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Cultivating faith – faith and reason are not natural opponents – our need for certainty make them that way. - A place of mystery where we find the courage to believe in what we cannot see; - Strength to let go of our fear of uncertainty;
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Becoming a Woman of Mature Faith
Meaning of Becoming a Woman of Faith?
Moving from one stage of life to the next ultimately involves a re-shaping of one’s worldview…
View of what?Everything!
God, humanity, your faith, beliefs, your self-image…
Cultivating faith – faith and reason are not natural opponents – our need for certainty make them that way.
- A place of mystery where we find the courage to believe in what we cannot see;
- Strength to let go of our fear of uncertainty;
Opening Questions: Essential
What is the nature of Faith?What is Spirituality?How are the two related to each other?
Why is it often so difficult to have faith today?
*Are social (cultural); psychological, and developmental reasons
Other QuestionsWhat does it mean to have a Christian faith and spirituality?
What does it mean to become an adult (with a mature faith?)
Is God dead, or just hiding?
All challenging questions that are central to course
Why is Faith Often Difficult?
Society and Culture don’t help
Cultural assumptions deeply influence how we imagine and understand our faith
Human sciences (psychology, sociology, history) have a lot to say on faith
Have to understand the social and cultural forces affecting us
Three Critics of ReligionWho are the three great critics of religion in the 20th century and what do they say?
While each makes some valid observations, they also appear to misunderstand or undervalue nature of religious experience
Masters of Religious Criticism: Religion is…?
Freud: a wish/fantasy, neurosis: God becomes a great Father-in-the-Sky
Marx: an opiate for the masses keeping people subservient and controlled
Niche: prevents people from developing a personally mature morality
Each thought religion (formal, institutional form) was on the way out
What is culture?The total context that shapes us all
We are both created and shaped by it
Is a transmitted pattern of meaning
All living in ‘webs of significance’ we are not always aware of
Some Values and Assumptions of our Western Culture1) Deep sense of scarcity: Never enough- A sense that you are:Not good enoughRich enoughPerfect enoughBeautiful enoughCertain or safe enoughExtraordinary enough
Scarcity culture:- Shames a lot;- Compares a lot;- Is fractured by disengagement of
people.- people are closed down, - distrustful,- self-protected, - strive to fit in rather than belong;- avoid and view vulnerability as
weakness.
2.MATERIALISM: the assumption that happiness lies primarily in possessions and a high standard of living.
- Shopping and acquiring things as the source of entertainment and happiness
2.MATERIALISM: the assumption that happiness lies primarily in possessions and a high standard of living.
- Shopping and acquiring things as the source of entertainment and happiness
4. “THROWAWAY” MENTALITY
Obsolescence: throwing things out while they are still good.
Actual O.– manufacturing items that last a short time; Manufacturing a fridge/ dryer that will last 3 years instead of 20 years;
Perceived O. – do we want an iPhone 5 when the iPhone 6 comes out, regardless of whether it’s still working or not?
5.the “isms”: Racism, Sexism, Classism, Able-ism and Ageism are all based on prejudice.
These are based on the assumption that some people and groups are:
- better, more human, more deserving of rights than others, based on some accidental
characteristic like skin color, ability, sex, or age.
6. COMPETITIVENESS: a “me first” attitude
- based on the assumption that getting ahead and being number one are all-important.
- Winning/ succeeding at all costs mentality even if it involves:
- Lying- Deceiving - Cheating - Use of doping
7. VIOLENCE:The assumption that physical or psychological harm to others is the means to get one’s way.
Aggressiveness is glorified in our popular culture.
People are desensitized to it, regard it as normal occurrence in relationships.
Contemporary Culture?Different names: High Modern? Late Modern? Post-modern?
Needs to be contrasted with a premodern and modern cultural perspectives
*All are present today and deeply affect our faith
Strengths and Weaknesses of EachKey points:
1) All still exist in different ways;
2) Each has strengths and weaknesses; value and truth
Premodern◦ Strengths: respect for past, tradition,
sense of sacred, place for God (Transcendent)
◦ Weaknesses: tends to superstition, distrust of reason; religious violence; little sense of Other
Modern
◦Strengths: committed to reason and rationalism: scientific approach
◦Weaknesses: loss of sacred; excessive individualism; tend to idolize science and reason
Postmodern
◦Strengths: awareness of relational nature of all things; possibly more open to the sacred and divine; new appreciation for the limits of science and technology;
◦Weaknesses: danger of slipping into moral relativism and nihilist tendencies
Influences on Contemporary Christian SpiritualitySigns of the Times:1) Psychological: most dominant,
and overwhelming influence on spirituality
2) Postmodern: sense of: dis-union, fragmentation, cynicismdistrust of all institutions, sense of everything falling apart, moral relativism, ecological crisis
Influences on Contemporary Christian Spirituality
3) GlobalizationPowerful market forces: TNC’s more powerful than governments
Commoditization of everything including religion and spirituality
Global apartheid: deep and lasting structures that maintain unjust distribution of wealth and services
Influences on Contemporary Christian Spirituality4) Technology
◦Virtual reality: computers, cell-phones, internet, social networks: leads to pervasive fragmentation of consciousness
◦Effects of computer use changing how our brains work
Impact on Spirituality Today?Leads a superficial, self-centered individualism
Weakens community-forming forces
Creates an artificial split between religion and spirituality
What should response be?Where is faith today?
AssumptionsGod attracts us to Him/Her We need only to be willingJourney to adulthood a process of transforming from unlikeness to likeness to God (?)
Term ‘Spirituality’ most over-used, general, and misunderstood term
What does it mean to be ‘Spiritual’?When you express in action what you believe
an all-encompasing vision for life
*What faith looks like when its lived
When your values, visions, beliefs are in congruence
Meaning/Relevance of God?For Christians, spirituality centered on love, as demonstrated by Jesus
Involves: ◦developing a dialogical relationship between one’s Inner and Outer world
Our vision of God?Often too small, too limitedGod is both The Question and Answer
God is:◦ The Mystery we live ◦That which pushes us towards our True Self, and, ultimately, to transcend this Self (?)
Premodern: ◦Is hierarchical with God and his
representative at the top◦characterized by a deep respect for
authority, the past, and tradition◦It is communal rather than
individualistic◦It’s morality is characterized duty to
universal laws and absolutes
Quiz: Rolhheiser’s Paschal Spirituality1. What are the 2 kinds of death
Rolheiser identifies?2. What is the difference between
the two?3-7. What are the five stages of
the Paschal journey8. What is at center of a Christian
spirituality, according to Rolheiser?
9. What is essential for a mature spirituality and faith?
Rolheiser’s Paschal Journey?1. Good Friday (Death)2. Easter Sunday (Resurrected
Life)3. 40 Days (Transitional Period:
adjusting to New Life)4. Ascension (Letting Go: of Old
Life)5. Pentecost (New Spirit
descends, grows)
Tuesday’s With MorrieHow is Rolheiser’s five parts to
the Paschal Journey and achieving a mature paschal spirituality illustrated in the movie?
What new insights did Morrie’s journey to death give you about how to live your life more meaningfully, more joyfully?