Chapter 1: THEOLOGY AND THE SEARCH FOR MEANING

INTRODUCTION

This lesson aims to introduce students to the task of doing theology in the context of the world
today. The world is shrouded with a troubling pall of skepticism and indifference that has been worsened
in recent years by trends in this so-called “post-truth era.” As a response, theology presents a way to
search for meaning and purpose that is grounded on the certainty of God, who can neither deceive nor
be deceived. The theological enterprise is an opportunity for people, especially the youth, to understand
life, faith and their reality.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Describe challenges posed to the human quest for meaning by the current world and Philippine
situation;

2. Examine features of theology as an endeavor for meaning and purpose in relation to the
transcendent, an endeavor open to all people; and

3. Weigh the various opportunities and challenges of youth doing theology today.

EXPOSITION

“Para kanino ka bumabangon?” This statement is not just a question from a classic coffee
commercial in the Philippines. In a way, it is a question we all ask ourselves. What do we wake up for in
the morning? What is our motivation? Why do we do all the things we do? What keeps us motivated to
keep striving in our life now, especially as students?

For some people, self-growth is their motivation. They gain skills and knowledge by going to
school and putting effort in their studies. In the future, the hope is that they are equipped to face life,
with both proper formation received from their schools, as well as the acquisition of professional and
technical skills necessary for the careers they aspire for.

For others, their motivation is the people in their lives. They may value their parents, siblings and
other close family members, and they hope to repay and give back to their families by working hard in
their studies. In the future, they hope to be able to provide for their own families.

Others find motivation in loftier ideals. If they work hard they might be able to contribute to
society and to the world. Some even want to offer their entire lives to God by choosing the religious life
and the priesthood.

And still others may still not know fully what their motivations are. They may still have hesitations
of what to do in the future once they finish their studies. They might not even know toward which
direction their lives are going.

Whatever the case may be, our motivations (or lack thereof) are signs that we are all still on our
way in this journey of life. We are still trying to get a grasp of what we believe in, what drives us, and what
we want to offer our life to. We are all homo viator—human beings still on the way, “pilgrim[s] journeying
through this world to the heavenly city.”
St. Augustine says:
You know that we are travelers. You ask, what is ‘walking?’ Briefly it means to make
progress. Always keep adding more, always walk, always forge ahead; do not stop on the road, do
not go back, do not leave the road. Better to be a lame person on the right road than to be a runner
off of it.

I. THE CONTEXT OF OUR SEARCH

We live in an age of indifference, cynicism and skepticism. Globalization and modernization affirm
Friedrich Nietzsche’s forecast of the death of God. We can see Nietzsche’s claim to hold most true today:
“I will only believe in the Christians’ Redeemer if the Christians themselves look more redeemed.”

A disconcerting pluralism haunts our time, where truth is relative to the interpreter. Anything can
be truth, which leads many to argue that nothing is true. Imagine a world that considers knowledge to be
“elitist.” Imagine a world where a free-for-all opinion market on social media determines whether a newly
emergent strain of avian flu is really contagious to humans. Imagine a world where a good number of
people are still skeptical about the fact that greenhouse gas emissions do cause global warming, as 97%
of experts assert. One need not imagine this as more and more signs point to our world moving in this
direction. Terms such as “post-truth” and “fake news,” largely unknown until 2016, have exploded into
media and public discourse. This growing abundance of misinformation has clear adverse consequences
on society. For example, misinformation on vaccines can predispose parents to make disadvantageous
medical decisions that will not only endanger their children, but other children as well. Even the realm of
religion is not immune to this rise of misinformation, as politicians begin using the Bible as proof text for
supporting the death penalty. Biblical verses have become politicized and weaponized tools on social
media by influential personalities to support their various agenda.

Modernizing forces, which includes mass media, the Internet and popular culture, though not
inherently problematic, are home to much noise that masquerade as truth. One can take the case of the
use of social media to shape public opinion about political issues, and the rise of trolling:
Trolling is [. . .] a specific kind of political activity that is marked by a refusal to participate
in the kind of productive exchange of ideas that marks democratic politics. Instead of engaging in
activity marked by democratic principles of reciprocity, accommodation, and inclusion, trolls
actively work to dominate and control the conversations on any given site. Their actions, though
ostensibly done “for the lulz,” are clearly intended to disrupt—even end—discussions. While
disruption is not always a destructive act [. . .] it is the hallmark of a troll to refuse to utilize its
creative possibilities. Trolls are not simply opponents or critics of a particular position. Instead, trolls
work to silence; in so doing, they close off future possibilities for political action instead of opening
them. Distinguishing trolls from activists, however, can be difficult; the challenge of preventing the
former while remaining open to the latter is one that democratic theorists have yet to adequately
address.

In the current political milieu of the Philippines, social media “trolls” are paid to make lies appear
as truth. The mirage is that if enough people believe a lie to be true, others might be compelled to believe
it with them.
 The rise of the “post-truth” era is just one of the many signs of the current brokenness pervading
the world and the Philippines of today. There is a brokenness within people and among people. This is
found most evidently in the growing trend of individualism and exclusivism that has poisoned our society.

