whose insights into human nature remain strikingly relevant. Tomlin traces Pascal’s life of brilliance and illness, his tension between scientific acclaim and radical devotion, and his deep engagement with Descartes, Montaigne, and Augustine. The conversation moves through Pascal’s analysis of self-deception, his critique of rationalism and skepticism, the transformative Night of Fire, his compassion for the poor, and the wager’s misunderstood meaning. Tomlin presents Pascal as a thinker who speaks directly to our distracted age, revealing a humanity marked by greatness, misery, and a desperate longing only grace can satisfy. This episode was made possible in part by the generous support of the Tyndale House Foundation. Visit tyndale.foundation to learn more. Episode Highlights * “Our longings are much more powerful than our logic, and our desires are stronger than our reason.” * “The greatness and the refuse of the universe—that’s what we are. We’re the greatest thing and also the worst thing.” * “If everybody knew what everybody else said about them, there would not be four friends left in the world.” * “Only grace can begin to turn that self-oriented nature around and implant in us a desire for God.” * “The reason you cannot believe is not because of your reason; it’s because of your passions.” Show Notes * Graham Tomlin introduces the Night of Fire and Pascal’s meditation on “the greatness of the human soul” * Evan Rosa frames Pascal as a figure of mystery, mechanics, faith, and modern technological influence. * Tomlin contrasts Pascal with Descartes and Montaigne—rationalism vs. skepticism—locating Pascal between their poles. * Pascal’s awareness of distraction, competition, and “all men naturally hate each other” surfaces early as a key anthropological insight. * Evan notes Nietzsche’s striking admiration: “his blood runs through my veins.” * Tomlin elaborates on Pascal’s lifelong tension between scientific achievement and spiritual devotion. * The story of the servant discovering the hidden Night of Fire parchment in Pascal’s coat lining is recounted. * Tomlin reads the core text: “Joy, joy, joy, tears of joy… Let me never be separated from him.” * Pascal’s distinction: “God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, not of the philosophers.” * Discussion of Jansenism, Augustinian anthropology, and the gravity of human fallenness. * Tomlin sets the philosophical context: Pascal as a counter to both rationalist optimism and skeptical relativism. * Pascal’s core tension—grandeur and misery—is presented as the interpretive key to human nature. * Quote emerges: “the greatness and the refuse of the universe—that’s what we are.” * Tomlin describes Pascal’s political skepticism and the idea that politics offers only “rules for a madhouse.” * Pascal’s diagnosis of self-deception: “If everybody knew what everybody else said about them, there would not be four friends left in the world.” * Evan raises questions about social hope; Tomlin answers with Pascal’s belief that only grace can break self-love. * They explore Pascal’s critique of distraction and the famous line: “the sole cause of man’s unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room.” * Tomlin ties this to contemporary digital distraction—“weapons of mass distraction”. * The conversation turns to the wager, reframed not as coercion but exposure: unbelief is driven by passions more than reasons. * Closing reflections highlight the apologetic project of the Pensées, Pascal’s brilliance, and his ongoing relevance. Helpful Links and References * Special thanks to the Center for Christian Witness and Seen and Unseen [https://www.seenandunseen.com/](https://www.seenandunseen.com/) * Blaise Pascal: The Man Who Made the Modern World, by Graham Tomlin [https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/graham-tomlin/blaise-pascal/9781399807661/](https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/graham-tomlin/blaise-pascal/9781399807661/) * Pensées, by Blaise Pascal [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/18269](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/18269) * Provincial Letters, by Blaise Pascal [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2407](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2407) * Why Being Yourself Is a Bad Idea, by Graham Tomlin [https://www.amazon.com/Why-Being-Yourself-Bad-Idea/dp/0281087097](https://www.amazon.com/Why-Being-Yourself-Bad-Idea/dp/0281087097) * Montaigne’s Essays [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3600](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3600) * Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23306](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23306) * Augustine’s