Final Reflections

Now that I’m almost done with Great Books V, the fact that I’m almost done with the program seems crazy to me. My journey with a program that has shaped my life so much is close to ending. Throughout my time in the program, I’ve learned and grown so much; I can definitely see that I’m not the same person I was when I started taking Great Books almost three years ago. My journey through Great Books has been one of growth spiritually, socially, and academically.

Great Books V focuses on spiritual works, which I was ecstatic to read, hoping they would help me with my faith journey. For a while I was craving to dive deep into God’s word in a way that I hadn’t gotten during my high school years. Great Books V satisfied that need. I think I understand God and Christianity on a deeper, more meaningful level now. As Henri Nouwen writes in The Return of the Prodigal Son, “And along this route I will discover the joys of second childhood: comfort, mercy, and an ever clearer vision of God” (54). The books in the class revealed to me areas of my spiritual life that need work, among other struggles I’ve experienced. Nouwen writes, “Even though there has been in me a lifelong desire to be an insider [of Christianity] looking out, I nevertheless kept choosing over and over again the position of the outsider looking in” (12). This sentence resonated deeply with me because for the longest time I wanted to grow in my faith and become closer to God but was scared to do so, but this semester has made me want to choose the position of the insider. Even though discipleship might have demands that appear hard to meet, the benefits and blessings far outweigh the cost. Additionally, exploring the themes in the books helped increase my desire to grow closer to God and my willingness to discuss topics with others in order to come closer to the truth. They also helped me grow my faith because they plunged into deep topics, challenging my beliefs, which then strengthened them. Even when I disagreed with the views presented it helped because it showed why I believe what I do. Reading the books required me to think through my beliefs to determine their soundness. The spiritual nature of the texts in Great Books V aided in increasing my faith.

A change occurred in my spiritual life this semester because reading spiritual texts, reflecting on devotions, and writing prayers all served to bring me closer to God. Throughout my life, I’ve seen God’s awesome power, but reading different authors explore all the intricacies of Christianity and of God’s nature highlighted to me again and again how truly amazing He is. From Athanasius discussing the incarnation of Christ and how powerful it was to Lewis’ The Problem of Pain and ending with The Return of The Prodigal Son, they’ve all made an impact on my life. The texts showed me to consider interpretations of the Bible that I hadn’t previously, like when Bonhoeffer discusses discipleship and then Tolstoy shows a family trying to follow the call. As Pascal says, “There are three ways to believe: reason, habit, inspiration” (103). All the texts in Great Books V modeled each of these ways, showing that all are necessary for Christianity. 

I’ve seen myself grow socially throughout the courses. I’ve gone from someone who was scared to speak her mind to someone who’s relatively comfortable to say what I think (and to finding little harm in messing with the professors). Sharing my thoughts is still scary sometimes because they’re out there for people to critique, but it’s also fulfilling being able to share them. Great Books has been a giant blessing in my life by helping me grow my mind and person, but also by providing me with connections, whether that be professors or friends, giving me an experience that will last a lifetime. Discussing great works of literature with peers, especially religious ones, really forms a bond between them. I’ve also seen how having a smaller class as opposed to a bigger one really helps form those connections because it offers a more intimate setting, and everyone can interact more. Books and discussing them really helped me to improve socially.

Great Books as a whole has taught me how to think well to determine if my beliefs have a solid foundation and how to respectfully discuss opinions with people. People may disagree with my thoughts, which a younger me would be hard-pressed to deal with, but that disagreement sparks growth, for without adversity it’s difficult to achieve that. As Lewis writes in The Problem of Pain, “Love, in its own nature, demands the perfecting of the beloved,” and in order to achieve this perfection, pain and trials exist, whether they be in the form of processing difficult material or friendship struggles. Moreover, all the knowledge builds off of each other--what I learned in the earlier classes is applicable to the later ones. This progression of ideas is important because as they progressed, so did my depth of knowledge and understanding. It also demonstrates that, while ideas of different eras seem contrasting, they are “secretly united” as C.S. Lewis writes in the preface of On the Incarnation (11). This fact is important to me because it shows that despite mankind apparently changing, it always has the same underlying truths, and, even more than that, it demonstrates God’s unchanging nature. Furthermore, Great Books demonstrates how hard work can be rewarding. If one puts in the effort, not only will they succeed, but their mind, knowledge, and understanding increase as a result. While the honors program strengthened me academically, the academic nature helped me improve my whole person.

I enjoyed my time in Great Books V immensely. I hope for my relationship with God to keep growing and that I’ll never lose my love for learning even after Great Books, and college, are over and never stop striving to reach truth.