Miroslav Volf, Work in the Spirit: Toward a Theology of Work. Wipf and Stock, 2001.
Referenced in: Missional Spirituality, Discipleship – Missional Spirituality of Work
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
Most Christian theologies of work are rooted in what is often called the “Great Creation” (Gen. 1:28), i.e. that we are placed here to steward the earth God created, and that vocation, or life calling, should be each person’s contribution to managing the earth’s resources for the good of the human community and to the glory of God. In this volume, Volf proposes a new paradigm, moving “from the vocational understanding of work developed within the framework of the doctrine of creation to a pneumatological one developed within the framework of the doctrine of the last things” (ix). Central to the pneumatological dimension is the “concept of charisma,” (ix), which in combination with last things, sees creation work in view of the eschatological new creation.
Volf divides his presentation into two sections. In the first section, he sets his theology in the context of the more popular views of work, mainly underscoring the deep existential dissatisfaction of the average worker due to conditions that dehumanize, discriminate, exploit, damage the environment, etc. He explores the capitalistic philosophies of Adam Smith, the “father of modern capitalism,” and Karl Marx, the revolutionary socialist. He believes both fail on the theological level, yet “there is no getting around the dominant philosophies of work in [the world’s] societies.”(46) Any theology, if it is to be practical, must emerge out of one or both of these philosophical contexts. Since the role of work is so foundational to both Smith and Marx, Volf analyzes their views on the purpose of work, the division of labor, and how both systems separate the worker from oneself, those served, and the goods and services produced.
In section two, Volf offers his theology of work, especially as it relates to eschatology. As one might expect, he rejects the annihilationist view of the eschaton, believing instead that the “new earth” will be redeemed and renewed in a way that is somewhat continuous with the current creation. Volf believes that one effect of annihilationism is the inherent devaluing of work as a temporal enterprise that fulfills one personally and contributes to one’s surrounding community. Work is thus only instrumentally valuable. An eschatological view elevates current work, both by believers and non-believers, as more intrinsically valuable, as contributions to God’s eventual goal of redeeming the whole creation. More specifically, it is part of the transformation of one’s place of life and work, the transformatio mundi. Volf explains:
The picture changes radically with the assumption that the world will end not in apocalyptic destruction but in eschatological transformation. Then the results of the cumulative work of human beings have intrinsic value and gain ultimate significance, for they are related to the eschatological new creation, not only indirectly through the faith and service they enable or sanctification they further, but also directly: the noble products of human ingenuity…will form the “building materials” from which (after they are transfigured) “the glorified world” will be made. (91)
He continues:
If [creation’s] destiny is eschatological transformation, then, in spite of the lack of explicit exegetical support, we must ascribe to human work inherent value, independent of its relation to the proclamation of the gospel. (93)
Also, as a pneumatology, Volf stresses the role of charisma or the gifts of the Spirit through which humans find and express their specific abilities that contribute to God’s design. He describes:
We can determine the relationship between calling and charisma in the following way: the general calling to enter the kingdom of God and to live in accordance with this kingdom that comes to a person through the preaching of the gospel becomes for the believer a call to bear the fruit of the Spirit, which should characterize all Christians, and, as they are placed in various situations, the calling to live in accordance with the kingdom branches out in the multiple gifts of the Spirit to each individual. (113)
This allows for a much more existentially meaningful view of work in the here and now. Work existed in the Edenic world, even before the Fall, and though still affected by the Fall, may be increasingly lifted above the mundane into a profound partnership with God and his redemptive work.
Volf is certainly helpful in elevating the value of work. He is disappointing in that he fails to take into account the fact that most humans are not able to work according to gifts, but according to job availability and financial need. Indeed, much of the “practical theology” of work in the New Testament assumes conditions that disallow the activation and fulfillment of spiritual gifts, but instead teach glorifying God in oppressive conditions (e.g. 1 Peter 2:18ff). In this respect, Volf may help one affirm the divine right for eternally valuable work, but does little to help persons understand how their work contributes to the eschaton when conditions do not allow them to express their charisms. His theology fits a fairly robust and privileged economic climate, but is not as helpful for other situations.
From the Publisher
Since the rise of modern industrial society, work has come to pervade and rule the lives of men and women. Although there have been many popular books and church documents on on the Christian understanding of work, this is the first scholarly effort to articulate a developed Protestant theology of work.
In Work in the Spirit, Miroslav Volf interprets work from a new perspective – in terms of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. He exhaustively explores the nature of work in both capitalist and socialist societies and considers a variety of work, including industrial, agricultural, medical, political, and artistic work. Examining the importance of alienation in work in industrial and information societies (particularly in the relation of workers to management and technology), he analyzes various forms of such alienation, and elucidates the character of humane work. On the basis of the “pneumatological” theology of work that he develops, Volf rejects the traditional Protestant understanding of work as vocation, and takes the concept of charisma as the cornerstone for his theological reflection on work. He denies that one is “called” to do a particular work irrespective of one’s inclinations, and asserts, instead, that it is our privilege to do the kind of work for which God’s spirit has gifted us. All human work done in accordance with the will of God, Volf argues, is cooperation with God in the preservation and transformation of the world.
About the Author
Miroslav Volf is the Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School and Director of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture. He has published and edited nine books and over 60 scholarly articles, including his book Exclusion and Embrace, which won the 2002 Grawemeyer Award in Religion.
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