Description
Book SynopsisFirst things are spiritually and theologically important. Before Belief explores the precognitive human experience of transcendence, illuminating how such foundational experiences are formative of attachment relationships with people and ultimately with God. The book proposes an implicit learning model rather than rely on Freud’s or Jung’s understanding of the unconscious, with a goal of recovering unconscious spiritual learning. Once discovered and put into language, early learning needs to be tested and integrated into life experience and expressed in committed living. The theories examined and advanced in the work are also carried through in practical case studies that demonstrate the pastoral and clinical salience of understanding and connecting people to those grounding experiences.
Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: Some Maps Chapter 2: First Things First Chapter 3: From One Generation to the Next Chapter 4: The Senses Chapter 5: Sight Chapter 6: Touch (including the Sense of Body) Chapter 7: Hearing Chapter 8: Smell Chapter 9: Taste Chapter 10: Revisiting Infantile Experience Chapter 11: Into Language Chapter 12: Evaluation Chapter 13: Now for Integration Chapter 14: Committed Living Chapter 15: Early Spirituality in Ministry Conclusion Appendix: The Early Spirituality Profile Bibliography About the Author