First, “The cultural ideal of the Western industrialized world is the self-made, self-sufficient,
autonomous individual who stands by himself or herself, not needing anyone else (except for sex) and not
beholden to anyone or anything.” Everything is driven by this individualistic vision. Many people opt to
choose a career, not because this is where they can promote change and social transformation, but rather
because it has the best to offer in terms of monetary compensation. The value of persons is identified by
how much they own, how much power they wield and how much influence they can muster. This is found
in the steady rise to prominence of “micro-celebrities” such as social media influencers, whose fame and
following become ideals that many people strive for. And yet, despite all the attention to individual
success and becoming “self-made,” people remain unhappy. For instance, a study has been made on the
effects of individualism in the United States, and it showed that excessive individualism can give rise to
alienation, lovelessness, unhappiness and an inability to maintain relationships. This age of individualism
is an age of insecurity. Possibly, this is the reason why many people of this time turn to new centers and
categories of meaning. Partly, it might be because of an escapist urge to turn away from that which is dark
and difficult to deal with in the world. The growing trend is now towards looking for meaning in leisure
and acquiring access to endless sources of pleasure. And yet despite the hedonistic escapism, there are
still widespread occurrences of depression, a pervasive sense of meaninglessness and anxiety, especially
amongst young people, which some believe to be resultant of the spiritual vacuum in which most of the
youth live their lives.

Second, the brokenness in the world has created a culture of hate and division that was born out
of the exclusivist tendencies of people. The prevalence of xenophobia amongst people showcase a kind
of cultured distrust of others who are unlike us. Overseas Filipino Workers experience this reality every
day, as they are treated as foreign “others” in the countries in which they render their services. In the
United States, slogans such as “Make America Great Again” underscore an us-versus-them mentality
against immigrants. Even in the Philippines, people of other descent are still treated with some suspicion,
however negligible it may seem to most Filipinos.

Both individualism and exclusivism are signs of the trend for more privatistic tendencies that can
become hindrances to an authentic search for meaning and purpose in the world. Life is more than just
about oneself. There is a need for attention both to the “other,” referring to other people and other
created reality in the world, as well as the absolutely “Other,” which Christians refer to as God. Privatism
has birthed a troubling world, and the more we become absorbed in ourselves, the further away we come
to finding our meaning and purpose.

What might be a suggested recourse to this context of privatism? We can take heed from the
advice of Augustine in his own struggle to understand one’s meaning and purpose: Domine Iesu, noverim
me, noverim te. “O God, let me know myself, so I may know you.” The means of understanding the self
cannot be separated from the means of understanding the transcendent. Augustine suggests that an
engagement and encounter with God will reveal one’s authentic self, and in a similar manner,
introspection and self-understanding will be an avenue to witness the presence of the divine in our lives.
As such, the task of understanding and encountering oneself fully cannot be isolated from the task of
understanding and encountering God. The practice of these intimately related tasks is one of the key
functions of theology.

References:

David Elliot, “The Christian as ‘Homo Viator’: A Resource in Aquinas for Overcoming ‘Worldly Sin and
Sorrow,’” Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics 34, no. 2 (Fall/Winter 2014): 101.

Rino Fisichella, “Fundamental Theology II: Whom Is It For?,” ed. René Latourelle and Rino Fisichella,
Dictionary of Fundamental Theology (New York, NY: Crossroad Publishing Company, 1994), 335–
36.

Cf. Stephan Lewandowsky, Ullrich K.H. Ecker, and John Cook, “Beyond Misinformation: Understanding
and Coping with the ‘Post-Truth’ Era,” Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition 6,
no. 4 (December 2017): 354.

Jennifer Forestal, “The Architecture of Political Spaces: Trolls, Digital Media, and Deweyan Democracy,”
American Political Science Review 111, no. 1 (February 2017): 150.

Albert Nolan, Jesus Today: A Spirituality of Radical Freedom (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2008), 15.

Cf. Susie Khamis, Lawrence Ang, and Raymond Welling, “Self-Branding, ‘Micro-Celebrity’ and the Rise of
Social Media Influencers,” Celebrity Studies 8, no. 2 (2017): 191–208.

Cf. Robert N. Bellah et al., Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life (Berkeley,
CA: University of California Press, 1985), 142–63.

Cf. Dorothy Lee, “Hope in a Time of Change: A ‘Johannine’ Perspective,” in Hope: Challenging the Culture
of Despair, ed. Christiaan Mostert (Adelaide: Australian Theological Forum Press, 2004), 21.

Cf. Ethel Tungohan, “From Encountering Confederate Flags to Finding Refuge in Spaces of Solidarity:
Filipino Temporary Foreign Workers’ Experiences of the Public in Alberta,” Space & Polity 21, no.
1 (April 2017): 11–26.

Augustine, Soliloquies 2.1.1.