Homebrewed Christianity When Neighbors Turn on Neighbors with Miroslav Volf
The Instability Of Superiority
- Striving for superiority is an unstable way to secure self-worth in competitive modern life.
- This oscillation between pride and inferiority corrodes identity and fosters self-deception.
Group Identity Fuels Authoritarianism
- Authoritarianism and strong group identities fuel competitive striving for supremacy.
- What was once peripheral now shapes central global politics.
Achievement As An Idol
- Striving for superiority often functions as an idol that replaces trust in God's sustaining ground.
- Achievements are fleeting and leave both top and bottom socially fragile.
What happens when our obsession with being better than everyone else destroys both who we are and how we relate to each other? Dr. Miroslav Volf joins us to talk about his new book The Cost of Ambition and why America's comparison culture, achievement addiction, and hardening tribal identities are setting us up for something dangerous. Volf witnessed neighbors turn on neighbors during the Yugoslav wars, and he's seeing the warning signs again—right here, right now. We dive into how striving for superiority traps us in an unstable cycle of pride and inferiority, why our worth can't be based on achievement, and what it means to trust in our naked humanity as the site of God's gift rather than our endless performance metrics. From social media's algorithmic comparison engines to the terror of trusting Jesus to raise our kids, this conversation cuts deep into the spiritual crisis of modern life and points toward a different way—one grounded in the self-giving love of Christ rather than the desperate scramble to stay on top.
You can WATCH the conversation on YouTube
Dr. Miroslav Volf is the Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School and founding director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture. Born in Croatia, he lived through the Yugoslav wars—an experience that profoundly shaped his theological work on reconciliation, identity, and belonging. He is the author of numerous influential books including Exclusion and Embrace, Free of Charge, and his newest works The Cost of Ambition and Glimmerings (co-authored with poet Christian Wiman). Widely recognized as one of the world's most respected theologians, Volf's work bridges the academy and the church, helping Christians reflect on faith, public life, and what it means to follow Christ in fractured times.
You can listen to our previous conversation on the podcast here: Faith in the Public Square in the Era of Trump.
UPCOMING ONLINE LENT CLASS: Jesus in Galilee w/ John Dominic Crossan
What can we actually know about Jesus of Nazareth? And, what difference does it make?
This Lenten class begins where all of Dr. John Dominic Crossan's has work begins: with history. What was actually happening in Galilee in the 20s CE? What did Herod Antipas' transformation of the "Sea of Galilee" into the commercial "Sea of Tiberias" mean for peasant fishing communities? Why did Jesus emerge from John's baptism movement proclaiming God's Rule through parables—and what made that medium so perfectly suited to that message? Only by understanding what Jesus' parables meant then can we wrestle with what they might demand of us now.
The class is donation-based, including 0, so join, get info, and join up here.
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