The Brazilian academic community still has much to say (especially the public), not only by students confused with their vocation, intellectually weakened or perpetuating acts of endemic corruption when they pass an exam (the famous: cheating on the exam). Should we deal with teachers who spread distorted ideas and narratives, either as an extension of what they received as students or by dishonesty?
The great truth is that time has passed to be the victim of direct or indirect manipulation by preteged and negligent leaders Is the search for a coalition for the gospel recognized the strong structures that the Church possesses, in addition to perceiving the Law as an ally of Christian religiosity?But are there still “hot spots”? (hot spots), which we cannot forget. In this first part of our text, we will address that the exercise of religion, in its fullness, is proof of the existence of a critical meaning in Christianity. We move on to the text.
- Is the university an enabling environment for the development of critical thinking?In fact.
- There is no doubt that this phrase is true and important.
- But do we see in these times the profession of faith treated as an object outside the essence of faith?the University?a constant separation between faith and intellect; However.
- Does history show us that concern for intellect is one of the characteristics of the Church ?.
- Protagonist of the construction of centers for the exercise of knowledge.
- As Justo L points out.
- González:.
? The origin of most modern universities? Paris, Salerno, Bologna and Oxford? They date back to the 12th century, and this origin is the result of a combination of factors such as the tradition of the cathedral schools [?]. Because Paris and Oxford had the best theological faculties, Western theology gravitated towards these two great university centers in the 13th century.
This scenario that enhances the link between faith and knowledge becomes more powerful with the “regular charges of St. Augustine” [2], an order created by Santo Domingo, in 1215 A. D. , with the aim of creating new monastic rules, to respond with holy life, to all that contradicts the pillars of the true Church:
“Since its inception, this new order has emphasized the importance of study for the fulfillment of this task. Monastic life was adapted to the needs of study, preaching and caring for souls. In the beginning, Dominicans concentrated their studies and teaching on their own. “monasteries, but soon came to occupy professorships at major universities, especially in Paris and Oxford.
Church figures have occupied and invested in “cathedral schools that have become universities, a space for research and knowledge production, but also the center of a lively debate [4]?It is worth remembering the entry of Aristotle’s thinking and Arab and Jewish philosophy, which have also permeated academic debates for years. The motivation of these bonds between faith and knowledge is related to the biblical premise reproduced by St. Augustine: “Don’t try to understand to believe, but to believe to understand, because if you don’t believe, you won’t understand?”[5]
Christians have always been interested in the search for knowledge, so why be part of the natural system of faith?Knowledge of excellence for Christian unity. This idea is corroborated in the proposal of the renewed spirit dissected by the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:1-3, in the words of Craig S. Keener:
“This renewed spirit is aware that every believer has received a measure of faith for certain activities (12:3, 6, 6), so that no member is more or less valuable than another. Roles may be different, but each member receives gifts to serve others, without bragging, faithfully fulfilling God’s command as a gift to the body.
Despite this distinctly religious heritage, some see the Christian faith as intellectually debilitating, as well as posing a threat to state power. Going through the health considerations of Dr. Donald Carson, we will see that it is the result of a trial – in the name of maintaining the separation of Church and State – [7], which aims to promote a “purely privatized religious path [? ]? [8]? When you speak of the new social tolerance (discourse to justify the secularist movement), do you present a global modality? What to pay attention to, because it is a goal pursued by organizations and intellectuals opposed to Christianity:
“In this highly privatized world, citizens can think what they want about religious issues. However, when they practice religion with others, they can be monitored and highly controlled. There may be elaborate rhetoric about freedom of religion (after all, people can believe what they want), but there is almost no authentic freedom when religion becomes anything but completely private (for example, pass on their beliefs to children, adore with others in places not specifically religious, try to attract others in your religion). [9]
Is intolerance disguised as tolerance?situation that seems to prevail in universities, especially public, on Brazilian soil. This influential work has clear and violent effects, as we will see below.
The laity call themselves the identity of religious freedom defenders, but in crucial cases such as the exercise of worship, they show an intention to gradually reduce the dynamics of devotion, that is, they use discourse on religious freedom as an instrument To promote the privatization of religion?as we’ll see later, this happens through the subversion process.
