Faith Development: Von Hügel... 3/3
Having identified Infancy/Institutional and Adolescence /Critical Von Hügel moves on to what he identifies as being an Adulthood/ Mystical stage in faith development.
Characterised by a growing awareness of an inner consciousness of God that is incommunicable and mysterious. There is release from critical analysis and the discomfort of incessant search for meaning; there is a renewed appreciation of the stories of Infancy, but within a new depth of meaning and understanding. No longer is there either the need to define or deconstruct God - there is comfort in the mystery of God.
To ignore this stage of faith development would be to anaesthetise or shut ourselves off from God; equally this stage in isolation to the Institutional and Critical elements of faith development would become self preoccupied. There is a balance to be struck. For instance to neglect the sense of mystery would be for us to be intellectually alive but spiritually barren; or for us to be simply content with the mystery of God would be for us to be guilty of being self absorbed.
It is easy to fall into the trap of seeing these stages as successive stages to pass through; however each contains elements of each other, no one stage is fully matured. What this, Fowler and others offer - with recognised faults - is a helpful support to help understand ourselves as we seek to 'know' the depth, width and height of God. We are called to a mature life of action as our faith is 'perfected'. A healthy sense of faith development helps maintain a position where we can keep learning, unlearning, relearning, co-learning in the comfort of the mystery that is God.
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Faith Development: Von Hügel... 1/3
Faith Development: Von Hügel... 2/3
Characterised by a growing awareness of an inner consciousness of God that is incommunicable and mysterious. There is release from critical analysis and the discomfort of incessant search for meaning; there is a renewed appreciation of the stories of Infancy, but within a new depth of meaning and understanding. No longer is there either the need to define or deconstruct God - there is comfort in the mystery of God.
To ignore this stage of faith development would be to anaesthetise or shut ourselves off from God; equally this stage in isolation to the Institutional and Critical elements of faith development would become self preoccupied. There is a balance to be struck. For instance to neglect the sense of mystery would be for us to be intellectually alive but spiritually barren; or for us to be simply content with the mystery of God would be for us to be guilty of being self absorbed.
It is easy to fall into the trap of seeing these stages as successive stages to pass through; however each contains elements of each other, no one stage is fully matured. What this, Fowler and others offer - with recognised faults - is a helpful support to help understand ourselves as we seek to 'know' the depth, width and height of God. We are called to a mature life of action as our faith is 'perfected'. A healthy sense of faith development helps maintain a position where we can keep learning, unlearning, relearning, co-learning in the comfort of the mystery that is God.
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Faith Development: Von Hügel... 1/3
Faith Development: Von Hügel... 2/3
Comments
A growing and mature faith must include the absolute fact that there is no full definition which totally encompasses God. It is a wisened heart (regardless of chronological age)which embraces the glorious mystery of God.
It is not a step backqards to fully realize that faith in God must permit the area of unexplainable, undefineable, uncontainable God.