On September 5, Father Ron Rolheiser, O.M.I., gave the Inaugural Reverend Robert L. Beloin Lecture in Contemporary Theology. President of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas, Fr. Ron is a well-known lecturer, prolific writer and close friend of the late Father Bob. Fr. Ron’s lecture entitled, “Academics Beyond Ideology, Fashion and Fad: Some Principles for a More Genuine Sincerity and Authenticity with our Learning,” sought to answer the question, what is honest learning?
Before laying out his “Ten Commandments” for honest learning, Fr. Ron began by emphasizing the call to “struggle for sincerity to truly know who we are and what we really think.” Fr. Ron urged us to avoid “ego-driven” learning which turns our talents in to “weapons of envy and weapons of self-promotion.” Rather than striving for sophistication or superlatives in our education, he recommended we think about our journey as scholars as both a deepening of the heart and a broadening of the mind. This cultivation of the heart is what Fr. Ron deemed as the key to wisdom.
Father Ron then offered his “Ten Commandments.” The commandment I found most salient and surprising was Number Seven: “Be a true agnostic who never closes the door on further investigations.” For Rolheiser, true agnosticism means cultivating an awareness of the limitations of all concepts and views about God and the world. True agnosticism means admitting that we can never pin down the mystery of the divine. In Fr. Ron’s words, we “learn to understand more by not understanding than by understanding.”
As a second-year divinity school student, the paradoxical truth of this commandment resonates deeply. At Yale Divinity School, I have found that the most honest learning occurs when students and professors put off the “weapons of envy and weapons of self-promotion,” as Fr. Ron says, and admit that God is ultimately beyond the frameworks of theology. In the end, Fr. Ron’s whole talk challenged us to ask: How comfortable are we with the darkness of not knowing? Do we have the humility to admit God is beyond our dogmas and neat knowledge systems?
And, most importantly, How does honest learning require a true metanoia, an overcoming of mind and a true leap into the mystery of God?
1. Link your learning to a transpersonal vocation. The gifts that God gave you are ultimately intended for everyone.
2. Link all growth in your learning to an equal growth in compassion. Be wise and not just bright!
3. Strive to be a true “critical” thinker. Be the Judge who makes sure that there is a fair hearing!
4. Try to inoculate yourself against ideology. Don’t be a liberal and don’t be a conservative. Be compassionate and go where that takes you!
5. Make space in your learning for the non-pragmatic. At its highest point, learning exists for its own sake!
6. Don’t just use your subject matter one-sidedly, let it change you as you “dialogue” with it. True learning is predicated on a genuine mutuality between the learner and the subject.
7. Be a true “agnostic” who never closes the door on further investigations. Learn to understand more by not-understanding than by understanding.
8. Work towards “post-sophistication.” Learn how to believe in Santa and the Easter Bunny again!
9. Affirm the gifts of others. Jealousy and lack of blessing are the bane of the academic world.
10. Be ever aware of creeping pride and elitism inside yourself. Strike the words “loser” and “winner” from your thoughts and vocabulary.
