I have a passion for human transformation, rooted in self-knowledge and self-criticism. Traveling to many Latin American countries during my business career, I learned a great deal about cultural diversity and the need for human solidarity. What does it mean to live in this world with each other (i.e., the meaning of the Other, which resonates with Emmanuel Levinas' "the face of the other," Paul Ricoeur's "inter-subjective narrative identity," and Jacques Derrida's "relationless relation")? How can we do theology in our thoughts and deeds, while moving pointedly away from individualism? And how can we read biblical stories with each other when we differ?
I foster and teach to engage in the knowledge of who we are in this world in which we see our diversity and differences. In my teaching, diversity is not a given but a source of critical engagement with each other. I value both a critical and self-critical stance toward any claim of knowledge, truth, and reality. I emphasize the following as pedagogical goals: learning from others, challenging one another, affirming who we are, and working for common humanity in differences. In my teaching, all in all, I communicate critical diversity and transformative identity in a variety of life contexts.
We all live in a harsh world. To a different degree, we experience marginality. I believe marginality is a creative space for transformation. There are three moments or attitudes which are conducive to human transformation:
"I am no-one" is an attitude that I am nothing before God. I am the dust (ʿāpār, Gen 2:7; hebel, Eccl 1:2)! We are the dust and need the grace of God. When you confess that "I am no-one," God would say you are not no-one.
"I am some-one" is a mode that I reclaim that I am. I am more than the dust. I am given the breath of life (nišmat ḥyym, Gen 2:7). I am the spirit. Nothing or no one can bring me down. I am that I am.
"I am some-one" is a mode that I reclaim that I am. I am more than the dust. I am given the breath of life (nišmat ḥyym, Gen 2:7). I am the spirit. Nothing or no one can bring me down. I am that I am.
"I am one-for-others" is a commitment that I have a moral duty to support others. I am a living being (nepeš, Gen 2:7) and find joy in living with them.
A good teacher satisfies students, a wonderful teacher teaches what they need, and an ideal teacher teaches them with love, helping them to teach themselves.
A good student follows the teacher's instruction, a remarkable student asks critical and self-critical questions, and a formidable student knows that learning is limitless.
A good student follows the teacher's instruction, a remarkable student asks critical and self-critical questions, and a formidable student knows that learning is limitless.
A good author satisfies readers, an admirable author stimulates their interest, and an exceptional author creates new needs for them.
