Teaching And Religious Imagination Draws From Paul Ricoeur

A creative church does a great job of going into dance and theatre, how dancing can be a good way of expressing yourself in a way that is comfortable to you. Then the book teaches the importance of visual art and what it means to look at a piece of art then take away different interpretations of a piece of art and what the painter tried to portray through the painting. In the book, The Creative Church, Mr. Smith identifies and shows us the importance of architecture and what the different forms and designs they had meant within the church. Todd Smith shows us many different forms of art such as moving art, how art could be used as a ministry, and how different forms of art could be used as a form of education. Through the pictures and images given in the book the reader can piece together the writings with an image to obtain a better understanding of the texts. The book itself is something we could consider to be a form of modern art. The book does a good job of informing the reader of how perspectives have changed in the church and how the church has adapted to using different forms of art as a tool to share the

As Christians, we are called to evangelize people and to engage all people in the redemptive plan of God; in order to fulfill his purpose it is necessary to share our knowledge of God´s word in congregations and secular life. Despite didact techniques has been evolving for centuries providing us many different pedagogy strategies, it is still a challenge for Christian educators to teach facts from cultural or historical context alien to the context of their students. In his article "The Christian Story and Our Stories: Narrative Pedagogy in Congregational Life", Benjamin D. Espinoza, who possesses an M.A. from Asbury Theological Seminary, explains the characteristics and creative ways to apply narrative pedagogy effectively in religious and secular areas of life (Espinoza 443).

“The teacher is of course an artist, but being an artist does not mean that he or she can make the profile, can shape the students. What the educator does in teaching is to make it possible for the students to become themselves.” ― Paulo Freire

The education of children has existed since the beginning of time as parents have taught and molded their children into the young adults they desired them to be. Initial training of children was not in a formal setting, although history would see numerous settings, purposes, and methodological changes. Philosophies of education have also changed through the years as various voices have seemed to grasp the purpose of educating the next generation, thus laying out objectives to reach those goals of teaching children.

C.S. Lewis, who is the author of  “Out of the Silent Planet”, is a man who was well educated in his religious faith of Christianity. A common theme in his works is based on his support for the Christian world of religion and teaching. C.S. was known for his writings of fiction as seen through the work of “Out of the Silent Planet” when the solar system of planets are renamed as something else and a man journeys through many unknown species and areas of land. The main character, Dr. Elwin Ransom, who is a teacher, plans an expedition to live with the people of Mars. He is captured and taken by these two men named, Devine and Weston onto a

In this project, I will describe a scenario in which I am developing within my own ministry to engage people in helping them think theologically. The Church today is suffering greatly because many people are not engaged in Scripture, practicing spiritual disciplines, or thinking theologically. I hope to create a pattern to correct that and give them the ability to not just learn a little each week from a sermon, but take everything that comes at them and learn from it, while giving them the ability to teach others as well.

Teaching prayer in schools has been a controversial topic since Abington Township School District v. Schempp (1963) that removed prayer from the classroom. However, a Bible-literacy course at New Braunfels High School (NBHS) in Texas exemplifies the successful teaching of the religion without imposing it on the students. This is an ideal that would satisfy both conservative Christians and secular liberals. The consensus that David Van Biema comes to in his article “The Case for Teaching the Bible” is that schools should teach the Bible from a neutral perspective that allows students to understand the concepts behind the text’s arguments while observing and forming their own beliefs and opinions.

As I write this post, a recent memory springs up in my mind. Earlier this year, my dad had an art show at the Steffen Thomas Museum focused on Christian Art. One afternoon, Chris and I decided to go over there so I could look at his show. I am always amazed at my dad's art and this was no exception. As we went from painting to painting, I could not imagine the countless hours he spent on each one of these paintings.

The book, The Christian Imagination, edited by Leland Ryken, attempts to address this reality, and at moments excels, and at other times struggles to make

administrators that their choice of career is vital. Educators still hold great influences on generations of children from

Reflecting on chapter fourteen of Barbara Brown Taylor’s book “The Preaching Life”, I gained great insight into the understanding of imagination, and its relationship to conscious reality. Taylor, in this autobiographical insight of her life as an Episcopal Priest and Preacher, presents the reader with the challenge of understanding the concept of imagination, as perceived through the eyes of children versus the lack of imagination in adults. . Moreover, it is a comparison and contrast to the imagination, as it is perceived, applied, and evaluated through the eyes of adults. Possibilities are what children perceive through imagination, where as adults often see problematic probabilities. Her scenarios about children’s play and discovery are a reminder that followers of Christ need to redirect their thoughts and actions toward the positives of life, and avoid the negatives.

When I first began teaching over twenty years ago, I do not believe I had a clear idea of what my vision of education was. I was hungry for knowledge myself and took every opportunity I could to attend professional development and implement new curriculum and instructional strategies. During the early part of my career as a teacher, I developed a

In this bible talk, David Mier focuses on the idea of grace and “Why it is worth fighting for.” He starts off referring to the well-known historical figure, Martin Luther, whose ninety-five theses were a key catalyst in the reformation and schism of the Roman Catholic Church in the 16-century. He goes on to say how within these were complaints that the Catholic Church had strayed from the scriptures, how they were focusing too much on deeds or religious works and not on grace. He argues against this idea, stating that grace is the only way to be saved.

Part of my desire to be a teacher comes from the belief I hold, that adults have a lot to learn from children, not just the other way around. The word “wonder” to me has a childlike feeling, and by developing my sense of wonder now, I can learn from the children I plan on teaching in the future. During my time in college, I want to find wonder in new things as well as the things that I already love and my hope is that during my time in college I can keep a sense of wonder in what I am familiar with by continuing to find new things to be excited about in them. But I also want to develop a sense of wonder in new things, people and places. As I learn more about the world in college I want to foster a sense of wonder in the different aspects of my

Throughout my experience with my hometown church, I prepared and instructed religious lessons that were entertaining, but more importantly insightful to the youth of the church. Through acting, musicianship, and artistic qualities and strengths, our youth consistently performs for the congregation to express our faith and development as the future generation of this country. Ultimately, I believe I have been able to contribute in a innovative way. I believe my contribution have been informative and revolutionizing through a variety of entertaining and attentive methods. I wholeheartedly believe that my time as a leader in my hometown will eventually reduce the likelihood of these pupils committing wrongful acts and will increase the likelihood of these pupils to pursue a further commitment to religion and