Mr. Cole, this isn't directed at you. This is directed at those who decided Theology should be the last final.
Theology is not objective. It just isn't. Making advanced theology objective seeks to make objective something that is inherently subjective. You can't just follow the Church because the Church says so. Christ himself condemned those who acted super religious but never truly understood why. In the same way, we shouldn't be forced to simply memorize facts about the Church. While it is important to know some events in Church history, testing us via multiple choice format isn't the right way to go. Rather, we have to be able to build on our knowledge. The only way we can get closer to God ourselves is to subjectively arrive there. Although Mr. Cole is a phenomenal teacher, he just can't teach us to existence with God. It's not possible. It's us who have to make the first and last steps. That means we have to have room to spread our wings. What use is a horse with no room to gallop? Think of theology like a convertible. Convertibles are great. Riding in a convertible freely is a great way to get around. You can feel free with the wind in your hair. That's what it's like writing an essay. You can be free in your thoughts. While some of them may be wrong, they'll mean more than just memorizing it. Objective exams due to a lack of time to grade are like a garage. Yea, you can still turn on your car. You can rev the engine. But if you stay in there too long, you'll suffocate from carbon monoxide poisoning. If the only theology anybody ever knows is objective theology, they'll know a ton of stuff but they won't know what to do with it. Nobody cares that you know that 2+2=4. They only care if you can use that knowledge to add 2 and 3 to get five. We need to apply our knowledge, not just blindly follow it. We can draw from one of Mr. Cole's multiple choice questions itself. The question is "how do we follow Christ." The answer is to follow him and understand why we follow him. It's not following him blindly. It's not about just saying "well Christ said so." That's why people who say homosexuality is a sin because "the Bible told me so" are the bane of Catholicism. We shouldn't just know facts, we need to understand them to apply them. So to anyone in administration who is unlucky enough to have nothing better to do than read this, heed the message and please give us an early theology final.
The other major drawback of memorizing theology questions is that it always makes the class too easy or too hard. Theology isn't something you're supposed to memorize. It's something you're supposed to understand and apply. Further, none of our classes have good critical thinking development. Yea, we write some in English. But that's just a psychology class of playing the game of guessing what the author meant. It's not critical thinking. We can't use that knowledge to adapt to situations. Theology one of those things were we can. By being able to understand abstract concepts and develop them into concrete ideas, we gain a rare skill that people need in todays world. We need it to analyze confusing things. We need it to be able to understand a justification for action. Most importantly, we need it to become closer to God. Critical thinking has to blossom in theology. So please, give our teachers time to grade essays.
From a priest friend of mine who was reading your post.
ReplyDeleteIt is objective as anything in relation to knowledge even though there are subjective elements. Moreover, the self-contradictory statement of "theology is not objective" is an objective statement. On top of that, one cannot reason via fiat statements (e.g., "it just isn't", and proceed to explain that objective thought..). As with anything, there are good, bad, and in-between reasonings. To state it is not objective is a subjective opinion and can be dismissed as easily as one dismisses what they perceive as "objective theology". This is the need for revelation in the Incarnation and the Holy Spirit guiding the Church.
This critique, although accurate, seems to misunderstand my post. I fully agree, there is an objective truth through theology. However, I believe we must come to these truths on our own. Memorizing facts makes us no better than those who simply go to Church to say they're Catholic.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, there does have to be a semantic basis for understanding. In this regard, I fully agree. With small nuances in syntax like the distinction between redefining and changing doctrine, there are certain aspects of theology that must remain objective. However, the best way to achieve this objective revelation given by the Holy Spirit, in my opinion, is to do so on your own. By coming to conclusions yourself, you understand the reasoning behind them. It's like math. There's an objective answer to each math problem. However, there are subjective ways to get to that answer. My argument is that we need time to reach these conclusions ourselves. While you can memorize how to do one problem for math, not being able to perform the thought process is a major hindrance to understanding the subject.
This is the core of the post above. The point I meant to forward was that theology is a subject where we need to know how to arrive at an objective conclusion. While you could teach the objective conclusion directly, that leaves students without critical thinking skills and without the ability to apply that knowledge.
Finally, everyone comes to know God differently. While multiple choice or fill in the blank questions don't stop you from learning your calling, they don't help it either. Essays, short answer, and other questions requiring critical thinking do. They allow you to reflect on how you receive grace from Christ in your personal life. they help you learn how you can follow the priesthood of the laity in your own personal life. While this objective truth applies to all people equally, it applies in different ways to all people.