Confessions [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3296](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3296) About Graham Tomlin Graham Tomlin is a British theologian, writer, and church leader. He is the former Bishop of Kensington (2015-2022) in the Church of England and now serves as Director of the Centre for Cultural Witness and President of St Mellitus College in London. He is widely known for connecting theology with cultural life and public imagination. Tomlin is the author of several books, including Looking Through the Cross, The Widening Circle, and Why Being Yourself Is a Bad Idea: And Other Countercultural Notions. His latest book is an intellectual and spiritual biography, Blaise Pascal: The Man Who Made the Modern World. Production Notes * This episode was made possible in part by the generous support of the Tyndale House Foundation * This podcast featured Graham Tomlin * Production Assistance by Emily Brookfield and Alexa Rollow * Edited and Produced by Evan Rosa * Hosted by Evan Rosa * A production of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School [https://faith.yale.edu/about](https://faith.yale.edu/about) * Support For the Life of the World by giving to the Yale Center for Faith & Culture: [https://faith.yale.edu/give](https://faith.yale.edu/give)

Living alone may be difficult, but what about dying alone? Physicians and nurses are the new priests accompanying people as they face death. But the experience of nursing homes, assisted living, and palliative wards are often some of the loneliest spaces in human culture. “He said, ‘Someone finally saw me. I’ve been in this hospital for 20 years and I didn’t think anyone ever saw me.’” This episode is part 5 of a series, SOLO, which explores the theological, moral, and psychological dimensions of loneliness, solitude, and being alone. In this episode, Columbia physician and medical ethicist Lydia Dugdale joins Macie Bridge to reflect on loneliness, solitude, and what it means to die—and live—well. Drawing from her clinical work in New York City and the years of research and experience that went into her book The Lost Art of Dying, Dugdale exposes a crisis of unrepresented patients dying alone, the loss of communal care, and medicine’s discomfort with mortality. She recalls the medieval Ars Moriendi tradition, where dying was intentionally communal, and explores how virtue and community sustain a good death. Together they discuss solitude as restorative rather than fearful, loneliness as a modern epidemic, and the sacred responsibility of seeing one another deeply. With stories from her patients and her own reflections on family, COVID isolation, and faith, Dugdale illuminates how medicine, mortality, and moral imagination converge on one truth: to die well, we must learn to live well … together. Helpful Links and Resources - The Lost Art of Dying: Reviving Forgotten Wisdom by Lydia S. Dugdale https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-lost-art-of-dying-ls-dugdale?variant=40081791942690 - Pew Research Center Study on Loneliness (2025) https://www.pewresearch.org/2025/01/16/emotional-well-being/ - Harvard Study of Adult Development on Loneliness https://www.adultdevelopmentstudy.org/ Episode Highlights 1. “If you want to die well, you have to live well.” 2. “Community doesn’t appear out of nowhere at the bedside.” 3. “He said, ‘Someone finally saw me. I’ve been in this hospital for 20 years and I didn’t think anyone ever saw me.’” 4. “We are social creatures. Human beings are meant to be in relationship.” 5. “Solitude, just like rest or Sabbath, is something all of us need.” About Lydia Dugdale Lydia S. Dugdale, MD, MAR is a physician and medical ethicist at Columbia University, where she serves as Professor of Medicine and Director of the Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. She is the author of The Lost Art of Dying: Reviving Forgotten Wisdom and a leading voice on virtue ethics, mortality, and human flourishing in medicine. Show Notes Loneliness, Solitude, and the City - New York’s “unrepresented” patients—those who have no one to make decisions for them. - The phenomenon of people “surrounded but unseen” in urban life. - “I have a loving family … but I never see them.” Medicine and the Pandemic - Loneliness intensified during COVID-19: patients dying alone under strict hospital restrictions. - Dugdale’s reflections on balancing social responsibility with human connection. - “We are social creatures. Human beings are meant to be in relationship.” Technology, Fear, and the Online Shadow Community - Post-pandemic isolation worsened by online