Faith and Human Transformation

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This book proposes the parallel concept that authentic faith development both presupposes and facilitates authentic human development. Thomas Aquinas posited a reciprical relationship between nature and grace: grace both presupposes or builds on nature, and perfects nature. Translated into developmental terms, this would mean that religious and spiritual growth takes place on the foundation of healthy human growth and, reciprically, the authentic religious development facilitates development towards the goals of authentic human growth. This study attempts to investigate the validity of this reciprical relationship as it applies to human and religious growth. A dialogue is constructed between the views of four Christian thinkers (Kierkegaard, Barth, Bultmann, and Tillich) on the dynamics of the Christian faith experience and four psychological theorists (Alsler, Fromm, Allport, and Frankl) on the dynamics of human growth.