Slowly but surely, I pushed myself down the sidewalk towards the O'Laughlin Auditorium. Forcing back a yawn and the lids of my eyes from fusing shut, I pulled my limp legs up the steps and into the auditiorium.
I sat down in a plush chair with velvet seats that felt like a cloud against my skin. I could have sworn these chairs didn't feel as good a month ago when I sat in them for orientation. I could feel myself slipping into sleep. I pinched my leg to keep myself awake.
This was going to be a long lecture.
After a few speakers made their introductions, James Carroll himself took to the stage. He was different than what I imagined, and his lecture was nothing at all like what I had in mind.
I first came upon this realization when he started talking about the middle east. How western christian culture was to blame, also how western christian culture was to blame for the Holocaust. That's when I snapped out of my sleepy funk, because, and correct me if I'm wrong, I could have sworn every history class I've taken since fifth grade claimed that disaster was caused by Hitler.
Of course, he had a connection that justified his claim. Unfortunatley, I personally wasn't educated enough and the Vatican 2 to gain a full understanding, but for the gist of what he said I really valued.
James Carroll, in an essence, stressed the importance of between piety and philosphy. In my Intro to Religion class, piety is described as the act of striclty following a religion, where as philosphy is the following of a belief. To paraphrase James Carroll, it is not our piety (practice of religion) that is important, but rather our philosphy (practice of beliefs). The way we practice our religion is not as important as how we live our lives. Jews, Catholics, Christians, Protestants, Muslums, and all religions out there, although differ in practice, their core beliefs are the same: God and his will.
God is God, no matter what name you call him. And his will, is the same no matter how it's phrased. If people of different religions and different political backgrounds put aside their differences, or better yet accepted them, the world could live in harmony. It is the goal of every religion to live their life in the imitation of God. If we focused on just that goal, living our lives in the light God shines for us, we wouldn't have the problems associated with the darkness that consumes us when we venture off "the path rigtheousness".
I walked out of that auditorium with a sense of being awakened, figuritivly speaking, because I was still tired.
But James Carroll's lecture did speak to me in a way I didn't expect it to. His speech, although about christian culture, was truly inspirational. Although I didn't take out of the lecture exactly what he wanted, I took out of the lecture a lesson that I will try to live by. To live my life, in the imatation of someone who was selfless, generous, kind, and ever forgiving- God.
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