echo chambers. - One in five adults reports loneliness—back to pre-pandemic levels. The Lost Art of Dying - Medieval Ars Moriendi: learning to die well by living well. - Virtue and community as the foundation for a good death. - “If you don’t want to die an impatient, bitter, despairing old fool, then you need to practice hope and patience and joy.” Modern Medicine’s Fear of Death - Physicians unpracticed—and afraid—to talk about mortality. - “Doctors themselves are afraid to talk about death.” - How palliative care both helps and distances doctors from mortality. Community and Mortality - The man who reconnected with his estranged children after reading The Lost Art of Dying. - “He said, ‘I want my kids there when I die.’” - Living well so that dying isn’t lonely. Programs of Connection and the Body of Christ - Volunteer models, day programs, and mutual care as small restorations of community. - “The more we commit to others, the more others commit back to us.” Solitude and the Human Spirit - Distinguishing solitude, loneliness, and social isolation. - Solitude as restorative and necessary: “All of us need solitude. It’s a kind of rest.” - The contemplative life as vital for engagement with the world. Death, Autonomy, and Community - The limits of “my death, my choice.” - The communal role in death: “We should have folks at our deathbeds.” - Medieval parish customs of accompanying the dying. Seeing and Being Seen - A patient long thought impossible to care for says, “Someone finally saw me.” - Seeing others deeply as moral and spiritual work. - “How can we see each other and connect in a meaningful way?” Production Notes - This podcast featured Lydia Dugdale - Interview by Macie Bridge - Edited and Produced by Evan Rosa - Hosted by Evan Rosa - Production Assistance by Alexa Rollow, Emily Brookfield, and Hope Chun - A Production of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School https://faith.yale.edu/about - Support For the Life of the World podcast by giving to the Yale Center for Faith & Culture: https://faith.yale.edu/give

Is technology the source or salve of social isolation? Given the realities of increasing division, the epidemic of loneliness, and unwanted isolation today, how should we think about the theological, ethical, and spiritual dimensions of the human experience of aloneness? “AI technologies aren’t capable of creating conditions in which grace can happen—it’s endemic to personhood.” This episode is part 3 of a 5-part series, SOLO, which explores the theological, moral, and psychological dimensions of loneliness, solitude, and being alone. In this episode, sociologist Felicia Wu Song joins Macie Bridge to discuss the sociology of solitude, loneliness, and isolation, framed by today’s most pressing technological challenges. Drawing from her work on digital culture and AI, Song distinguishes between isolation, loneliness, and generative solitude—what she calls “positive aloneness.” She explores how technology both connects and disconnects us, what’s lost when care becomes automated, and why the human face-to-face encounter remains vital for grace and dignity. Together they consider the allure of AI companionship, the “better-than-nothing” argument, and the church’s local, embodied role in a digitized age. Song invites listeners to rediscover curiosity, self-reflection, and the spiritual discipline of solitude as essential practices for recovering our humanity amid the noise of the crowd. Helpful Links and Resources * Felicia Wu Song, Restless Devices: Recovering Personhood, Presence, and Place in the Digital Age — [https://www.ivpress.com/restless-devices](https://www.ivpress.com/restless-devices) * Allison Pugh, The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World — [https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691240817/the-last-human-job](https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691240817/the-last-human-job) * David Whyte, “Solace: The Art of Asking the Beautiful Question” — [https://www.amazon.com/Solace-Art-Asking-Beautiful-Question/dp/1932887377](https://www.amazon.com/Solace-Art-Asking-Beautiful-Question/dp/1932887377) * Sherry Turkle, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other — [https://www.sherryturkle.com/alone-together](https://www.sherryturkle.com/alone-together) Episode Highlights 1. “Even though I study technology, I’m really interested in what it means to be human.” 2. “What happens when we have technologies that always bring the crowd? The crowd is always with us all the time.” 3. “Loneliness is the gap between what I think I should have and what I actually have.” 4. “AI technologies aren’t capable of creating conditions in which grace can happen—it’s endemic to personhood.” 