Towards religious identity : : an exercise in spiritual guidance / / Tjeu van Knippenberg.

• Superior document: Studies in Theology and Religion ; Volume 4
• VerfasserIn: Knippenberg, Mathijs Peter Jozef van, 1937-
• Place / Publishing House: Assen, The Netherlands : : Royal van Gorcum,, [2002]; ©2002
• Year of Publication: 2002
• Language: English
• Series: Studies in theology and religion ; Volume 4.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource.

STAR - Studies in Theology and Religion, 4 The spiritual dimension of existence has always been a part of people's lives. Religion serves this dimension, in which people are confronted with the question of what is holy and what is ultimately important. In Towards Religious Identity Tjeu van Knippenberg concentrates on spiritual guidance in the context of the Christian faith. A number of questions arise here. What is the spiritual? Can what we call spiritual, be compared with what has been said about it in the course of the centuries? Is there a relationship between personal experiences that go beyond direct experiences and what is taught in the Christian church about the spiritual? Can this be distinguished within the complex psychological processes that take place within a person? Just how personal and private is it? Where can it be found? What is its connection with the daily course of life? Is it of importance in one's own development and in the development of society? Where can one learn about it? How does one deal with it? Are there people equipped to guide others from this perspective? Towards Religious Identity offers a framework that can contribute to people's competence in discovering the meaning of the personal life story from a spiritual perspective. M.P.J. van Knippenberg is professor of pastoral theology at Tilburg University, The Netherlands From the Contents Part 1 Identification 1 Development and Characteristics 2 Ecclesiastical and Poimenic Position 3 Path of Life and Perspective Part 2 Progress and Content 4 Process and Guidance 5 Question as to Meaning and Christian Faith 6 Theology and Identity Part 3 In Practice 7 Guidance Model 8 Competence and Applications.

Table of Contents

Intro -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Preface -- Introduction -- Part I Identification -- 1 Development and Characteristics -- 1.1 Healing in the sacraments -- 1.2 Purification in confession -- Early developments in the practice of confession -- Later developments in the practice of confession -- 1.3 Wholeness through spiritual guidance -- The monk's confession -- Becoming free -- 1.4 The cultural factor -- The vulnerability of confession -- Pluralisation and individualisation -- Theological evaluation -- 1.5 Characteristics -- Starting point -- Objective -- 2 Ecclesiastical and Poimenic Position -- 2.1 The tending of the soul -- Care of souls -- Main activity -- 2.2 Activity of the church -- Biblical origin -- Ecclesiastical anchorage -- 2.3 Actual situation -- Pastors: time, theme and function -- Parishioners: function, frequency and theme -- Pastor and parishioner: image of oneself and image of the other -- Conclusions -- 2.4 Poimenic discussion -- Spiritual direction as a basis -- The rise of pastoral counselling -- Kerugmatic model -- Kerugma versus counselling -- The rise of spiritual guidance -- 2.5 A description -- 3 Path of Life and Perspective -- 3.1 The path of life -- 3.2 Perspective -- 3.3 Christian and worldly perspective -- 3.4 Guidance perspectives -- 3.5 Spiritual perspective -- 3.6 The relation of perspectives -- 3.7 The interpretation of perspectives -- 3.8 The spiritual perspective in language -- Conditions -- Possibilities -- Part II Progress and Content -- 4 Process and Guidance -- 4.1 Life story -- 4.2 Changes -- 4.3 Dimensions of change -- Somatic change -- Psychosocial change -- Existential change -- Spiritual change -- Connection -- 4.4 Stability -- The point of stability -- Christian anchorage -- 4.5 Ambivalence -- 4.6 Change through spiritual guidance -- Guiding change.

The religious ritual as a guide in change -- Biblical examples -- 5 Question as to Meaning and Christian Faith -- 5.1 Meaning and faith -- 5.2 The experience of time -- Time and culture -- Time and boundaries -- 5.3 The experience of space -- Space and culture -- Space and boundaries -- 5.4 Christian faith and the meaning of time and space -- 5.5 Coherence of meaning -- Heir -- Guest -- Travelling companion -- 5.6 Life orientation -- 6 Theology and Identity -- 6.1 Introductory anthropological observations -- 6.2 Creation -- Creation and the meaning of life -- Covenant -- Sacrament -- 6.3 Decalogue -- The Name I Am -- The structuring of time -- The structuring of space -- 6.4 Religious identity as the objective -- Part III In Practice -- 7 Guidance Model -- 7.1 Base structure -- 7.2 Hermeneutic framework -- 7.3 Agogic framework -- 7.4 Hermeneutic and agogic intervention within the base structure -- The line of time: autobiographic competence -- The line of space: relational competence -- The inside line: between name and identity -- 8 Competence and Applications -- 8.1 Competence -- 8.2 Recognition via the model -- 8.3 Active use of the model -- 8.4 Reactive use of the model -- Bibliography -- Index of Names.