That was the title of Herr Moltmann's lecture this afternoon at Garrett. Once I became acclimated to his thick German accent, the professor gave an excellent, hope filled lecture on a theology of truth, trust, and reconciliation. He said just as fish need water and the birds need air, so do human beings need trust in order to discover our full humanity. How do we achieve this most lofty of goals? Simple, said he. Always tell the truth, even when it is painful and especially when it makes you vulnerable. Someone in the crowd asked during the Q & A session, "How do we engage persons in the first world who are extremely successful who believe the only way they got there was by not trusting anyone? How do we teach them the strength you are talking about in the truth and in being vulnerable" I whispered to my colleague sitting next to me, "Send them to CPE." Herr Doctor's answer however was not all that far off my mark. He suggested that we engage them in their narrative and we will thereby uncover the past hurts that have made them throw up such defenses. By showing them it is ok to have those hurts we will begin to break down the need for the barrier, to speak nothing of the barrier itself. Fancy words easily spoken to not make it easily accomplished, however. But Professor Moltmann's manner and fervor of belief made it an easier pill to swallow. He inspired. Closer to my heart was the subject raised by another questioner, "How do I engage my students who say that we need to listen more to those people who are causing the problems like those in Israel and Palestine. My students claim the terrorists are the victims." (He then went on to say something about Edward Said that I cannot quite recall right now - help from anyone that was there??) My first reaction was that this man needs to pay closer attention to what men like Said have to say. Dr. Moltmann responded by saying we need to uncover the truth, and a likely source for doing so is to listen to the oppressed, who tend to have much longer and more accurate memories than do history's winners. Get people to sit down together and share stories of how they have been hurt, how they have been affected by the conflict and you will see real people interacting with reality. Barriers will begin to crumble. It seems like a good idea to me, and in many places in Israel and Palestine, such things are already happening. They need to be more widespread and more well publicized. I was glad I attended the lecture and hope that I can keep the heart of what Moltmann had to say close by me. The Truth will set you free.

-R