Christian Spirituality Education for the Renewal of Humanity

ABSTRACT

This study is about Education for Christian Spirituality with a special focus on the renewal of humanity. It is seeking a solution as to how and what to prepare in the face of enormous influence of the postmodernism which seems to grab the minds of today’s people. The traps of extreme emotionalism, self-centeredness, and relativism have caused people to become more fragmented beings than ever before. An extreme individualism became the hallmark of postmodernism and ‘if something works for me, that is a truth for me’ are kinds of philosophy people of this era seem to possess. Paradoxically, postmodern people yearn for meaning of life and answers to questions they cannot solve by themselves. Thus in order to provide an answer to questions, an education for Christian spirituality is suggested here in this paper. Therefore, the relevant interpretation of spirituality is attempted and the theology being employed is a holistic trinitarian interpretation of spirituality. In this paper, the term spiritual education is used rather than spiritual training in order to promote “becoming nature” of spirituality. Then the paper suggests the essence of education of Christian spirituality is the hope that education for Christian spirituality can renew and enhance the genuine humanity. In the process of doing so, a double edge concept of human nature will be introduced which has great potential on the one hand and is of impossible sinfulness (I don’t understand the phrase impossible sinfulness) on the other, according to the reformer’s theology. Also, the function of Christian spirituality helps people to work for the betterment of the faith community. (I dont understand what you are trying to convey with the previous sentance) Finally, three spiritual education methods are provided as follows: a spiritual education method that is based both on the individual and communal dimensions; a spiritual method that is based on both apophetic and kataphetic dimensions; a spiritual education method that utilizes the MBTI analysis of each individual. If we succeed in implementing above spiritual education in harmony, hopefully a fragmented humanity can surely be restored and renewed, although it can hardly be perfected.