Steve, many Catholic schools pride themselves in teaching what they call "critical thinking" - the Jesuits take special pride in this, and have taught in this method for centuries. I think this could also be called "nonideological thinking."

I was taught from early on, by both my parents and my Catholic school teachers, to take everything with a grain of salt. I was taught that Bible stories should be studied for their meaning, for the lessons they teach - not for historical facts. Never once was I told to doubt evolution, although I was generally told that God acted and is acting through the process of evolution.

In general, I think it's safe to say that reality is, what it is. We see the same natural processes. If I see God acting through those processes and you see the same process without seeing an action of God, it's still the same process - we just have different perspectives.

I just got a call from our parish religious education director, asking me to teach this Sunday's session for the class for kids who are going to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation (i.e., penance, confession). I asked her what I should cover, and she just said, "Do your thing, Joe." She knows I'd do "my thing" anyhow, and I think she likes to have me teach the kids because she knows I present things in a nonideological manner. So, we're going to talk about what it means to be sorry, to apologize, and to forgive. I will do my best to try to bring them to an understanding of these things as it means to them in their hearts, not in some dogma.

Now, I have to say that when I use my nonideological methods on people who are more comfortable with ideology, things don't always work out well. I've detailed in other threads how often people with a grammar school religious education have accused me of heresy, and I have a pastor who is scared to death of what I might say to people. But I think I stick pretty close to Catholic teaching - I'm just nonideological about it. I try to ensure that the people I teach have an understanding of myth, the meaning of ritual, and the thinking that should go behind making a moral decision. Some of this stuff sounds like heresy to ideological Christians, but what I teach has always been taught by nonideological Christians, back to the time of Christ and the Apostles.

So, usually at the end of every class, I'll do a review and find out what people have learned. Sometimes, it makes me want to scream. If people have an ideological mindset, they just don't get it - and then they can come up with some really weird ideas. But I keep trying.

-Joe-