Any comments or suggestions are welcome and encouraged.
I'm wondering if :
My Introduction is clear enough
My theological focus is too narrow
What the heck I need to do for the Proposed Action Plan
I) Introduction and clear statement of the issue (2 Pages)
1) There is much that can be learned by examining the intersection of religion and psychology.
i) Within the last several decades there has been a significant body of research developed that has shed light on the intricate interplay of these fields.
ii) Through a thorough understanding of one’s religious orientation it is possible to draw implications regarding correlated personality traits.
(a) In 1950 Allport set the ball in motion with his studies on religion and personality and the correlation of orientation to racially prejudiced attitudes.
(b) These studies have been further developed by Hill in 2005 with his validation of Allports Intrinsic Extrinsic Religiosity Scales, and the inclusion of additional categories.
· Hill took the research a step further and correlated these scales with personality tests with some enlightening findings.
· It was shown that the majority of those scoring as Extrinsic, or religious as a means to an end, had negative personality traits,
· those who scored Intrinsic, or religious as an end, correlated with positive personality traits,
· while those who scored as Quest, or no religious orientation, correlated with socially neutral, albeit overall more positive, personality traits.
II) Goals of the paper (2 Pages)
1) If a predictive relationship can be shown, then it stands to reason that the instillation of intrinsic religious values in youth could be shown to help foster positive personality traits as they grow to adults.
i) There is clear indication in scripture to provide an emphasis on proper child development.
ii) With the way that modern society views religion, being able to empirically show that instilling real intrinsic religious values in children causes positive personality traits will be beneficial to the overall church and it’s evangelism efforts.
(a) Through this examination of the work that has been done in this field, as well as the work that is currently being done in youth ministry, it is possible to devise a program that should, in theory and practice, be able to facilitate this process.
(b) It is the intent of this paper to not only show the causal relationship between these values and personality, but to devise the framework of just such a program with the hope that perhaps future implementation could be longitudinally studied in order to validate the implications.
III) Biblical/theological reflection on the issue (15 Pages)
1) Scripture gives us every indication that learning and integrating matters of faith and value into our everyday lives is ideal.
i) Jesus and his dealings with the Pharisees shows us this. (Matthew 15)
(a) The Pharisees acted appropriately, they followed every aspect of the Mosaic law as they interpreted it
· The Pharisees upheld tradition over scripture
(b) This was not enough for them to obtain salvation
(c) This was detrimental to their living out of their faith as is exhibited by the prohibition towards healing on the Sabbath
· This is also observed in their condemnation of the Gentiles
· This is also observed in the exclusion of the Samaritans
· This is also observed in the refusal to interact with those deemed “unclean”
ii) Jesus’ condemnation of not just the act, but the motivation behind the act furthers this understanding.
(a) It is not enough to simply act accordingly or appropriately, one’s heart must also be in the right place (Matthew 15:8-20)
· What comes from the mouth stems in the heart
¨ The heart is the source of evil thoughts, etc.
· Lust in the heart is the sin of adultery (Matthew 5:27-28)
· Anger in the heart is the sin of murder (Matthew 5:21-22)
2) Learning this at a young age is vital to its continuation in adulthood
IV) Psychological research and its implications (15 pages)
1)
V) Ministry setting (2 pages)
1)
VI) Proposed action plan for ministry (10 pages)
1)
VII) Conclusion (2 pages)
6 comments:
A few thoughts:
1) I studied and preached on Matthew 9(:13) and 12(:7), where Jesus references Hosea 6:6 for his reasoning of eating with 'sinners.' Looking into the Hosea passage, we can come to terms with the Greatest Commendment, and the one like it: Love God, Love others.
The second part of Hosea 6:6 emphasizes the "knowledge" of God, namely 'knowing Him intimately,' getting close to Him and His Word. The second part is showing 'kesed' (steadfast love) to others as He has shown to us... However, this is not to say one is always nice, forgiving, merciful, etc., but also emphasizes steadfastness in discipline and justice. - For more clarity on this point, I would highly recommend watching an episode of Supernanny and watching how and why she disiplines as she does.
2) Though I recognize the purpose of you paper is contrary to this, I would still note that even very good parents can have terrible children (e.g. Prodigal Son had a very good father). Counter to that would be Joseph, as the favorite and beloved son, continued in the faith of His father; whereas his brothers might have had a questionable faith (at least at the time).
III, i, a. I didn't catch the relation to the pharisees immediately. This initial remark confused me because the pharisees "acted appropriately" and your outline seems geared toward producing external action.
As a general remark that also applies to the bit above, I would try and incorporate the intrinsic/extrinsic and positive/negative personality trait motifs through the rest of the paper.
Also, I need to know how all of the terms in the research are defined, intrinsic, extrinsic, positive/negative personality traits, religious as means/end, all of that.
I think the thesis can have a little more to do with your title. I feel like everything in the title is going to need something in the paper, though the paper will ultimately focus on the "fostering" portion. I see you are covering the research later, it may do to cover it up front so that I can have the psych terms in mind as we go through the theo section.
I feel like these are jumbled, but there they are.
I've only read the first bit and I think my mind just fell off. I'll try again tomorrow, haha
I just read the first bit and I think my mind fell off. I'll try this again and give you real comments tomorrow, haha
Jon - Thanks, very helpful. I understand the differentiation between nice and just, I'll need to incorporate some of that in the paper. On point 2 that you make, while I think the majority of this work should be done in the home, I am speaking more about what can be done in the church. Since the church should model the home, in that the household is constantly referred to in scripture as a metaphor for the church, they are parallel.
Mason - acted appropriately as they understood ;) It's not really geared towards producing an external reaction, so much as towards changing the heart, which will in turn, effect the external. (I know it is God who changes our hearts, but we can play a part in the process). The intrinsic/extrinsic will be further explained, I have written several papers on the topic and one of them is published here in this blog, rather than adding it in the outline here, I'm going to link it
http://sishongjerry.blogspot.com/2007/12/examination-of-effects-of-religious.html
all of the terms are described there, as well as the majority of the research on the Psychology of it all. Eventually, I will be reworking and rewriting it all to fit this paper, but for now, it is the least of my concerns.
Anna - No worries, just look at the subtitle of this Blog, and it's description, all about confusion and ramblings ;)
Jerimiah,
There once was in existence a Cultural Values Committee. I was assigned to join this committee as a teacher at Maine East High School. At the very first meeting I suggested we create a questionaire to be given to students and also parents. This was done. Results confirmed what I felt all along. Parents did not want the school district to mess with their childrens' "cultural values." The CVC was over!
Grandpa
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