What I like about Jesuits

I would make a horrible Catholic. I don't agree with many of the Church's positions and teachings, and I don't think I ever could. There are things about the Catholic church I like, and I find some of their ceremonies and rituals beautiful, but they just aren't for me.

But I've always had a soft spot for Jesuits.

Now, this doesn't mean I agree with every Jesuit position or everything any Jesuit says. (I couldn't possibly; see first paragraph.) But there does seem to be a trend in Jesuit thinking towards careful examination of nearly everything, which I find an admirable quality both in general and in specific a good idea for Christians. God gave us this world; we should do our best to understand it.

I also tend to like their approach to education. For instance, I once lived near a relatively well-known Jesuit college. I was looking into the possibility of trying to take college courses (it turned out I couldn't afford to, but that's another story) and took a look at their catalogue since they were literally just down the street. I discovered that while their religious studies curriculum understandably has a lot on Christian (and particularly Catholic) theology, it also offered classes on a number of other religions, both overviews and in-depth looks.

This may not seem like a big deal to you. Maybe you think you can't possibly study religion without studying a variety of religions. And I agree. But the cool part here is that so do they, even though they come from a religion that believes they are the only true one. And from all reports, they do a pretty good job in teaching about those other religions, despite this belief. Which is a trait I think more Christians could stand to have.