My church history professor Dr. Pak is equipping us with a wonderful gift this semester – the ability to learn about someone else’s position and completely understand where they are coming from, without having the need to interject our own opinion. She understands the value of this not only in ministry but in life. In her class this will be in the context of learning about important people of church history.
On the papers we write, she wants us to show our understanding of this person’s theology and their point of view. It doesn’t really matter right now whether we agree with it or not, that’s not the purpose. The purpose is about really knowing what that person believed.
I have been guilty of a few of things that have kept me from being a good listener. First is looking at what someone else is saying through a certain lens, ready to pounce on them and argue with them at any point if their view differs from mine. Second, having a sense of disagreement with them without really knowing what they are about. Third, having an overeagerness to find areas that we overlap. While I think this is important, I think it is more important to truly understand their position before trying to line it up with our own.
Our assigned reading this weekend was on John Calvin. I’ve never read anything that he has written, and yet whenever I heard the words “election” and “predestination” I instantly bristled at those words as concepts that I don’t believe in. What I discovered in reading his words is that I had always heard them used in a way that promoted religious arrogance, from people talking about themselves as the elect that God chose to save. What I found instead was a point of view that came from humility, that returns the act of saving grace to God and God alone. While my Methodist beliefs prevail and I believe that God’s saving grace is offered to everyone, I feel that my faith has been enriched by learning about the context of the reforms that Calvin believed in and the scripture and tradition that he based those thoughts on.
As a person who talks to much, this is a step towards growing in the art of listening to others.