5. “We should cut ourselves a lot of slack. Feeling lonely is very human. It doesn’t mean something’s wrong with me.” About Felicia Wu Song Felicia Wu Song is a sociologist, writer, and speaker, and was Professor of Sociology at Westmont College for many years. She is author of Restless Devices: Recovering Personhood, Presence, and Place in the Digital Age. Her research examines digital technology, culture, and Christian formation, exploring how contemporary media ecosystems shape our social and spiritual lives. Learn more about her work at [https://feliciawusong.com/](https://feliciawusong.com/) Show Notes Technology, Humanity, and Solitude * Song describes her sociological work at the intersection of culture, technology, and spirituality. * She reflects on how technology reshapes our sense of identity, community, and human meaning. * “Even though I study technology, I’m really interested in what it means to be human.” * The question of loneliness emerges from the expectation of constant accessibility and permanent connection. The Crowd Is Always With Us * “What happens when we have technologies that always bring the crowd?” * Song critiques how digital connectivity erases silence and solitude, making stillness feel uncomfortable. * Explores the challenge of practicing ancient spiritual disciplines like silence in the digital age. Connection and Disconnection * Song traces the historical celebration of communication technology’s power to transcend time and space. * Notes the danger of normalizing constant connectivity: “If you can do it, you should do it.” * Examines how connection can become a cultural norm that stigmatizes solitude. Defining Loneliness, Isolation, and Solitude * “Social isolation is objective; loneliness is subjective; solitude is generative.” * Distinguishes “positive aloneness” as a space for self-conversation and divine encounter. * References David Whyte and the Desert Fathers and Mothers as guides to solitude. Youth, Boredom, and the Portal of Loneliness * Discusses the value of “episodic loneliness” as a portal to self-discovery and spiritual growth. * Connects solitude to creativity and reflection through the “boredom literature.” AI, Care, and the Better-Than-Nothing Argument * Examines the emergence of AI chatbots and companionship tools. * Engages Allison Pugh’s critique of “the better-than-nothing argument.” * “It sounds altruistic, but it actually leads to deeper and deeper inequality.” * Raises justice and resource questions around replacing human teachers and therapists with chatbots. The Limits of Machine Grace * “AI technologies aren’t capable of creating conditions in which grace can happen—it’s endemic to personhood.” * Explores embodiment, dignity, and the irreplaceable value of human presence. * Critiques the assumption that “being seen” by a machine equates to being known by a person. AI, Divinity, and Projection * Notes human tendency to attribute divine or human qualities to machines. * References Sherry Turkle’s early studies on human-computer relationships. * “We are so relational that we’ll even take a clunky computer program and give it human-like qualities.” Faith, Solitude, and Social Conditions * Song emphasizes the sociological dimension: environments shape human flourishing. * “Let’s not make it so hard for people to experience solitude.” * Advocates for embodied, place-based communities as antidotes to digital disembodiment. Loneliness, Curiosity, and Grace * Encourages gentleness toward oneself in moments of loneliness. * “Feeling lonely is very human. It doesn’t mean something’s wrong with me.” * Promotes curiosity and acceptance as pathways to spiritual and personal growth. Production Notes * This podcast featured Felicia Wu Song * Edited and Produced by Evan Rosa * Hosted by Evan Rosa * Production Assistance by Hope Chun, Alexa Rollow, and Emily Brookfield * A Production of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School — [https://faith.yale.edu/about](https://faith.yale.edu/about) * Support For the Life of the World podcast by giving to the Yale Center for Faith & Culture — [https://faith.yale.edu/give](https://faith.yale.edu/give)

