Make love: ask questions
February 8, 2006
Matthew Laine
As controversy swirls around the campus, many students and faculty alike are beginning to question. Some have questioned old ways of doing things, old patterns, and old habits in need of change. Others have questioned the authority, the laws, the traditions, and the even the questioners. As Christians, questioning can seem foreign to us. By the time we Christians are eight years old we’ve pretty much got life figured out. We know all the steps, all the rules and all the hoops to jump through. Although we mostly fail at putting these ideals into practice, we accept that that’s part of the process and continue in our journey towards perfection. The whole thing is actually quite simple: love God, love your neighbour, and help out a poor person from time to time. No need to question. Obedience has got to be right up there with cleanliness and godliness, right? Perhaps this really is the most beautiful thing about our faith: it gives us answers. It gives our lives meaning and purpose. We know that we are living for something and for someone. We don’t often have to worry about the nihilism and meaninglessness that plagues society and the pop culture around us. Life is valuable and sacred. God loves us– there’s nothing more beautiful than this. However, a man much smarter and more poetic than myself once said, “Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.” Christianity is about the search rather than the discovery of truth. Christ spoke in parables that even he said his closest followers would be unable to understand. He didn’t give us the key to life in five simple steps. We have to figure that stuff out on our own. As Christian university students, wholly devoted to our education and personal growth, we cannot allow our healthy curiosity to waver. We must always be wondering, thinking, and questioning. We have a lot to learn from this great institution, but the university can also learn from us. Questions and criticism are not a form of attack. They usually aren’t meant to hurt or to destroy. The greatest of all questioners, Socrates, when finally tried and arrested for his crimes against society, submitted himself to the laws of the state. He was not after his beloved city’s demise, but rather its improvement. And it is in the same way that we as students must approach our administration. We must remember that this is not a battle between two sides. This is not an attempt to destroy something that has served us all incredibly well; but rather, as iron sharpens iron, let us work together with the administration and ask the questions that will lead to the improvement of our beloved institution. Each of us has chosen to come to Trinity freely and we are all grateful for the opportunity. However, this university also belongs, in part, to all of us. As we take ownership of this place, let us question the things that need to change to see a better place for all.
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