ESN continues its series of interviews with authors of Faithful Is Successful, with Oliver Marjot interviewing David Vishanoff. You can read Oliver’s previous post on David’s chapter in Faithful Is Successful here. David Vishanoff is an associate professor in the Religious Studies program at the University of Oklahoma, where he strives to put his theory of sacrificial listening into practice in both teaching and scholarship.His research is principally concerned with how religious people interpret and conceptualize sacred texts—both their own, and those of other religious traditions. He lives in Norman, Oklahoma with his wife, their two teenagers, his parents, and his mother-in-law, in a large home that often welcomes students and friends from church.
1. Oli: What was it that drew you to studying non-Christian religions in the first place? Â And why Islam especially?
David: At my Christian college there was no course on world religions. But it seems to me that studying Christianity without studying other religions is not a complete Christian education: a vital part of following Jesus is understanding our neighbours, so that’s what I chose to do. In my experience, the Church is not very good at listening to others – it has enough people to be its mouth, but it needs to grow bigger ears. I wanted to be the Church’s ears. [Read more…] about Listening to our colleagues: Muslim, secular, Christian. Interview with David Vishanoff