Fowlers Stages of faith Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 13750 words

Fowlers Stages of faith - Essay Example FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 43 CHAPTER V 54 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 54 5.1. SUMMARY 55 5.2. CONCLUSION 56 5.3. RECOMMENDATIONS 57 5.4. FUTURE POSSIBILITY OF THE RESEARCH AND SOME DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED 58 Bibliography 59 ABSTRACT 63 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.0. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Since the ancient period, humanity has constantly tried to understand people’s relation and position with the world, with the universe, with transcendental reality. The works of Plato and Aristotle offer how human beings may be able to apprehend their position in the cosmos (see Phaedrus, The Republic, The Metaphysics ). However, during the Middle Ages, when people’s nature is defined more in terms of their relation with God, faith seeking understanding has become an attestation of a person’s innate ability to ‘understand’ the person in relation with God. Nonetheless, the questions and the longing for answers do not end there. In this sense, the desire to understand the meaning of life, its purpose and its relation with God and Others have long been part of the questions underpinning human existence. This yearning has become more concrete in the midst of the angst rising from current human experiences, of the present human condition. In this regard, the necessity of understanding faith dimension in the lives of people in the contemporary period becomes more urgent as people try to find meaning and purpose for their lives. However, what is faith? Generally, faith is belief in the reality of a transcendental being. However, over the past few decades, a ‘different’ approach to faith has been given. James Fowler’s theory of faith development is considered as one of the most significant models of faith/spirituality development that has emerged (Stantrock, 1999; Parker, 2006). It seeks to chart the stages of faith within the chronological life span of a person (Fowler, 1981). As such, the model tries to explain the process by whic h individuals' perspectives on ultimate meanings and values change during the course of their life (Fowler, 1981). In this regard, Fowler’s stages of faith, the only recognized measure of faith development stages (Moseley, Jarvis, Fowler & Di Nicola, 1993), has attracted further studies, debates and added evaluation (Streib 2005; Parker, 2006). In lieu with this, the study will look into James Fowler’s stages of faith vis-a-vis Christian faith. 1.1. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK As the study seeks to understand the relation between Fowler’s Stages of Faith and the Christian faith, the clarification of the connection between the two will allow for the development of more depth and deeper understanding of faith. This becomes essential as Fowler’s discourse on faith is considered as one of the most important developments in understanding the phenomenon of faith. Furthermore, it attempts to present the position that as Fowler’s faith and Stages of faith is used in addressing concerns in education, in counseling and other fields, it can be used to further explain the notion of faith within the Christian context. In this regard, if clarification of the connection between two conceptions of faith, then a wider and deeper appreciation of faith is possibly attained. It will enable people to discuss faith in seeming abstraction but in the view of concrete and measurable developments that is charted across a person’s life span. 1.2. Statement of the Study: The purpose of this research investigation was to use Fowler’