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 Questions What 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 Religion Who are the three great critics of religion in the 20 th 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 Culture 1) Deep sense of scarcity: Never enough - A sense that you are: Not good enough Rich enough Perfect enough Beautiful enough Certain or safe enough Extraordinary 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.M ATERIALISM : 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.M ATERIALISM : 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. “T HROWAWAY ” M ENTALITY 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. C OMPETITIVENESS : 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 Each Key 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 Spirituality Signs of the Times: 1) Psychological: most dominant, and overwhelming influence on spirituality 2) Postmodern: sense of: dis-union, fragmentation, cynicism distrust of all institutions, sense of everything falling apart, moral relativism, ecological crisis

Influences on Contemporary Christian Spirituality 3 ) Globalization Powerful 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 Spirituality 4) 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?

Assumptions God attracts us to Him/Her We need only to be willing Journey 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 limited God 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 Spirituality 1. 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 journey 8. 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) Days (Transitional Period: adjusting to New Life) 4. Ascension (Letting Go: of Old Life) 5. Pentecost (New Spirit descends, grows)

Tuesday’s With Morrie How 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?