Guinea Pigs Doing Theology
Mar. 26th, 2006 05:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
qosOne of the things that's been on my vocational To-Do list for a very long time is teaching a class called "The Lamp and The Mirror: Illuminating and Reflecting on Personal Theology." I have an outline, but haven't actually road-tested any of it yet. And I'd like to present it to a group of volunteers and get feedback from them before I offer it to the general public and ask to be paid for it.
It occurred to me yesterday (after my conversation with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
princesca) that it might work to create an LJ community and invite my Friends to spend six weeks (one lesson a week, giving plenty of time for reflection and response) to participate.
Who is the class geared to? Anyone who wants to dig into his or her personal belief system, whatever spiritual path they are on. It is more slanted toward people who haven't done this kind of in-depth work before -- and I suspect that, on the average, my Friends here reflect more on their spiritual lives than the general populace -- but I think there is always value in looking past one's habits of belief to their roots and implications.
From my outline: "The class is not about teaching a specific theology, but clarifying what each of us believes, why we believe it, and what the consequences of that belief are. The goal is that by the end of the class, participants will have a deeper understanding of their personal faith, and will have developed tools for further reflection and investigation in this area, if desired."
The Lamp and the Mirror: Illuminating and Reflecting on Personal Theology
I. Introduction: Doing Theology
a. Clarification Of & Reflection On Fundamental Questions
b. Living Consequences of Belief
c. Ambiguity & Mystery
d. Terms
e. General Discussion
Homework: Spiritual Timeline
Map the spiritual high points, low points, turning points of your life.
Under the timeline, write the names of the people, texts, and/or or communities you look(ed) to as authoritative.
II. Authority: “Whom Do You Trust and Whom Do You Serve?”
a. Who has the answers?
b. Mysticism
c. Magisterium
d. Community
e. What happens when you question/challenge/defy authority?
Homework: Make a collage expressing your ideas about God.
III. God: Names, Images, Relationships
a. Who or what is God? What makes God god?
b. Theophany: Where do we see God?
c. What names do we use? What happens when we give a name to God?
d. What is our relationship with God?
Homework: Write a parable about God, sin, Good and Evil. If you have trouble, try re-reading Genesis and/or other creations story for inspiration.
IV. Good and Evil
a. What are they?
b. What are their consequences?
c. What constitutes a virtuous life? And does it matter?
Homework: Compose the ritual you always wanted to experience, be it worship, rite of passage, initiation, or celebration. It can be a solo or community ritual – but when you’ve written the ritual, reflect on what it would be like if it were experienced the other way.
V. Cult & Ritual (The sociological definition of "Cult" is "group religious practice")
a. What rituals do we perform?
b. What do they mean?
c. What is the significance of community?
Homework: Go to the the library or internet and research one spiritual topic which is of importance to you, focusing on the teachings of your denomination or community. Compare your findings with your personal beliefs.
VI. Angels in the Celestial Circle [This title was based on creating this in a Swedenborgian context, and refers to the local Swedenborgian community. I'll need to change it, but will worry about that a little later.]
a. Where do we find agreement and/or tension between our personal beliefs and our community's theology?
b. How do we feel about it?
c. How do we live with that tension?
d. Where do we go from here?
Participating in the class would involve reading lesson materials I post to the class community, posting your own responses to the lesson text, posting your homework, and reading and responding to the posts of others. Part of the purpose of the class is to be enriched by the diversity of spiritual experiences of the group, experience the dignity of being witnessed and affirmed in personal beliefs, and grow from the experience of asking and responding to mutually respectful questions.
Again, I sense that the people for whom this class will be most valuable are those who don't engage in community reflection to the degree that LJ'ers do.
What do you think?
Any volunteers?
If you have any LJ friends who you think would like to participate, please feel free to point them to this entry.
bookchick, I'll see you in a few hours!
It occurred to me yesterday (after my conversation with
princesca) that it might work to create an LJ community and invite my Friends to spend six weeks (one lesson a week, giving plenty of time for reflection and response) to participate.Who is the class geared to? Anyone who wants to dig into his or her personal belief system, whatever spiritual path they are on. It is more slanted toward people who haven't done this kind of in-depth work before -- and I suspect that, on the average, my Friends here reflect more on their spiritual lives than the general populace -- but I think there is always value in looking past one's habits of belief to their roots and implications.
From my outline: "The class is not about teaching a specific theology, but clarifying what each of us believes, why we believe it, and what the consequences of that belief are. The goal is that by the end of the class, participants will have a deeper understanding of their personal faith, and will have developed tools for further reflection and investigation in this area, if desired."
The Lamp and the Mirror: Illuminating and Reflecting on Personal Theology
I. Introduction: Doing Theology
a. Clarification Of & Reflection On Fundamental Questions
b. Living Consequences of Belief
c. Ambiguity & Mystery
d. Terms
e. General Discussion
Homework: Spiritual Timeline
Map the spiritual high points, low points, turning points of your life.
Under the timeline, write the names of the people, texts, and/or or communities you look(ed) to as authoritative.
II. Authority: “Whom Do You Trust and Whom Do You Serve?”
a. Who has the answers?
b. Mysticism
c. Magisterium
d. Community
e. What happens when you question/challenge/defy authority?
Homework: Make a collage expressing your ideas about God.
III. God: Names, Images, Relationships
a. Who or what is God? What makes God god?
b. Theophany: Where do we see God?
c. What names do we use? What happens when we give a name to God?
d. What is our relationship with God?
Homework: Write a parable about God, sin, Good and Evil. If you have trouble, try re-reading Genesis and/or other creations story for inspiration.
IV. Good and Evil
a. What are they?
b. What are their consequences?
c. What constitutes a virtuous life? And does it matter?
Homework: Compose the ritual you always wanted to experience, be it worship, rite of passage, initiation, or celebration. It can be a solo or community ritual – but when you’ve written the ritual, reflect on what it would be like if it were experienced the other way.
V. Cult & Ritual (The sociological definition of "Cult" is "group religious practice")
a. What rituals do we perform?
b. What do they mean?
c. What is the significance of community?
Homework: Go to the the library or internet and research one spiritual topic which is of importance to you, focusing on the teachings of your denomination or community. Compare your findings with your personal beliefs.
VI. Angels in the Celestial Circle [This title was based on creating this in a Swedenborgian context, and refers to the local Swedenborgian community. I'll need to change it, but will worry about that a little later.]
a. Where do we find agreement and/or tension between our personal beliefs and our community's theology?
b. How do we feel about it?
c. How do we live with that tension?
d. Where do we go from here?
Participating in the class would involve reading lesson materials I post to the class community, posting your own responses to the lesson text, posting your homework, and reading and responding to the posts of others. Part of the purpose of the class is to be enriched by the diversity of spiritual experiences of the group, experience the dignity of being witnessed and affirmed in personal beliefs, and grow from the experience of asking and responding to mutually respectful questions.
Again, I sense that the people for whom this class will be most valuable are those who don't engage in community reflection to the degree that LJ'ers do.
What do you think?
Any volunteers?
If you have any LJ friends who you think would like to participate, please feel free to point them to this entry.
bookchick, I'll see you in a few hours!
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Date: 2006-03-26 07:55 pm (UTC)Are wombats rodents?
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Date: 2006-03-27 01:37 am (UTC)