Theologian Miroslav Volf reflects on solitude, loneliness, and how being alone can reveal our humanity, selfhood, and relationship with God. This episode is part 1 of a 5-part series, SOLO, which explores the theological, moral, and psychological dimensions of loneliness, solitude, and being alone. “Solitude brings one back in touch with who one is—it’s how we stabilize ourselves so we know how to be ourselves with others.” Macie Bridge welcomes Miroslav for a conversation on solitude and being oneself—probing the difference between loneliness and aloneness, and the essential role of solitude in a flourishing Christian life. Reflecting on Genesis, the Incarnation, and the sensory life of faith, Volf considers how we can both embrace solitude and attend to the loneliness of others. He shares personal reflections on his mother’s daily prayer practice and how solitude grounded her in divine presence. Volf describes how solitude restores the self before God and others: “Nobody can be me instead of me.” It is possible, he suggests, that we can we rediscover the presence of God in every relationship—solitary or shared. Helpful Links and Resources * The Cost of Ambition: How Striving to Be Better Than Others Makes Us Worse [https://faith.yale.edu/resource-downloads/the-cost-of-ambition](https://faith.yale.edu/resource-downloads/the-cost-of-ambition) * Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2554](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2554) * Rainer Maria Rilke, Book of Hours (Buch der Stunden) [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/rainer-maria-rilke](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/rainer-maria-rilke) * Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Creation and Fall [https://www.harpercollins.com/products/creation-and-fall-dietrich-bonhoeffer](https://www.harpercollins.com/products/creation-and-fall-dietrich-bonhoeffer) Episode Highlights 1. “Nobody can be me instead of me. And since I must be me, to be me well, I need times with myself.” 2. “It’s not good, in almost a metaphysical sense, for us to be alone. We aren’t ourselves when we are simply alone.” 3. “Solitude brings one back in touch with who one is—it’s how we stabilize ourselves so we know how to be ourselves with others.” 4. “Our relationship to God is mediated by our relationships to others. To honor another is to honor God.” 5. “When we attend to the loneliness of others, in some ways we tend to our own loneliness.” Show Notes Solitude, Loneliness, and Flourishing * The difference between solitude (constructive aloneness) and loneliness (diminishment of self). * COVID-19 as an amplifier of solitude and loneliness. * Volf’s experience of being alone at Yale—productive solitude without loneliness. * Loneliness as “the absence of an affirming glance.” * Aloneness as essential for self-reflection and renewal before others. Humanity, Creation, and Relationship * Adam’s solitude in Genesis as an incomplete creation—“It is not good for man to be alone.” * Human beings as fundamentally social and political. * A newborn cannot flourish without touch and gaze—relational presence is constitutive of personhood. * Solitude and communion exist in dynamic tension; both must be rightly measured. Jesus’s Solitude and Human Responsibility * Jesus withdrawing to pray as a model of sacred solitude. * Solitude allows one to “return to oneself,” guarding against being lost in the crowd. * The danger of losing selfhood in relationships, “becoming echoes of the crowd.” God, Limits, and Others * Every other person as a God-given limit—“To honor another is to honor God.” * Violating others as transgressing divine boundaries. * True spirituality as respecting the space, limit, and presence of the other. Touch, Senses, and the Church * The sensory dimension of faith—seeing, touching, being seen. * Mary’s anointing of Jesus as embodied gospel. * Rilke’s “ripe seeing”: vision as invitation and affirmation. * The church as a site of embodied presence—touch, seeing, listening as acts of communion. The Fear of Violation and the Gift of Respect * Loneliness often born from fear of being violated rather than from lack of company. * Loving another includes honoring their limit and respecting their freedom. Practical Reflections on Loneliness * Questions Volf asks himself: “Do I dare to be alone? How do I draw strength when I feel lonely?” * The paradox of social connection in a digital age—teenagers side by side, “completely disconnected.” * Love as sheer presence—“By sheer being, having a loving attitude, I relieve another’s loneliness.” The Spiritual Discipline of Solitude * Volf’s mother’s daily hour of morning prayer—learning to hear God’s voice like Samuel. * Solitude as the ground for transformation: narrating oneself before God. * “Nobody can die in my place… nobody can live my life in my place.” * Solitude as preparation for love and life in community. About Miroslav Volf Miroslav Volf is the Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School and Founding Director of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture. He is the author of Exclusion and Embrace, Flourishing: Why We Need Religion in a Globalized World, and numerous works on theology, culture, and human flourishing—most recently The Cost of Ambition: How Striving to Be Better Than Others Makes Us Worse. Production Notes - This podcast featured Miroslav Volf - Interview by Macie Bridge - Edited and Produced by Evan Rosa - Production Assistance by Alexa Rollow, Emily Brookfield, and Hope Chun - A Production of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School https://faith.yale.edu/about - Support For the Life of the World podcast by giving to the Yale Center for Faith & Culture: https://faith.yale.edu/give

