Last Thursday, I attended a wonderful conference at the University of Chicago called “Religion and Responsibility: Moral Reflection in a Global Age.” It was a two-day conference, but I decided to attend only the first day—specifically the first three lectures—because that was all the time I had.
The conference was sponsored by the Divinity School, and it was free. They had good coffee and even served a delicious lunch, which was also free, so I was very happy about that. The conference was held in honor of William Schweiker1, a theological ethics scholar, on the occasion of his becoming an emeritus professor.
The three lectures that I attended were: “Reasons and the Paradox of Rationality,” “Cacophonous Authority: Scripture as Resource in Theology and Ethics,” and “Tradition as Source of Moral Resilience.” Cacophonous means harsh, discordant, full of clashing sounds (or, metaphorically, conflicting voices or opinions)
I didn’t get much from the first one, “Reasons and the Paradox of Rationality,” because I couldn’t follow what the scholar was trying to explain. It seemed to me that the topic was complex, and he couldn’t develop his talk in a way that people could follow. At first, I thought it was just me, since I don’t have that level of intellect when surrounded by so many professors and PhDs. But I looked around and noticed that a lot of people were on their phones or getting more coffee just to stay awake, so I felt okay and realized I wasn’t the only one lost in the room. By the way, each talk was about an hour, and since this was the first one, it felt especially long.
Now, the other two speakers were excellent and made their subjects easy to understand. I took so many notes, and my mind was in a happy place as I reflected on what I heard.
The scholar who spoke on “Cacophonous Authority: Scripture as Resource in Theology and Ethics” used her personal experience of losing her baby and how the book of Job in the Bible helped her during the grieving process. She reminded the audience that she is still undone and still grieving—very understandable—and my heart broke as she began to describe her pain. Keep in mind that she is a devoted Christian, grieving within her faith framework, which is likely very different from how others in similar circumstances might cope with such a terrible loss. I certainly would not turn to the book of Job to deal with that kind of pain, but it was interesting to hear her explain that scripture contains a great deal of tension—tension that doesn’t always match people’s expectations. If we look closely at the complexity of the text, with all its disturbing, chaotic, and tragic scenes, we may come to understand something we have not yet seen or experienced. She highlighted examples of this by referencing Job’s loss in the opening chapters, Abraham being commanded by God to sacrifice Isaac, and Mary receiving the revelation that she would give birth to Jesus. She emphasized that we need to pay attention to the friction and catastrophe at the beginning of these stories—not just the happy endings—and understand how those moments shape our lives.
The lecture on “Tradition as Source of Moral Resilience” was fascinating. She said many things that interested me, but one point in particular stood out. She discussed the tradition of confession and forgiveness. Different denominations practice this either collectively or individually, but her point was that confession and forgiveness demonstrate how a person faces failure and takes responsibility. A moral person recognizes his or her faults and responds by confessing and asking for forgiveness, showing accountability for their actions. A person unwilling to take responsibility reveals a character flaw. How many people do we know today who refuse to admit fault or ask for forgiveness? Or worse, how many blame everyone else and never take responsibility themselves? Problematic, right?
A theme developed throughout these two lectures:
“We are to respect and enhance the integrity of life.”
Of course, when discussing scripture and tradition, that respect and enhancement are framed in relation to God. After all, most of the attendees were Christians. But the door was opened to the idea that this principle can extend beyond Christianity to other religions, faiths, and belief systems.
After the conference, I researched that theme and found the exact quote, which came from the person being honored, William Schweiker:
“In all our actions and relations, we are to respect and enhance the integrity of life before God.”2
Certainly, this should be true for all Christians, even if we don’t always see it reflected in the leaders of this country who call themselves Christians. But it made me wonder: how can we, as a society, live this out?
“In all our actions and relations, we are to respect and enhance the integrity of life.”
Maybe it begins with how we engage in conversations, make choices, form habits, and build relationships. It certainly means avoiding harm, exploitation, or diminishing life—our own or that of others. The end state should be the overall improvement of society and the environment, where everyone can flourish according to their abilities.
But as we witness the current conflict in the Middle East, there is no doubt that many actions and relationships today are not conducive to respecting and enhancing the integrity of life. This was on my mind as I listened to the lectures last week, wondering how we can move beyond such situations.
Then yesterday, I read the following from Cicero:
“But the chief thing in all public administration and public service is to avoid even the slightest suspicion of self-seeking.”
“No vice is more offensive than avarice, especially in those who hold positions of power. To exploit the state for selfish profit is not only immoral; it is criminal and disgraceful.”
Perhaps we begin to live up to this ideal when we choose to vote out self-seeking leaders who fail to respect and enhance the integrity of life. What do you think?
Thoughts about leadership, history, and more 
I’m with you. When he goes. The country can heal and work on being better. Sounds like a great conference!
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Indeed. Too much toxicity coming out of D.C. right now. The conference was very good, and I liked that they focused on the philosophical aspect, which was what I was looking for.
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First off everything is better with “good coffee and even served a delicious lunch” but after the first talk, kudos for staying. I thought the same thing reading the title. Thanks for the definition. Thank goodness for the saving grace of the next two talks.