It is a technique that involves distorting the original meaning of a word, resulting in adulteration of content. In Brazil, this problem is still strong in universities, considering that we have an “excess of plausibility structures”, again emphasizing DACarson’s lessons, citing Peter L. Berger [10], defining them as:
– thought structures accepted by a specific culture in a general and almost indisputable way. [?] in a very diverse culture, such as that prevailing in many western world nations, plausibility structures are necessarily more restricted because there are fewer common positions. 0611]
With the excess of distortions in relation to the original meanings, is Western thought divided, generating a consequent weakening of the critical sense?An environment conducive to relativization, leading to a scenario in which “we jump from the authorization of the articulation of beliefs that we do not agree with the assertion that all beliefs and arguments are equally valid”. [12]
As for Camille Paglia’s teaching, has the chronology of academic existence been affected by a kind of destruction of the teaching of the humanities?Annihilating the environment conducive to intellectual life. Does the teacher detect such a problem as a result of a new critique?A thought model that “produced a generation of academics who thought of literature separately from its historical context. “[13]
Does such identification, even by analogy, explain the fact that some personalities struggle to get the academy completely away from religion?Religiosity contributed to the existence of the university. Just as they seek to think literature outside the historical context, they think of the existence of multiple ideas outside the heterogeneous plane of thought (which includes religion).
Is the result of replacing plurality (there are different ideas but not all are valid) with pluralism (only ideas that are on the same plane) will be valid?This leads to the imposition of a small ideological community by the majority [14]. who wish to exercise their faith freely on campus.
How does it work in practice? The fact that this happened on the campus of the UFCG (Federal University of Campina Grande) can answer us: a university prayer group, called Santa Terezinha de Jesús, meets on Wednesdays and Thursdays outside of school hours, is a group not institutionalized by teachers, and their participation is voluntary for those who wish, although the group is not an act of taxation by the faculty (which only authorizes the meeting) , some professors and students were uncomfortable with the existence of the group, according to statements circulating at the University. The argument of discontent is based on an alleged “threat to state secularism,” along with the argument that “the University is a place of production of scientific knowledge and debate based on critical thinking. “
The argument is flawed for two reasons: 1) Is it subversive ?, because it does not expose the real idea of the concept of secular state; and 2) Is it contradictory?use the environmental feature for critical thinking?as justification for banning a religious gathering, how to protect yourself from such affronts?Religious law can be a good ally in solving these problems and that is exactly what we want we will see in the second part of this text.
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[1] GONZALEZ, JustO L. A HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN THINKING ?, volume 2. Sao Paulo: Cultura Crist, 2004. p. 218. [2] Ibdem, p. 220 [3] Ibdem, p. 220 [4] FerreirA, Franklin. LA EGLESA CRISTIANA IN HISTORY: FROM ORIGINS IN THE CURRENT DAY. Sao Paulo: Vida Nova, 2013. P. 123 and 124 [5] AGOSTINHO , Santo. JEAN. 29. 6 [6] KEENER, Craig by. THE SPIRIT OF THE MIND: THE VISION OF THE TRANSFORMED MIND OF PAULO. Sao Paulo: Vida Nova, 2018. P. 249 and 250. [7] CARSON, D. A. TOLERANCE INTOLERANCE. Sao Paulo: Cultura Crist, 2013. P. 144 [8] Ibdem, p. 147 [9] Ibdem, p. 147 [10] BERGER, PETER L. LA SACREE CANOPIE: ELEMENTS OF A SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIE OF RELIGION. NEW YORK: DOUBLE DAY, 1967. [11] CARSON, DAINTOLERANCE OF TOLERANCE. Sao Paulo: Cultura Crist, 2013. P. 11. [12] Ibdem, p. 12 [13] PAGLIA, Camille. WOMEN FREE HOMMES FREE? Sex, gender and feminism. Editors Quetzal. Portugal, 2018. P. 121 [14] JORDAN PETERSON: Gender pronouns and freedom of expression. Available: Access on 03/03/2019 at 19:45min