b'4 SpruntKEYNOTE LECTURE: DESIRING TRUTHDr. John J. ThatamanilJohnThatamanilsdecades- A dominant desire today, he explains, is for a sense of belongingto be longconsiderationofthepart of a group that has secret knowledge not known to outsiders. That worldsreligionsnotonlydoes more to explain conspiracies and QAnon than anything else. providesthefoundationDr. Thatamanils lifes work gives him a perspective to think deeply about forhisMay2024Sprunthow we got here. He is past president of the North American Paul Tillich LectureshisworkalsoSociety, named for a philosopher who saw how religious traditions enrich makes possible an intriguingone another. In addition to writing, teaching, and preaching, he blogs for analysisofwhyAmericaonline publications and has published editorials in the Los Angeles Times issufferingthroughatimeand The Washington Post.ofsuchdeepdivision.TheHe is committed to a comparative theology that asks how religious working title he has assigneddiversity can be a promise rather than a problem. He draws on concepts to an upcoming book and toand language, such as the Sanskrit word citta, which does not make a the Sprunt Lectures captureswestern distinction between mind and heart, between thinking and feeling.his approach: Desiring Truth: The Quest for Interreligious Wisdom in aThe challenge today, Dr. Thatamanil says, is not how to give people Post-Truth Era.the right information, but to figure out how a desire for truth might Dr. Thatamanil, M.Div., Ph.D., is professor of theology and world religionschallenge the desire for group belonging. Prior to modernityand this at Union Theological Seminary in New York. He sees a profound fallacyis an argument borrowed from the French thinker Michel Foucaultmost at the heart of popular analyses of todays intractable disregard for facts. of our traditions argued that if you wanted to know the truth, the heart It used to be that people thought, You can have your own opinions, buthad to be transformed. You had to take on disciplines and practices to not your own facts, but thats not the case anymore, he explains. Peoplechange who you are so that you became the person who truly is capable today believe the most astonishing things. QAnon and conspiracy theoriesof knowing the truth.are just the most extreme examples. In human history, there have been social movements that have sought Most people argue that the cure goes something like this: We havenot just to inform minds, but also to transform hearts, Dr. Thatamanil to reteach people to sort out fact from fiction. But that suggests that theexplains by citing the nonviolence movements of Gandhi and Martin Luther problem is one of information and knowing. Thats not going to work,King Jr. It was not an issue of providing more rational information to White he says. people that Black and Brown people deserved humane treatment, he Dr. Thatamanil argues that a false western distinction between mindsays. If you tried to defeat racist arguments simply with other arguments, and heart results in elevating the status of thinking over feeling, but, henothing would have been accomplished.says, You cant know the truth if you dont want to know the truth. TheThe only way to make radical social change, the kind needed today, problem is one of desire. Thatamanil says, is to meet hatred with an unyielding loveto do the work of transforming hearts.2024 Sprunt Lectures ScheduleMonday, May 6 Wednesday, May 84:305:45 pmRegistration & Opening Reception 8:008:45 amContinental Breakfast(Holderness Dining Room) (Holderness Dining Room)6:007:00 pmOpening Lecture: Dr. John Thatamanil9:0010:00 amLecture IV and Q&A: Dr. John Thatamanil(Watts Chapel) (Watts Chapel)7:308:30 pmHymn Sing (Watts Chapel) 10:00 amBAA Trailblazer/Distinguished Alum Award Reception (Holderness Dining Room)Tuesday, May 7 11:00 amClosing Worship & Necrology:8:008:45 amContinental Breakfast Rev. Dr. M. Craig Barnes, preaching(Holderness Dining Room) (Watts Chapel) 9:0010:00 amLecture II: Dr. John Thatamanil 12:00 pmBox Lunch (Holderness Dining Room)2:00 pm (Watts Chapel) Symposium (Watts Chapel)4:30 pm 10:15 amLight Reception (Lawn or Watts Lobby) Inauguration of Jacqueline E. Lapsley(Seminary Quadrangle)11:00 amWorship: Rev. Dr. M. Craig Barnes, preaching12:15 pm(Watts Chapel)INFORMATION 12:302:00 pmAlumni Luncheon: Rev. Lori Raible, speaking (Holderness Dining Room) A single fee of $100 includes all meals (there is nola carte).2:00 pmClass Photos (Morton Library Steps)2:30 pmBAA Annual Meeting (Early CenterRm 124) There is no charge for current students or faculty. Lectures, worship, and receptions are open to all at no charge.2:30 pmClass Reunions (Watts2nd floor) Visit to Shalom Farms & Yaupon Place Information about local hotels can be found on the registration site.4:005:00 pmLecture III: Dr. John Thatamanil To register for Sprunt, visit: https://bit.ly/Sprunt24 (Watts Chapel)5:307:00 pmCookout/Book Signing (Seminary Quadrangle)(Schedule is subject to change.)Sharon & Brook 2024 WINTER ISSUE / SPRUNT'