{"id":32336,"date":"2016-01-13T06:15:45","date_gmt":"2016-01-13T11:15:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/exploringourmatrix\/?p=32336"},"modified":"2016-01-13T06:15:45","modified_gmt":"2016-01-13T11:15:45","slug":"i-hope-every-class-makes-you-uncomfortable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2016\/01\/i-hope-every-class-makes-you-uncomfortable.html","title":{"rendered":"I Hope Every Class Makes You Uncomfortable"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I\u2019ve been waiting for the start of classes to return to a post on another Patheos blog<\/a> from some months ago. It was a response to\u00a0a student who asked whether a particular class was going to challenge their faith and make them uncomfortable.<\/p>\n

My answer to that question would be much shorter than the one provided by Whitney Cox in that post. Here it is:<\/p>\n

I sincerely hope so.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Let me elaborate. No one is obligated to change their mind about a topic in one of my classes. But they are<\/em> expected to show that they have understood if, when, and why the evidence and the weight of scholarship favors a view different than their own.<\/p>\n

If, at the end of the class, your personal view is the same one you held at the start of the class, I hope that you will hold it as a conclusion, rather than an assumption. If you have never really considered alternatives to a viewpoint, then you can\u2019t really say that you\u00a0believe<\/em> it, because you are accepting it on the basis of the authority of others, whether those\u00a0authorities be parents, ministers, or anyone else.<\/p>\n

If my classes don\u2019t present you with new information,\u00a0which challenges you to learn and grow, then what was the point of taking it? And if your understanding doesn\u2019t grow and develop over time, isn\u2019t it likely to be superficial?<\/p>\n

And why would you want to cling to a viewpoint for the rest of your life that you are already afraid cannot withstand careful scrutiny? Isn\u2019t it better to dare to investigate what you think you know and believe, and either find it confirmed, or change your mind, rather than to live the rest of your life in fear and anxiety?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve been waiting for the start of classes to return to a post on another Patheos blog from some months ago. It was a response to\u00a0a student who asked whether a particular class was going to challenge their faith and make them uncomfortable. 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