“The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” Theologian R. Kendall Soulen joins Drew Collins to discuss supersessionism, the name of God (tetragrammaton), the irrevocable covenant between God and the Jews, and the enduring significance of Judaism for Christian theology. Together they explore religious and ethnic heritage, cultural identity, community, covenant, interfaith dialogue, and the ongoing implications for Christian theology and practice. They also reflect on how the Holocaust forced Christians to confront theological assumptions, how Vatican II and subsequent church statements reshaped doctrine, and why the gifts and calling of God remain irrevocable. Soulen challenges traditional readings of Scripture that erase Israel, insisting instead on a post-supersessionist framework where Jews and Gentiles bear distinct but inseparable witness to God’s faithfulness. Image Credit Marc Chagall, ”Moses with the Burning Bush”, 1966 This episode was made possible in part by the generous support of the Tyndale House Foundation. Visit tyndale.foundation to learn more. Episode Highlights * “The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” * “Supersessionism is the Christian belief that the Jews are no longer God’s people.” * “The Lord is God—those words preserve God’s identity and resist erasure.” * “Israel sinned. They are still Israel. That identity is irrevocable.” * “The gospel doesn’t erase the distinction between Jews and Gentiles; it reconfigures it.” About R. Kendall Soulen R. Kendall Soulen is Professor of Systematic Theology at Candler School of Theology, Emory University. A leading voice in post-supersessionist Christian theology, he has written extensively on the relationship between Christianity and Judaism, including The God of Israel and Christian Theology and Irrevocable: The Name of God and the Christian Bible. Helpful Links and Resources * R. Kendall Soulen, Irrevocable: The Name of God and the Christian Bible — [https://www.amazon.com/Irrevocable-Name-Unity-Christian-Bible/dp/B0DNWGYYK5](https://www.amazon.com/Irrevocable-Name-Unity-Christian-Bible/dp/B0DNWGYYK5) * R. Kendall Soulen, The God of Israel and Christian Theology — [https://www.amazon.com/God-Israel-Christian-Theology/dp/0800628837](https://www.amazon.com/God-Israel-Christian-Theology/dp/0800628837) * Vatican II, Nostra Aetate — [https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651028_nostra-aetate_en.html](https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651028_nostra-aetate_en.html) * Michael Wyschogrod, The Body of Faith: God in the People Israel — [https://www.amazon.com/Body-Faith-God-People-Israel/dp/1568219105](https://www.amazon.com/Body-Faith-God-People-Israel/dp/1568219105) * Drew Collins, The Unique and Universal Christ — [https://www.baylorpress.com/9781481315494/the-unique-and-universal-christ/](https://www.baylorpress.com/9781481315494/the-unique-and-universal-christ/) Show Notes * R. Kendall Soulen’s formative encounters with Judaism at Yale and influence of Hans Frei and Michael Wyschogrod * Romans 9–11 as central to understanding Christianity’s relationship with Judaism * Supersessionism defined as denying Israel’s ongoing covenant with God * Impact of the Holocaust and World War II on Christian theology * Vatican II’s Nostra Aetate affirming God’s covenant with Israel remains intact * Over a billion Christians now belong to churches rejecting supersessionism * Soulen’s early work The God of Israel and Christian Theology diagnosing supersessionism in canonical narrative * Discovery of the divine name’s centrality in Scripture and its neglect in Christian interpretation * Jesus’s reverence for God’s name shaping Christian prayer and theology * Proper names as resistance to instrumentalization and fungibility * Jewish and Gentile identities as distinct yet united in Christ * Dialogue with Judaism as essential for Christian self-understanding * Post-supersessionist theology reshaping interfaith relations and Christian identity * Implications for law observance, Christian Seders, and Jewish-Gentile church life * Abrahamic faiths and typology: getting Christianity and Judaism right as foundation for interreligious dialogue Production Notes * This episode was made possible by the generous support of the Tyndale House Foundation * This podcast featured R. Kendall Soulen * Edited and Produced by Evan Rosa * Hosted by Evan Rosa * Production Assistance by Alexa Rollow and Emily Brookfield * A Production of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School [https://faith.yale.edu/about](https://faith.yale.edu/about) * Support For the Life of the World podcast by giving to the Yale Center for Faith & Culture: [https://faith.yale.edu/give](https://faith.yale.edu/give)

