I don't remember my exact first impression of Dr. Reist, but I don't think I was overly impressed. I mean, let's be honest, how much can you expect from a professor who quacks all the time and tells jokes pretty much nonstop?
Boy, was I wrong.
I learned more from Dr. Reist than I ever expected; things that I'm still realizing he had been trying to tell me all along.
He taught me to love literature. "We read because there are so many lives out there that we just won't have time to live." And books allow you to experience them.
He introduced me to my favorite author, Graham Greene. In one of his survey classes we read Greene's The Power and the Glory, and I loved it so much that I asked Reist if he'd supervise a semester of independent study on Graham Greene. Those discussions quickly became a highlight of my week. Reist's enthusiasm for the Catholic "atheist" who tried so hard to deny the existence of God but failed at every turn was catching. My favorite book to this day is Greene's The End of the Affair.
He taught me to be opposed to religion. Because, as he loved to remind
us, "Religion too easily turns into religiosity." So instead of
religion, he urged us, pursue faith. I think he made fun of religion more than any other person I've met; yet his faith defined and directed everything he did.
I kept in touch with Dr. Reist long after I graduated. He wrote several recommendation letters for me as I started down various paths trying to figure out what was next. And every time I talked to him and told him what I was thinking of doing, he'd tell me I could do it-- and that I should run for president. And then he'd add his signature, "Hey whoa, man!" and laugh/quack heartily as only Reist could.
I stopped at Hillsdale this summer when I was in the area, hoping to see two professors-- the two men most influential in my faith journey. I got to visit with one of them, my college adviser; but when I asked him about Dr. Reist, he told me that Reist had retired. I didn't have time to look Reist up. I wish I had. I wish I had gotten to thank him for teaching me to love literature, for introducing me to Graham Greene, and above all for encouraging me to pursue faith instead of religion.
Dr. Reist died this morning. How much did I learn from this man who quacked all the time and told jokes pretty much nonstop? More than I ever thought possible, and more than I ever realized he was teaching me.
