Public Faith Across the Divide / David French and Miroslav Volf

In this conversation, Miroslav Volf and David French discuss the politically and culturally polarized America; the resurgence of cultural struggle, if not outright culture war; seeing fundamentalist political religion on both the right and the left; forgiveness versus cancellation and how our view of human persons affects that public conversation; personal morality and social justice; and finally how political theology can make a difference now, the rest of this year (and it’s been a year), and the future of American life.

Show Notes

• David French, Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation
• Public faith in America’s current moment
• “The exhausted majority”
• Faith provides hope and pain
• Instrumentalisation of faith
• Americans are beginning to live “separate” lives
• Embracing pluralism
• Warning signs of culture war
• Fundamentalism tied to the culture struggle
• A gap in Christian instruction in how to interact with politics
• Internal virtues have significant political implications
• Christian faith and nationalism depend on each other
• Post-religious activism
• Confession of error as a sign of person growth
• The fear and anger cycle which alienates the church
• What kind of life does God have in minds for us?
• When allegiance is first to Jesus, our care for justice, mercy, and humility fall into alignment.