Big Think

Question: What impact does your work have on the world?

Peter Gomes: Well I have it on good authority – that is the people to whom I do preach and the people who take the time to tell me about it over many years – that I make people think. I make them imagine … see things that they would not have seen before. Or ask about things that they hadn’t thought about asking before. Or even I have the capacity, I hope, from time to time to lead people to what the theologian calls an “Aha” experience. Or, “I’ve never thought of that before!” Or, “What an interesting notion.” I rejoice in that. It’s the same skill and the same thrill that a teacher gets when somebody finally gets it after you’ve tried to put it before them. That’s the thrill of preaching for me, and I think I have the ability to do that in many cases.

Recorded on: 6/12/07