Spiritual Formation across the Lifespan - Research Paper Example

? Spiritual formation across the lifespan School affiliate Spiritual formation is the true purpose and goal of human life. Spiritual formation of a human being starts right from their childhood and gradually progress until they mature. Spirituality is the communication with God and realizing our relationship and unity with God. Spiritual formation begins right from the home and due to connection with Church, spiritual leaders, Bible and community. There are different theories of thinkers which can be related to the spiritual formation process of a person across the life span. These theorist are Fowler,Kohlberg and Piaget who explains about the moral development and cognitive development and their connection with spiritual formation. Finally, it can be said that spiritual formation is an ongoing process and grows as a person get matured. Introduction What makes life meaningful, valuable and purposeful? The meaning for this may not be a surprise as many people know spiritual realization is the ultimate goal of human life. Spirituality, as defined in common parlance, is thought to encompass a search for meaning for unity, a connectedness, for transcendence and for the highest of human potential. There is a robust connection between personal well being and a concern with the spiritual. Spiritual or religious goals, beliefs and practices are central to many people’s lives, and are powerful influences on cognition, affect, motivation, and behavior. Human beings are by nature goal oriented. The lives of human beings are structures around the pursuit of incentive – goals that we seek to obtain, maintain, or avoid. Spiritual growth is an important part of personal growth and- an exercise in personal subjectivity. But authentic spiritual growth involves replacing the self as the source of ultimate concern with family, community, humanity, and divinity. A life that is centered on authentic spiritual goal strivings ought to result in a life that is meaningful, valuable and purposeful. A spiritual formation is possible in a person of one strives for it’s throughout his life time. The striving approach is ideal for examining spiritual interiority and the process of spiritual formation across the life span. According to (Collins, 2006)”Everyone receives spiritual formation, just as everyone gets an education. The only question is whether it is a good one or a bad one “Growing in your relationship with God is a lifelong process. Spiritual formation, that process of developing one’s personal and corporate spirituality has been hotly debated and contested for centuries. The process of spiritual formationSpirituality is the response to a deep and mysterious human yearning for self – transcendence and surrender. When we experience this self transcendence surrender, we suddenly realize that we have found our place. In the Christian spiritual tradition, there is three stage approaches to spiritual development – purgative, illuminative and punitive. In order to understand the process of spiritual development over the life span it is useful to recognize how major domains of human development such as cognitive, psychosocial and moral, undergrad and final expression in specifically spiritual experience and content. In his journal (Decker,1993,pg33-46)writes that “Trauma acts to increase spiritual development if that development is defined as an increase in the search for purpose and meaning”. Different theorist have explained spiritual growth in different manner .Let us consider the theories by Fowler, Kohlberg, Paiget in the following part. Fowler theory : According to Fowler there are six stages to spiritual formation as below: a) Intuitive Project Faith: This is a stage in which a child can be powerfully and permanently influenced by the visible faith of primally related adults. b) Mythic –Literal Faith – The stage, which ranges from age 7 to puberty is one in which individuals begin to take on for themselves the stories, beliefs, and observances that symbolize belonging to their community. c) Synthetic-Conventional Faith: From adolescence to early adulthood, faith is presumably structured in interpersonal but most conformist terms with authority as important. d) Individuative – reflective faith – The fourth stage of faith is one in which the self and one’s belief begin to take on a personalized system of explicit meaning to which one is personally commit. e) Conjunctive faith – Stage five involves the integration into the self of much that was suppressed or unrecognized. f) Universalizing faith – This final stage involves looking beyond the constraining paradoxes and the specific content of one’s particular faith. Kohlberg theory - Kohlberg theory has a significant relevance with spirituality as it supports moral development. Morality is the basic foundation to spiritual formation along with faith. His approach to moral formation is not merely developmental but can be characterized as a “developmental socialization” approach. Kohlberg found that moral judgment, a person sense of what is right change over time. Kohlberg describes an enlightenment philosophy that upholds rationality. He felt that moral reasoning must be connected to action. The spiritual formation begins at home where child develops moral principles from his parents Living the spiritual life has a direct relationship to the formation of moral vision. “ In his book (Leonard,1990,pg 127) mentions that “Kohlberg describes the most mature level of moral development in terms of living person is to live according to universal principles of justice” Piaget theory - Spiritual formation is something which has to be introduced at the preliminary school stage otherwise it would be difficult for children. According to Piaget theory, the intelligence growth of a child is gradual and in order to stabilize children which spiritual knowledge they need to be imparted information in stages. Children need to be taught about life of Jesus Christ life and teachings of his. Not only teaching, but they also should be influenced to practice these morals in their life, in order to cultivate it as a habit as they grow. In every stage of cognitive development of children spiritual aspects should be introduced to make their spiritual growth stable. Spiritual formation is a gradual and ongoing process The Spiritual formation is not an instant process but is gradual and gets completes as a person grown in life. A person’s spiritual formation should get started from one’s childhood and should continue until one gets enlightened in life. The most effective way to deepen a person’s spiritual life is to increase one’s knowledge about God. Most people come to be spiritually enlightened by means of contact with community. Children get spiritually awakened at home and in interaction with Church, community and educational institutions... In the initial stages, children get spiritually connected by church school class settings but as he grows he gain more experience by reading spiritual books and praying. According to (Greenman,2010,pg 24) Spiritual formation is not a program or project that is completed in few weeks, but rather it is a life long journey” The regular reading of Bible and attending the church on regular basis help the development of spiritual awakening in a person. One should lead a disciplined and moral life as prescribed in Bible in order to be spiritually educated. Spiritual formation is possible only if one listens to inside and outside of his being. If we desire to deepen our intimacy with God, we need to become more aware of how our emotional life affects our walk with God. Our emotions become a window to look into the state of our soul. It is necessary that one hold conversation with God and discuss with him their problems and anxieties. This practiced regularly can built up a close bond with God and strengthen their spiritual personality. Conclusion Spiritual formation is a process which can get completed or left unfinished in a human life. Many people might start spiritual formation but cannot achieve the end result. A spiritually matured person never stops advancing in faith unless he achieves a Christ like conduct. Community as a means of spiritual formation serves to immerse people in the Christian way of living so that they can learn how to be Christian in a life – long process of discovery and change. Scripture is a vital presupposition for spiritual formation and Bible is sole guide to lead people to God. Through an exploration and explanation of the gospel of the kingdom, we can understand better the context in which the spiritual formation occurs. As per (Petit, 2008.pg 43)“When we recognize the depth of our sin and place our trust in the finished work of Christ on our behalf, we become a Christian”. Actually there is no spiritual formation without the activity of Holy Spirit. The final essential resource for spiritual formation is the body of Jesus Christ. The fullest knowledge of God attainable by human beings will only come about within a growing and God – knowing community of saints. Growing spiritually should be the goal of every person and only this makes a man complete Bibliography Collins, H. (2006). Spiritual Formation in Christ: A Perspective on What it is and How it Might be Done. In dwillard. Retrieved November 15, 2011, from http://www.dwillard. org/articles/ artview.asp?artID=81 Decker, L. R. (1993). The Role of Trauma in Spiritual Development. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 33(4), 33-46. Greenman, J. P. (2010). Life in the spirit ; Spiritual formation in theological perspective (p. 24). Illinois: Intervarsity Press. Leonard, B. (1990). Becoming Chrisitan : dimensions of spiritual formation (p. 127). Louisville, KY: Westmisnister John Knox press. Petit, P. (2008). Foundation of Spiritual Formation (p. 43). Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academics. Read More