Catechism: How do we ‘know’?
11 days left in 19th grade. More than enough to do, less than enough inclination to be diligent about it. Unfortunately, being interested in what I am reading does not necessarily translate into being efficient. More often the reverse. It is against both my religion and my personal nature to compartmentalize anything, and the more I am affected by whatever I am reading, remembering, hearing, or seeing, the more likely I am to spin off on tangents and mull over them for eons. I am focusing, really, just on several things other than page 93. (What follows is highly relevant to Christian Ethics, I promise. And the New Testament, Global Economics, and Strategic Management of Non-Profit Organizations, at least indirectly.)
Seminary has given me many ideas and opinions, some answers (or at least articulate statements about my ‘working theology’), and lots of new questions. It has been a process of un-learning and reconsidering as much as anything. Enduring, becoming, being refined. The more I study, the more I become aware of how much responsibility one has as a minister and scholar. We’re not just dealing in ideas here. Many different people contributed to the traditions that formed me (for better or worse). How I think, speak, write, and live will in turn influence the people in my life in ways that I cannot foresee or control. It’s daunting and makes me more than a little uncomfortable.
Where do our notions about ‘how things are’ come from, and how (by what influences) do they change? How does one distinguish between learning and indoctrination? What is the purpose of knowing, and how does knowing relate to being and doing?
How can one know one’s mind and speak one’s mind without being afraid to change one’s mind? How to maintain a healthy degree of humility about convictions of faith and worldview without falling off into relativism? How to be confident without being inflexible? How to be principled without being judgmental? How to be uncertain, conflicted, or in process without using ambiguity as an excuse for thoughtlessness or inaction? How does one honorably represent one’s thoughts while being hospitable to someone else’s?
How can I get better at asking the right sorts of questions in conversation so that I both make space for someone to speak on their own terms and help them think about things in a way they haven’t before? Am I too quick to interject with ‘answers’ rather than listening and responding thoughtfully? When to just listen and acknowledge what has been said? How can I learn to see people for who they are and appreciate them as-is, accepting frustrations and disappointments, expecting that people will surprise me, giving people freedom to change? How well do I allow people to know me?
Whatever I don’t know, about knowing or anything else, I do know that the learning process is fundamental to being, becoming, and remaining fully human. And the fully human life is not a spectator sport. Whether or not we have a clear sense of direction at any given time, we are all actors and every role is important. Knowledge of God, of people, of information, ideas, and skills are all interrelated and should infuse and transform how we play.
Seminary has given me many ideas and opinions, some answers (or at least articulate statements about my ‘working theology’), and lots of new questions. It has been a process of un-learning and reconsidering as much as anything. Enduring, becoming, being refined. The more I study, the more I become aware of how much responsibility one has as a minister and scholar. We’re not just dealing in ideas here. Many different people contributed to the traditions that formed me (for better or worse). How I think, speak, write, and live will in turn influence the people in my life in ways that I cannot foresee or control. It’s daunting and makes me more than a little uncomfortable.
Where do our notions about ‘how things are’ come from, and how (by what influences) do they change? How does one distinguish between learning and indoctrination? What is the purpose of knowing, and how does knowing relate to being and doing?
How can one know one’s mind and speak one’s mind without being afraid to change one’s mind? How to maintain a healthy degree of humility about convictions of faith and worldview without falling off into relativism? How to be confident without being inflexible? How to be principled without being judgmental? How to be uncertain, conflicted, or in process without using ambiguity as an excuse for thoughtlessness or inaction? How does one honorably represent one’s thoughts while being hospitable to someone else’s?
How can I get better at asking the right sorts of questions in conversation so that I both make space for someone to speak on their own terms and help them think about things in a way they haven’t before? Am I too quick to interject with ‘answers’ rather than listening and responding thoughtfully? When to just listen and acknowledge what has been said? How can I learn to see people for who they are and appreciate them as-is, accepting frustrations and disappointments, expecting that people will surprise me, giving people freedom to change? How well do I allow people to know me?
Whatever I don’t know, about knowing or anything else, I do know that the learning process is fundamental to being, becoming, and remaining fully human. And the fully human life is not a spectator sport. Whether or not we have a clear sense of direction at any given time, we are all actors and every role is important. Knowledge of God, of people, of information, ideas, and skills are all interrelated and should infuse and transform how we play.
posted by Ingrid at 5:19 PM
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