Religious Education Essay, Research Paper

Religious education by way of knowing and soul nourishing can take a person and let them be engaged actively in their present and their future. It must recognize human development and that teaching and learning can never be ?individualistic? because we are all bound by the whole creation ?in the web of life? as Vogel states it.

Knowing is required for persons of faith. It includes the cognitive and the affective domains of life. Integration is very important in the developmental process as well. When people are at the intersection of life they can find connections between their past lives and their future hopes. They see their present experiences and their stories. These all integrate with each other.

Developmental theories are important because they can examine several meanings in the journeys of life. The developmentalists ask ?how? questions, which ask how we discern the meanings of our lives and how we develop. Developmental theories offer different ways we can view our adulthood.

When people think of the word teaching they think of someone lecturing and when they think of the word learning they think of someone being told. Learning by dialogue usually begins with what a person knows. Learning should draw on past experiences and on the future hopes. Conflict must be confronted. Learning should be cooperative not competitive. Learning that engages learners on every level can be fulfilling and socially beneficial. The methods we use to teach and learn must challenge and help us respond in affective and creative ways. We all bring something different to the table. This is what makes teaching and learning so unique.

There are four ways of experiencing Adult Religious Education. They are as follows: schooling, pilgrimage, household of faith, and new earth. Schooling is a part of our experience in which we provide a metaphor of understanding in what we teach and learn faith. Pilgrimage is a metaphor that opens us all up to show that our lives are in constant motion. A household of faith is a metaphor for the lived life of the faith community. They give special attention to the story and liturgical life. The new earth is a faith that people are called together to study and listen to God?s Word and are empowered by God?s spirit.

An important principle for teaching and learning is the balance of involvement in the world and the withdrawal from it to reflect and to renew us. We are all have stereotypes of people. We put people into groups. This makes the world more manageable. However, being in touch with the world requires us to examine the world with all its assumptions. We need to be sensitive to the needs of others, for they are connected with us in this world. By being in touch with the world we must grow and learn. With this dialogue becomes very important. It is a primary resource for those who wish to be servant leaders. Talking with other persons with different backgrounds should make us look at our own so that we can share together. Teaching and learning calls us to be involved in the world.

Jesus was a remarkable man. Even though he was exhausted he still ministered to those in need. The way he ministered was remarkable. In order to insure that those who were in need got what they needed he split them into groups. How many times as ministers do we try to help everyone at the same time? This is why so many pastors quit because they get burned out. In teaching and learning we must create a space to ministers and prepare people to be touched by the power of the Lord.