8. What You Read

[John]

8. During one of their conversations, Miss Prim asserts that "you are what you read" and The Man in the Wing Chair disagrees. Who do you think is right? Why?

[Manuel]

No, we are not what we read, although we are to some extent, but not only.

If I look at myself, I have been influenced by my mother, my father, my wife, my children, by many people around me, and especially by the hand of God. So clearly the man is right.

[Faith]

It depends on your reason for choosing a book. This book was assigned by the Catholic Book Club group that is why I am reading it. I find the discussions intellectually stimulating, not the book, necessarily.
Although, when I see someone reading a periodical, I can tell you their political slant.

[Rachel]

Both have a point. The hard truth is that everything we consume (food, books, movies, marketing) affects our brain and bodies in some way. There’s a reason why certain books aren’t to be read by young children - they aren’t at a stage in their development where they can handle it yet. Everything we read can influence us either consciously or subconsciously. Our brain constantly sifts through ideas and propositions. That’s why it’s so important to read conscientiously. At the same time, one can read The Communist Manifesto without becoming a communist; but it takes some intellectual effort and reasoning whilst reading the Manifesto to keep our brains free from holding onto the errors posited by Marx.

[John]

Rachel wrote: "Both have a point. The hard truth is that everything we consume (food, books, movies, marketing) affects our brain and bodies in some way. There’s a reason why certain books aren’t to be read by yo..."

I think this is right, and is essentially similar to Manuel's "not only."

An example, I read some of Gutierrez's Liberation Theology and there is little fear of my being influenced by that. And yet - a friend had challenged me, because of my acerbic comments about Liberation Theology, if I had ever read anything about it by a supporter rather than just by detractors. I had to admit I had not, but I said if he found a good book for us to read I would read it if he did, and if he committed to read a criticism afterwards. A couple weeks later he handed me a copy of Gutierrez' book. We agreed to read a chapter a week and then get together to discuss it over coffee or lunch.

He thought it was great and non-controversial, but it was clear as we talked that he was doing a very superficial surface reading of the book. As I would talk about the Marxist roots of the concepts being put forward by Guttierez and the fundamental problems with founding a Christian theology on a materialistic anthropology. After a few weeks, he canceled several meetings and avoided getting together to go to daily mass downtown - something we had tried to do at least once a week for a few years when we were both in town.

This appears to have ended our friendship, as he doesn't seem to be interested in having his view of Liberation Theology challenged by my more critical reading.

I still haven't finished Gutierrez.

[Mariangel]

I think that what you read can have a very great influence, but it is not all.

[John]

Mariangel wrote: "I think that what you read can have a very great influence, but it is not all."

No, not at all. I the case of the friend I mentioned above, he spent a year in Guatemala volunteering with a Jesuit organization that was heavily influenced by LT. I don't think he can separate his fond feelings and memories of those days from his understanding of LT.