Just in time for the start of school a couple of weeks ago, Archbishop Chaput (affectionately referred to by my friends as the ‘AbC’) presented a cogent challenge to a popular philosophy of education–”Education alone is not enough.”
While the whole column is worth reading, here’s a rather salient excerpt:
The lesson here is plain. Catholics have a very long tradition of revering and advancing education. In fact, the Church first created the idea of a “university†centuries ago. Deepening our knowledge of the world and developing our intellects — these good things belong to the nature God gave us when he made us human. We have a duty to develop our intelligence and our skills as fully as we can. But facts without a purpose, facts without a moral framework for understanding their meaning, are worthless. The point of real education is not just the transmission of data, but the formation of mind, heart and conscience in the light of truth. Knowledge unguided by wisdom, humility, charity and prudence is not a tool; it’s a weapon. [Emphasis added]
It strikes me that in terms of the Faith, the “weapon” of framework-less knowledge threatens self-destruction. If one absorbs mere propositions or moralistic maxims about Jesus and the Church without giving oneself over to relationship, what should have been a key to freedom becomes a soul-deadening weight.
This is a sobering reminder for those of us who would teach the Faith to our younger brothers and sisters. If we teach without serving the whole person, if we preach without striving after the integrated life, we may simply be innoculating the young against the contagious beauty of Christ and His Church–a little bit of dead Catholicity often prevents the live thing from taking hold. I know for many of us–judging from my own story and those of my friends who drifted from the Church–that instruction 1) as though truth matters and 2) how to live it (above and beyond ‘Religion’ class in Catholic grade-schools of the 80s) would have greatly aided our early pursuit of relationship with Christ.
As it happens, I had the pleasure last Friday of lunching with Dr. Francis Beckwith–the story of his drift away from and eventual return to the Catholic Church follows several of the themes above. He gave an evening talk on pluralism and Christian citizenship at the Boulder campus of the University of Colorado, which I may be able to share here soon. Check out his site for some very worthwhile reading on faith and reason, Church and state, and other contemporary controversies–he also contributes to the blog Right Reason.
2 responses so far ↓
1 NKStanley // Sep 19, 2007 at 12:33 am
This seems to be right where the Holy Spirit is leading the Church. Pope Benedict speaks often of this relationship and friendship with Jesus. That walking with Jesus is the education of the heart. How does this need for the encounter with the Risen Lord Jesus (as our good Bishop Morlino in Madison would put it) effect the way we approach educated and evangelizing?
2 Kelly // Sep 19, 2007 at 2:42 pm
So many conversations I get into about the Faith address issues like the papacy and relics and various denominations of Christianity, etc. Today, on campus, we were using surveys as part of an outreach activity. The surveys asked, “Who was Jesus Christ?” and gave options like: a good man, a prophet, God, a mythical/legendary figure. I was a little taken aback by how many people, including those brought up Christian, couldn’t answer that question.
A relationship with Christ MUST be the starting point to real evangelization. To respond to part of Nathan’s question above, I think we need to employ Christ’s own challenge, “Who do you say that I am?” when we are talking to others about Christianity. I know too many people who verbally reduce Christianity to structural elements and forget to communicate it as a joyful invitation to participate in the life of the Church, united to a loving Savior. Any ideas on better ways to do this in our daily lives?
Leave a Comment