Veritas - From the APRIM

Veritas – From the APRIM

A Blackfriars Graduate: A Man of Substance

Some people are referring to our times as the post-truth era. It is a cynical view of the world that denies that there is such a thing as actual truth. Simultaneously, some are presenting the possibility of personal truth, as if such a thing exists. How many personal ‘truths’ can exist? How many will be opposing? Whose ‘truth’ is true, and whose is a lie? Whose ‘truth’ wins out? As Christians though, we have learned that there is just one truth – Jesus Christ. As educators in a Dominican school, with a Dominican charism underpinned by Veritas (which translates to truth), it is incumbent on us to encourage our students to seek the truth. I think opinion or understanding is sometimes misnamed as personal truth, but the big difference is that truth is fixed and eternal, while opinions change, as do understandings as they grow. For such growth, one needs to have an open mind and a propensity for critical thinking. This will lead one closer to Veritas.

I attended a Dominican educators conference a few weeks ago and one of the keynote speakers quoted the name of a book by the Christian writer Chris Padgett: “I’m not ok. You’re not ok. But it’s ok”. This is why God sent His only son! This contests a more common saying: “you are ok just as you are”. If that were true, then there is no point in growing. Moreover, there really isn’t any meaning to derive either. A life-long pursuit of learning is one thing (amongst others) that makes each day meaningful, and it is fundamentally derived from the knowledge that you are not ok as you are. That is ok – God will walk beside you and even carry you in your pursuit to be more. If there is something you don’t like about yourself, you can probably improve it.

In recent weeks I’ve been working with students in Year 12 as they near the end of their schooling. The premise I’ve presented them is based on what they tell me is the most important aspect of life – family. When teased out, our Year 12s identified personal qualities that enable individuals within a family to make it function in a positive and meaningful way. By extension, they’ve identified the most important aims of an upbringing and education; to instil the qualities that will enable parents’ most precious children to live meaningful lives. By our Year 12s identifying them, I’ve learned that they understand qualities that make them Men of Substance. They possess them too (but in being human, sometimes don’t exhibit them). This is a credit to their parents as their primary educators, and to Blackfriars as the support.

In classes we have been working within the Made in the Image of God (MITIOG) program which, for older students, has included a critique of pornography and its effects. Part of the approach is to challenge what pornography portrays. It has been pleasing to observe the Year 12s exhibit critical thinking during our discussions. This critical thinking is fundamental to seeking Veritas.

A Man of Substance is a gentleman of integrity, strength, authority and power, who remains humble. (Doesn’t this sound like Jesus?) Authority comes from knowledge; one cannot be an authority on something without first becoming an expert on it. I use the term ‘power’ in a similar sense – knowledge is power, and power indicates the ability to effect change, and along with strength, the ability to stand firm. Integrity is consistency in openness and truth. This integrity, strength, authority and power must be virtuous; it must be for the purpose of the common good and should play out through a mentality of service – this is humility. Jesus dedicated a beatitude to this: “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matt 5:5)

When we examine the Dominican Pillars of Prayer and Study, it is clear that these draw us closer to the truth. Prayer builds up humility, integrity and strength, while study builds knowledge (and subsequent authority and power).

The Pillar of Community also assists Prayer and Study. Last Sunday’s readings were about prayer: In Exodus 17, Moses had a delegate lead an army in battle and while Moses held his arms up in prayer, his army held the upper hand. When they tired and dropped, his army began to lose. They ultimately prevailed when two men within his community stood alongside Moses’ to hold his arms up. The community enabled Moses prayers to overcome the enemy, and sometimes we need community in our own prayer lives.

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This is Moses being aided to hold his arms up in prayer – Exodus 17

Dominican communities have this wonderful concept called ‘fraternal correction’. It is the dialogue of ideas and learning that leads to clarity and builds critical thinking. Opposing views are worth listening to because they are rarely completely wrong, and sometimes will change your mind (which is also something that the quality of humility enables).

The process of thinking, speaking your understanding, listening to others (especially those of differing understandings), being open to the possibility of being wrong or incomplete, debating, researching, questioning – these are the tenets of critical thought. These are the practices that will prevent someone from being brainwashed.

I am sometimes guilty of falling short in these domains, but I am working on it. This effort has led me to question more of what I see and hear, and to open my mind. (In part, this is because I’ve learned just how severely information is manipulated by “Big-Tech” companies, which channel most of the information we receive.)

As an example, like lots of people, I’ve grown up loving David Attenborough’s nature documentaries. Earlier this year, I watched Our Planet with my kids. In one episode, there were the most appalling scenes of walruses plummeting 50m from cliffs to their deaths, to then be food for polar bears. There were tens of thousands of walruses all fighting for space at the cliff’s edge and this was the consequence. David Attenborough attributed it to climate change. A few weeks later, this came up at a dinner-party conversation. Someone said it has nothing to do with climate change. You could hear a pin drop due to this brave man’s contesting of the widely-accepted David Attenborough ‘gospel’. The awkwardness led to a quick change in topic. A little later, when I had an opportunity to speak one-on-one with him, he explained the studies on walrus populations and these cliff-death phenomena. He produced a summary of scientific academic studies he’d found on YouTube. That is, he presented a compelling case and he changed my mind. This case reminded me of the emotive polar bear apocalypse of 15 years ago which I believed, and it was not lost on me the number of polar bears feeding on the walruses. So, I researched polar bear populations – they are growing! One thing has led to another: the earth is the greenest it has been on record (according to NASA and the CSIRO), famine has never been lower than it currently is (in terms of actual numbers, despite the population growth), deaths due to natural disasters including weather events continue to decline, most regions including the Amazon show downward trends in forest fires, etc. etc. etc.

I think this Dominican thing of Veritas has affected me! I think I may now actually be a critical thinker!

Of course, the other major aspect of schooling are grades! This is particularly pertinent right now as our students finalise assignments and prepare for exams. This is important as a component of who they are and can help their futures. Learning, and more importantly learning how to learn, can lead one to virtuous authority and power. Grades are a motivating factor, as are ATARs and university entrance requirements.

Despite this important time in the Year 12s schooling, they still agreed that the most important outcome of an upbringing are the qualities that allow you to function well in a family and live meaningfully. Included in this is aiming high academically. This is a mentality that should permeate all aspects of life: do your best. This is what Jesus meant when he said: “You are the light of the world… let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matt 5:14-16).

We hold up Bl Pier Giorgio Frassati as a model of someone with the qualities mentioned. When a young man graduates from Blackfriars with these qualities, he is a Man of Substance. Well done to the parents, caregivers and Blackfriars staff that have produced great citizens for the world. Congratulations to the stud