North of England Institute for Christian Education Questions of Faith Jeff Astley

1. The Meanings of ‘Faith’ ‘the Faith’ OBJECTIVE FAITH Body of doctrine The Tradition product ◊ content the faith which is believed fides quae ‘our faith’ SUBJECTIVE FAITH personal faith ‘faithing’ process ◊ personal acceptance/understanding the faith by which it is believed fides qua

2. ‘our faith’ believing trusting, valuing doing context dialogue development

James Fowler’s ‘human faith’ Form HOW/WAY Content WHAT described under 7 Aspects developing in 6 Stages  Centres of Value  Images and Realities of Power  Master Stories ‘Ultimate Environment’

Fowler’s faith stages

Stage 0: Primal Faith up to age four ‘Nursed Faith’ ‘Foundation Faith’

Stage 1: Intuitive-Projective Faith ages 4 to 7/8 ‘Chaotic Faith’ ‘Unordered Faith’ ‘Impressionistic Faith’ ‘Imaginative Faith’

Stage 2: Mythic-Literal Faith ages 6/7 to 11/12 and beyond ‘Ordering Faith’ ‘Narrative Faith’

Stage 3: Synthetic-Conventional Faith ages 11/12 onwards or 17/18 onwards 'Conforming Faith'

Stage 4: Individuative-Reflective Faith 'Choosing Faith' 'Either/Or Faith’ from 17/18 or from mid-life

Stage 5: Conjunctive Faith rare before 30 ‘Balanced Faith’ ‘Both/And Faith’ ‘Inclusive Faith’

Stage 6: Universalizing Faith very rare ‘Selfless Faith’

James W Fowler

John H Westerhoff III

Heinz Streib

3. ‘the Faith’ beliefs, doctrines symbols, stories spirituality, values practices language: the ‘grammar’ of Christianity skills: religious literacy spiritual vision imagination

4. ‘Passing on’ Faith transmission + Faith translation

Faith transmission ‘ Faith community/Enculturation’ Forming congregation in Christian faith and life e.g. in worship

Faith transmission ‘a process which aims to aid persons to internalize and adopt the community’s faith as their own and to apply that faith to life in the world.’ (John Westerhoff) ‘The crucial activity here is not so much comprehension as identification.’ (Charles Foster)

hidden curriculum ‘So much of our most significant learning is unconscious.... We learn all the time. My conviction is that this hidden curriculum, this unconscious learning, is so important we cannot afford to let it remain unconscious.’ (John Westerhoff)

Faith translation ‘Interpretation’ Promoting dialogue between Christian tradition and human experience e.g. with individuals or small groups reflecting on their own stories

Faith translation ‘To interpret means precisely to use one’s own preconceptions so that the meaning of the text can really be made to speak for us.’ (Hans-Georg Gadamer) Ask: ‘What does the community’s Story mean for (affirm, call in question, invite beyond) our stories, and how do our stories respond to (affirm, recognize limits of, push beyond) the community Story?’ (Thomas Groome)

5 More Questions of Faith questioning and questing failing and hoping ignorance and mystery education and schooling formation and criticism