The Gospel of John is a gospel of superabundance. The cosmic Christ made incarnate would of course yield an absolute superabundance of grace, love, and unity. What makes John’s Gospel so distinct from the Synoptics? Why does it continue to draw readers into inexhaustible depths of meaning? In this conversation, theologian David Ford reflects on his two-decade journey writing a commentary on John. Together with Drew Collins, he explores John’s unique blend of theology, history, and literary artistry, describing it as a “gospel of superabundance” that continually invites readers to trust, to reread, and to enter into deeper life with Christ. Together they explore themes of individuality and community; friendship and love; truth, reconciliation, and unity; the tandem vision of Jesus as both cosmic and intimate; Jesus’s climactic prayer for unity in chapter 17. And ultimately the astonishing superabundance available in the person of Christ. Along the way, Ford reflects on his interfaith reading practices, his theological friendships, and the vital role of truth and love for Christian witness today. “There’s always more in John’s gospel … these big images of light and life in all its abundance.” This episode was made possible in part by the generous support of the Tyndale House Foundation. Visit tyndale.foundation to learn more. Episode Highlights “It is a gospel for beginners. But also it’s endlessly rich, endlessly deep.” “There’s always more in John’s gospel and he has these big images of light and, life in all its abundance.” “It all culminates in love. Father, I desire that those also you, whom you have given me, may be with me.” “On the cross, evil, suffering, sin, death happened to Jesus. But Jesus happens to evil, suffering, sin, death.” “We have to go deeper into God and Jesus, deeper into community, and deeper into the world.” Show Notes David Ford on writing a commentary on John over two decades John’s Gospel compared to the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) John as theological history writing (Rudolf Schnackenburg) John’s purpose statement in chapter 20: written so that you may trust “A gospel for beginners” with simple language and cosmic depth John as a gospel of superabundance: light, life, Spirit without measure John’s focus on individuals: Nicodemus, Samaritan woman, man born blind, Martha, Mary, Lazarus The Beloved Disciple and John’s communal authorship Friendship, love, and unity in the Farewell Discourses (John 13–17) John 17 as the most profound chapter in Scripture The crisis of rewriting: scrapping 15 years of writing to begin anew Scriptural reasoning with Jews, Muslims, and Christians on John’s Gospel Wrestling with John 8 and the polemics against “the Jews” Reconciliation across divisions John’s vision of discipleship: learning, loving, praying, and living truth Helpful Links and Resources David Ford, The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary Rudolf Schnackenburg, The Gospel According to St. John About David Ford David F. Ford is Regius Professor of Divinity Emeritus at the University of Cambridge. He has written extensively on Christian theology, interfaith engagement, and scriptural reasoning. His most recent work is The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary (Baker Academic, 2021). Ford is co-founder of the Cambridge Interfaith Programme and the Rose Castle Foundation. Production Notes This podcast featured David Ford Interview by Drew Collins Edited and Produced by Evan Rosa Hosted by Evan Rosa Production Assistance by Macie Bridge, Alexa Rollow, and Emily Brookfield A Production of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School [https://faith.yale.edu/about](https://faith.yale.edu/about) Support For the Life of the World podcast by giving to the Yale Center for Faith & Culture: [https://faith.yale.edu/give](https://faith.yale.edu/give) This episode was made possible in part by the generous support of the Tyndale House Foundation. For more information visit Tyndale.foundation.