Raboteau begins his 2009 Capps Lecture at UVA by citing a short story by Flannery O’Connor to introduce the topic of a spiritual epiphany generated by the mundane. He goes on to discuss a class he teaches on locating the sacred in the ordinary in literature. Raboteau then connects his own life experiences and religious sensibilities with theological questions raised by passages from the works of various authors, including William Faulkner and James Baldwin.
Excerpt: “I remain convinced that if we listen to the stories of others we will be intrigued by the drama of their lives, moved by their poignancy, and finally, surprised at the common humanity that lies beneath their distinctive details. In the end, what we hold in common is a set of shared stories. If we seek commonality, we will discover it in the telling and listening to each other‘s stories, confident that an adequate history of the various races, ethnicities, and religions that came to dwell in this land will reflect our continually expanding American identity.”
Albert J. Raboteau passed away on Sept. 18, 2021. Read his New York Times obituary (Oct. 13, 2021) to learn more about this amazing scholar: www.nytimes.com/2021/10/13/books/albert-j-raboteau-dead.html