“Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth – in a word, to know himself – so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves” (Fides et Ratio)
More than likely I was a typical college student when it came to required philosophy courses. The subject matter was interesting as an intellectual exercise but not especially of interest as in my sophomoric mind it related – or more to the point did not relate – to real life. Fifty years ago that callow disregard my course mates and I shared for matters metaphysical was not so concerning. The country still was generally theistic. An awareness of transcendent Truth prevailed. Terms like nihilism and solipsism were found only in the dictionary.
Not so today. Consumerism, materialism, and the irreligion of our increasingly unsubtle totalitarianism have dulled our consciences and unmoored them from eternal Truth. There is no transcendent eternity, only an ever-receding future we fashion for ourselves. No longer anchored to the assurance of timeless eternity we mindlessly allow ourselves to be propelled toward a utopian future promised enticingly by the cozy partnership of stupefying technology and godless politics. This fateful trend is fueled by the Orwellian falsehood that we create and control truth rather than that Truth creates us. The truth is what we say it is; words mean whatever interpretation we give them.
“The fool says there is no God” (Ps. 14). How ironic that the more knowledgeable we become in physical matters the less wise we are. “Follow the science”. Is no one offended by this ubiquitous mantra? What reasonable person would ignore empirical reality! But, what foolish arrogance there is in the conviction that science is all embracing, or that by ‘following’ it alone we ourselves can be omniscient. Like faith and reason, knowledge and wisdom collaborate in cultivating within us (hence culture) a greater understanding of the fullness of Truth. Matthew’s Gospel reminds us: “Not by bread alone” (Mt. 4). How foolhardy it is to reject the hard learned lessons of tradition and recklessly ignore the consequences of such hubris – just as we did Eden and Babel.
The purpose of education is to liberate us from ignorance and to open our understanding more widely to reality – the true reality that encompasses the physical and metaphysical. Genuine education not only purports to teach the ‘what’ and the ‘how’; it also suggests explanations of the ‘why’. Because they are supposed to be ‘value free’ secular schools today are restrained from exploring the ‘why’. And, regrettably, outside of school the ‘why’ is of little interest in an increasingly irreligious society. Fortunate for our children – and for our nation – there are religiously affiliated schools which are not subject to these secular limitations.
The trustees of the National Catholic Community Foundation are proud to provide our services to those scores of Catholic schools, colleges and universities listed on our catalog of ministries. As St. John Paul II exhorts us, quoted above, it is in the contemplation of truth that men and women come to the fullness of truth about themselves.
There has never been a time in this nation’s history when the support of religion based education is more important.
Mr. Robinson, as always, is spot on. The culture is pushing hard against the truth of who we are. “Follow the science” has now become its own “religion” to which we are to bow down. I would also add to his essay by saying, “Would we actually follow the science”–or Natural Law–we would be in much better shape.