What I love the most is how you make connections in your understanding and heart to give voice to what matters most which is summed up in you last line:
“Perhaps we begin to live up to this ideal when we choose to vote out self-seeking leaders who fail to respect and enhance the integrity of life”
Respect, understanding and integrity of life is paramount for change and having faith.
Thanks for another great post, Edward💕🙏🏼
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Thank you, Cindy, and blessed be the coffee that kept me awake during the first talk! 😀 It took two cups to do the trick. The other two speakers definitely saved the day. It was interesting to see their openness, because there are religions like Christianity that can be very inclusive, yet not always welcoming of other beliefs. These philosophers, even though they are Christians, understood that respecting each individual is important, regardless of their views. That was my takeaway from that day.
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I’m glad you had an opportunity to attend this conference Edward. The third lecture and your discussion of how we treat each other with respect and enhancement of life is sadly missing in our US leadership and much of the world. And too many of our leaders clearly serve themselves before the public they are elected to serve.
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Thank you, Brad. It’s definitely missing, and sadly, we can see that in both parties. It would be wonderful if both parties united in Congress to set term limits and remove big money from politics. That would be a great start to move our country in the right direction.
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Another compelling and thought-provoking piece, Edward. I’ve been to conferences where the speaker is less than stimulating and others where the speaker catches you with their first line and keeps you captive for hours. I was especially interested in the bit about confession and asking for forgiveness. I was raised Lutheran, and we had both public confession and private (not aloud to anyone, just in our own hearts and minds) during the holy communion service. My dad taught that apology is empty if the behaviour repeats. I believe the same about confession.
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Thank you, Terry. That particular speaker was Lutheran, so that makes sense. I’m with you on confession. Some kind of change or progress needs to be noticeable; if not, as your dad says, it’s just empty.
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This is such a thoughtful and deeply reflective piece. What stands out most is the honesty with which you’ve engaged the experience—not just reporting what was said, but noticing what landed and what didn’t. That moment where you realized you weren’t the only one lost in the first lecture adds a very human touch; it makes the whole experience feel real and relatable rather than intellectual for its own sake.
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I really appreciate your comment. It was a very interesting set of lectures, and I learned a lot from them.
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Very thought provoking. I’m so glad you went. As someone who was raised with Catholic guilt I often wondered how other religions and backgrounds deal with confession and the rights and wrongs in life. I know many who don’t confess and just pretend things never happened. That’s a whole different arm of humanity. Lol anyhoo – happy for you!
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Thank you, my friend. Your comment about those who don’t confess and just pretend things never happened reminded me of the documentary I just watched on Netflix about the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints called Trust Me: The False Prophet. They caught the guy with his hands in the cookie jar, and he was like, “Me? Never.” So infuriating.
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Sadly though these people hide behind the church. Don’t get me started with crimes in the Catholic Church. It’s infuriating. You’re so right.
Hope your week is off to a great start my friend!
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You got that right. 🤬 It’s been a very good week so far, and the weather is very nice—low 70s, which I like very much.
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A thoughtful and well-articulated reflection. The connection you draw between the concept of the “integrity of life” and personal as well as civic responsibility is especially compelling. Your emphasis on accountability and the role of ethical leadership provides a clear and relevant takeaway.👍
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Thank you very much, John. 🙏🏼
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🤝🎉
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Edward, I’ll come back to this but great post. Mike
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Thank you, Mike.
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as always, your breakdown and clarity of media is insightful and gives people a grounded sense of the material. to know about talks and programs like the one you attended gives me a lot of hope for the future – especially with the emergent theme of the integrity of life and how it must be protected.
I do agree that there is a need to re-assert these values in our modern day society. but i would also be interested in knowing how their antithetical values take root and eventually calcify as well. Mike
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Thank you very much, Mike. I’m also hopeful because I’ve seen a lot of young people interested in this subject. It’s kind of funny that you’re asking about how their antithetical values take root. I’m reading Think Again by Adam Grant, and he discusses the psychological concept of the ‘totalitarian ego,’ in which a person shuts out external input in order to preserve their belief system, even if it is the wrong one. He then says, “The inner dictator manages to prevail by activating an overconfidence cycle. First, our wrong opinions are shielded in filter bubbles, where we take pride in seeing only information that supports our convictions. Then our beliefs are sealed in echo chambers, where we hear only from people who intensify and validate them.” This could be an answer to your question. Besides, I think there are people who are just flat-out evil.
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👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
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Thank you, my friend. 🙏🏼
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It’ so cool to me Edward how you go to lengths to continue learning.
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I really appreciate your words, my friend. There is so much I don’t know, and that fact motivates me to find ways to learn new things.
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This sounds fascinating, Edward. Even with a graduate degree in theology, I’m often lost in such classes, but there are always parts that make sense. And the more I learn, the more that is open to me. You certainly got plenty for your time, and I appreciate you sharing it with us.
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Thank you, Mary. I learned a lot, and I’ll definitely be looking at more of their events. I was very impressed with the organization.
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