As I sit and reflect over my life, I ask myself where have I come from, where might I currently be, and what does the future hold for me according to my faith formation. This was a time for me to weigh the progress of my formation that happened over the years and to see the influential players who made it possible. Within this essay I will use two of James Fowler’s stages of faith to evaluate my own life and be able to see that through these stages I can be able to help develop others faith as well. It is through these stages that have shaped my life into becoming the faithful person that I am today. I have come to understand many things about myself and the reasons why my faith have developed the way it has. There are many people, places …show more content…
It was in this stage of life that I was learning the faith and following and believing what everyone else around me believed. It was around the age of 13 that Fowler stated that I was in the Conventional stage of faith. Within this stage I began to wrestle with questions about the faith and I started developing my own sense of belief outside of what my family believed, even though it was not any different than what my family believed. Also during this time I came in contact with persons of other faiths and questioned why things where not the way my faith …show more content…
Being honest about questions you may not know the answers too, or doubts you may not be able to clear up can be vital to the development through this period. This stage would call for complete honesty with the students at all times. I believe that this could be a critical point in the faith formation process, and if not taken seriously, it may lead too many being stuck in the conventional stage and/or causing some to leave the faith. Also, James Fowler discusses in his six stages of faith development about the individuative-reflective stage. It is this stage in which my life and faith began to reach to greater heights and caused me to see faith through a different lens. While in this stage, it seems hard to have conversation and dialog with those people whom have those same imbedded thoughts because this stage has pushed me outside the box to a different world view. Present in this stage has allowed me to question the majority of the theological position that I was taught growing
In Paul Tillich’s 1957 work Dynamics of Faith, he mentions that there are six major components of faith. These six components of faith describe the Franciscan perspective of “faith”. According to Tillich, the first component of faith is “the state of being ultimately concerned”. The second component of faith is that it is supposed to be at the center of all of our personal lives and everything that we do throughout our own individual lives. The third component of faith is that we should have an awareness for “infinite” things such as God himself. The fourth component of faith is that we need to understand that faith can act as fear, fascination, or both of these qualities at the same time. The fifth component of faith is that doubt is a major product that will always exist with faith. The last component of faith is that we need a community in order to have a “language of faith”.
The foundation of a Christian worldview is the belief in a personal God, creator and ruler of the universe. The Christian worldview views the world through God’s word, providing the framework for humanity to live by giving meaning and purpose to life. It defines who Jesus is, human nature, and how salvation is achieved. In essence it is the basis of which Christians behave, interact, interpret life and comprehend reality. A Christian worldview imparts confidence, answers to life’s problems, and hope for the future. In this paper I will discuss the essentials of a Christian worldview and an analysis of the influences, benefits, and difficulties sustaining the Christian faith.
Fowler, James W. Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for
Garrett’s concise treatment of an array of relevant questions is reflected in chapter titles like “Faith and Belief”, “The Bible and Theology”, “Sacramental Faith”, “Spiritual Practice”, “The Kingdom of God”, “The End of Things”, and “Friends or Rivals: Living in a Multifaith World”. Each chapter is a vivid explanation on how our life should be based on love, nothing else but the love of Christ, it contrasts the modern day depiction of God bein...
Paul Tillich. “What Faith Is”. The Human Experience: Who Am I?. 8th ed. Winthrop University: Rock Hill SC, 2012. 269-273. Print.
The second theory used is the faith development theory. Swanson uses Fowler’s famous work done in 1981 on faith development, which shows that faith is naturally embedded in all human beings.
Christian faith and Ethos is the class I am taking this term. The professor 's name is Reverend Leroy Leach Jr. The class is about God, the creation, and how to read the Holy Bible.
... identity and answers profound life questions otherwise unobtainable. In only a short period of time, my perception of religion has changed vastly. I have been introduced to many other perspectives that have impacted my own beliefs. I hope that as I continue to study new religious ideas, my understanding and knowledge will grow as well.
There are many aspects of the Christian worldview that determines one’s faith. It all begins with God and what he did and why he so great. Then how humanity was shape with its issues and main purpose. The way we see Jesus and what has he done to be apart of are faith and what as humans have found for a restoration. Through analysis the Christian faith and how each of these tie in together. While reflecting on my faith and if lives to the standards of a Christian worldview. Through explaining my understanding of the four aspects of a Christian worldview I will analysis and compare it to my faith.
Religion and faith have been a part of my life since the day I was born. My grandfather has been a pastor at Selma Church of God for 39 years and my mom, along with my grandmother and aunts, run our churches worship team. One could only assume, I have spent much of my life in the church. From years of children 's church and Sunday school, I learned of God 's unconditional love for me and His constant willingness to forgive me of my sins. My family and teachers explained the crucifixion and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. As a child, I knew all these things, these wonderful things about my God and my religion, but it was not until my early teens that I began to thirst for more.
Spiritual formation is one subject that I like to discuss in that it really helps one reflect on their own spiritual journey and where they are in that journey. The devil wants to steal, kill, and destroy any step forward towards God. He is not after anything tangible that we possess, rather, he is only after our faith in God and belief in Jesus. Knowing this is part of our spiritual journey as fighting against the enemy requires spiritual warfare in which the only one that can help is Jesus. A transformation in our character to be like Jesus is essential to our spiritual growth. This cannot be done without being intentional with our time, finances, and disciplines.
Growing up I was raised in a religious household, so, of course, I’m a big believer in God and my faith. To me, God is the creator of all and I believe Judgment Day is going to come very soon.The definition of faith is the belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion. My faith and the reason for my faith goes hand in hand because it makes me know the truth and opens my eyes to this world. Also, I get clarity of why I’m in this world which is to make it a better place. But seeing the world as faith with reason or reason with faith has a few challenges and can make things a little bit difficult. Same goes for science and religion which butt heads a lot. Some may feel that the Big Bang Theory created
This paper will discuss the important points of spiritual maturity. Throughout the class, I learn many things that in the end, lead back to my spiritual maturity in Christ. This paper will elaborate on the process of spiritual maturity in the life of believers. During my learning, I did some reflections on what I have learned in the class. I believe that one important lesson that I learn from this class is maturing in my spiritual journey with Christ by learning to love God and with others. Overall, I enjoyed my time attending this class, and I learn so much from every meeting that I had.
According to Hutchison (2015), “religion is symbolic patterns that consists of values, beliefs, behaviors and experiences” (p. 184). I personal conceptualize spirituality as a vital role in my life that helps me during a time of sickness, forgiveness, and needed guidance. Spirituality helps guide me throughout life during the difficult times I have encountered. Spirituality impacts my life in positive ways that influence and regulate my behavior and health. Health is very important to me; I believe the spirit can heal a person from their sickness. It seems that the spirit heals me every time I pray to be healed from sickness. The spirit gives me strength at a time of weakness. When I feel at my lowest point in life I call on the spirit to pick
My definition of religion has mostly stayed the same, but my perception of it has changed. At the beginning of the class, I assumed religion was something you believed based on your moral principles. I now believe that those moral principles are based on the religion that you believe in. Your religion changes your perception of the world and how to go about in it. Your religion tells you what is right and wrong in the world and answers all of the big questions one asks. Religion according to our book is, “A pattern of beliefs and practices that expresses and enacts what a community regards as sacred and/or ultimate about life” (Van Voorst 6). That definition was one thing that really got me thinking about my own personal idea of what religion