Theologians Start with Questions and Need Humility

Found this on Catholic Anarchy and thought it was a great quote for anyone involved in the study of theology. This is taken directly from the postPope Benedict: Theologians must be both radical and humble:

From Zenit.org:

“Universities, societies and humanity need questions and also answers,” the Holy Father affirmed [recently, when receiving in audience a delegation from the theology faculty of the University of Tuebingen]. “In places where they no longer ask questions, particularly those regarding essential issues that go beyond specializations, they also no longer receive answers.

“Only if we ask questions, and are radical with our questions, radical as theology has to be, going beyond specializations, only then can we find answers to these fundamental questions that affect all of us,” Benedict XVI said. “Before everything else, we have to ask questions.

“But, in the case of theology, in addition to the courage to ask questions, it is also necessary to have the humility to listen to answers which the Christian faith gives us: the humility to perceive in these answers their reasonable character and to make them in this way, accessible to our times and to ourselves.

“In this way, not just the university is built up, but also, humanity itself is helped to live.”

Read the rest here.

It often seems like the humility part is the hardest to come by.  For me I like being creative with questions, finding the ‘radical’ questions intrigue, I guess that’s why I am studying the stuff I am, but the humility part…well that’s not so easy.

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