Fides et Historia: Christian sources for the professional contributions of Donald G. Davis, Jr.

The faith commitments and historical impulses of Donald G. Davis, Jr., provide distinctive foundations for his contributions to the library profession. Convinced of the authenticity of core elements in the Christian message, he has sought to integrate faith into the circumstances of his life, a process complemented by a longitudinal perspective that informs current practice. Don has developed a highly personalized, well-defined theology that he has applied to academic librarianship, intellectual freedom, collection management, and teaching and research. One sees this theology worked out in his pronouncements on controversial topics and in his relationships with students and colleagues.

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The title of this essay underscores two passionate pursuits of Donald G. Davis, Jr. Fides et Historia, the journal published by the Conference on Faith and History (CFH), seeks to promote the "impact of Christian commitment on the study of history.... [It] explores the relationship between the Christian faith and historical studies as well as scholarly research that is informed by Christian faith commitments." (1) With fewer than one thousand subscribers and personal members combined, the journal and its parent organization constitute but two small markers on an increasingly diverse, multilayered, niche-based intellectual landscape. The focused researcher could easily overlook such a group, which would likely not be in the sight lines of a library educator, a scholar engaged in library and information science research, or even a historian of book culture or libraries.

One might learn of such an organization by surfing the Web, by following an endnote back home, or, more likely, through personal introduction by a colleague or friend. Not surprisingly, the Conference on Faith and History bears much resemblance in terms of size, structure, sociological features, and scholarly impulses to two other organizations with which the reader might be more familiar and with which Professor Davis is also affiliated: the ALA Library History Round Table and the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading, and Publishing (SHARP). All three groups facilitate and support historical reading, writing, and research, making effective use of interdisciplinary perspectives and providing scholarly homes for small but dynamic subcultures. Without examining membership rolls, one might safely conclude that Don Davis is the only individual active among all three and that his prodigious, world-renowned networking activities have enriched and enlivened their respective formal proceedings and informal conversations.

The first time I heard about the Conference on Faith and History was in a wide-ranging dialogue with Don on multiple topics, large and small, scholarly and personal. Some eight years later he and David Hovde and I presented papers for a CFH annual conference; these later appeared as Reading for Moral Progress. (2) In introducing David and me and a few others to this particular group Don was creating a sense of community, something that few academics or, in fact, few individuals do so well.

Faith Journey

Fides et Historia, faith and history, when fully understood in myriad expressions have become the substance of Don's life. Their impact, each on the other, is essential to knowing the man, his personal commitments, and his public achievements. Don grew up in a Baptist family, his father a minister but a most unusual minister for a Baptist, with a doctorate in church history from the University of Edinburgh and specialized callings in both music and education in Texas and California. Don's parents instilled in him basic Christian principles, high ethical standards, and a powerful Protestant work ethic.

The acts of inheriting a belief system or a coherent set of truth claims, if such claims would become more than merely an inheritance, if they would become authentic and internalized, often require painful transitions or an epiphany. Don experienced something of this nature as a distracted, exhausted, overly committed sophomore at UCLA. Serving in his church, working part-time, playing in the football band, competing for an ROTC appointment, and taking nineteen semester hours of coursework, he had clearly placed his health and sanity at risk. He cried out in desperation, giving himself unconditionally to God, and was washed over by a flood of relief and freedom. Encouraged and supported by like-minded Christians (including some in Intervarsity Christian Fellowship), Don restructured his priorities, making time for friends and family, for quiet reflection, and for ultimate realities. Thus began a lifelong journey on the road to spiritual transition, formation, and maturity. Don Davis writes that every human being experiences

 
  an undefined sense of unease, a growing void deep inside the soul, 
  that even the best of the intellectual, physical, and (even) spiritual 
  "good life" does not fill--that does not satisfy. One must be utterly 
  honest with oneself, admit defeat and failure to God, and allow God's 
  grace to heal the wounded spirit.... [In] ourselves we cannot exist in 
  self-sufficient independence. God alone can satisfy one's thirst for 
  the transcendent dimension, lasting peace, reconciliation, and 
  wholeness. (3) 

Core elements of the Christian faith as Don has articulated them are those that, both to the experienced and the uninitiated, seem to hold common appeal across denominations, sociological categories, and historical time periods. These feature an overwhelming belief in the sovereignty of God, a simple, explicit trust that the divine creator has the power to control life and death and to direct and lead specifics while accommodating free will in the lives of his children. Don regards this idea as the single most liberating principle of his life, one that eliminates fear and that facilitates and encourages risk. A second element is deep gratitude for the redemptive…