CPTJ Archive | Volume 11 – Essays on Humility
Title
Human from the Essence: Humility as a Uniquely Human Virtue
paul j. morrison
Abstract
Paul Morrison then takes up the question of whether or not God is humble. Through careful analysis of biblical texts and ethical visions, Morrison argues that, while Jesus takes on the posture of humility in the incarnation, humility is not a virtue that can be ascribed to the nature of God. Morrison defines humility as modesty or selflessness, which he understands to be the refusal to pursue glory for oneself. For Morrison, it follows that God is not humble in that God is the only being who can rightly pursue glory for himself, and so humility is not properly understood as a virtue inherent in the being of God. Morrison’s analysis takes us into the deep questions of the nature of humility and what it means for humans to humble ourselves.
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Paul J. Morrison (PhD, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is Assistant Professor of Ethics and Biblical Theology and the Provost of Emmaus Theological Seminary in Cleveland, OH. He is the Theologian in Residence at City Church in Cleveland Heights, OH. Paul is a member of the St. Peter Fellowship of the Center for Pastor Theologians.
