Theology remains to be a way to make sense of the world around us.

This is according to Rev. Fr. Ulysses Cabayao, SJ from the Jesuit Community and the Anthropology Department in Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) during an online forum attended by several professors in the theology and philosophy departments.

“Given the things that are happening right now, I think theology is one of the ways in which we are trying to make sense of the realities around us,” he said.

While Cabayao does not say that it is the only way, he said it is as important as the other academic disciplines.

Theology, which studies God, religion and beliefs, according to him “synthesizes the varieties of human experience”.

“Theology also offers a way of understanding: ‘Why do I feel sad?’, ‘Why do I feel this existential crisis that I’m experiencing?’, ‘What is this joy that I’m feeling?’”, he said.

He added that questions such as these are not answerable merely by psychological or very practical reasons.

“You still wonder at the end of it all ‘why do I really love?’, these are questions theology and philosophy try to answer,” he said.

Furthermore, he said theology leads people into grasping a reality that is both human and transcendent which could not be quantified nor easily explained by empirical evidences.

“While theology may not directly solve the world‘s problems, [it] could spur people to act using the other lenses that they have in order to be able to do something in the world—if they have judged it to be so,” he said.

For Nelson Magnaye, a counselor, the pandemic caused too much confusion and depression to the students.

“[They] are starting to question the meaning of life. However, there are some who realized the value of a simple life, to the basics in life,” he said.

He added now “is a very good time to lead people to the experience of God”.