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
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...
Fowler, James W. Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for
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.
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.
Paul Tillich. “What Faith Is”. The Human Experience: Who Am I?. 8th ed. Winthrop University: Rock Hill SC, 2012. 269-273. Print.
Again I was raised neutrally with religion. As a family we didn't attend church. My grandparents are all Jehovah's Witness's, although both my father and mother ended up being disfellowshipped from the congregation. Since not having any religious influence being taught to me, I was open to explore different religions for myself. I learned about several different religions. I know now that I am a Spiritualist, rather than Christian.
... 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.
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.
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.
Throughout my journey in faith, I have realized a few things. Having faith in something or someone is a strong commitment, involving deep thought and powerful emotions. Faith not only demanded that I put my trust in places it has never been before, but it required me to give up a part of myself physically, emotionally, and spiritually in order to fully perceive the sensation. Through recent changes and new experiences, I have been able to develop my faith into something it hasn't been before. However, I know that I am young and that my faith still has much room to grow. I have many experiences left to discover in my life and I am ready to let God take me where I need to go to further develop my faith.
Which brings me to Fowler’s Theory of Faith Development, specifically Individual-Reflective Faith which occurs in early adulthood. Growing up as a family we went to church every Sunday and sometimes even twice a week, everyone in my family was a catholic and that was expected from all of us, no questions asked. I even got baptized as a baby and did my first communion when I was about nine years old. I did not mind the expectation from my family when I was little because I loved church, especially the singing. Then came a time where both of my parents started to work on Sundays, so did my sister, and so my brother and I helped out at my parents restaurant. Ever since then we really have not made church a priority, I believe this is what effected my encounter with my mother when I was eighteen years old. I was currently taking a class called “religion in the modern world” and learned about all rituals and how different religions support different things than others, and it got to me to reflect on what religion I grew up learning about. Some things I liked and some things I was horrified by. So talking to my mother, I was telling her my opinions and what I believed in and that there is not just one way to believe or think. She was furious, I was stepping out of the norm, but it had been because of my Individual-Reflective Faith than lead me to this stage. I am very thankful I was able to reflect on my faith, I now have a stronger bond on my beliefs and now my mother totally supports me on it, so it was all for the best that I went through this
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.
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
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.
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