Discussion post-week 5 Christian Formation
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John Brown Univeristy *
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Philosophy
Date
Nov 24, 2024
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docx
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Uploaded by DeanExploration7479
The many different aspects of the Christian life are described in the various videos and the two readings
by Henri Nouwen. In the first video the Christian life is described as reaching out to the marginalized and
those that we see as lesser than ourselves in order to welcome them into kinship and community
together. Gregory Boyle emphasized this point by the rival gang members
who went from trying to kill
each other to working side by side as friends. In the second video, forgiveness is the theme here and
Desmond Tutu the first bishop in South Africa during the end of apartheid is interviewed to understand
how he was able to forgive his enemies. His explanation is that Christians have Christ as an example to
strive for because as he lay dying on the cross despite all the torture Christ asked His father to forgive his
tormentors. The second two videos talk about how we view God and also life as a Christian. In the first
view, two wrong views of what God is like is presented. The first is that God is like a harsh rule giver or
the second is that God is just there to give you gifts and compliments. In the second video, the speaker
talks about how many people see themselves as broken and not able to stay up to God’s standard so
they are constantly trying to live for God by doing and saying the right things. Instead, the correct view is
to live with God and realize that following God is a more of a relationship not trying to keep a bunch of
rules. Some images of the Christian life that I need to rethink can be seen from the Life of the Beloved
and Out of solitude. The first image that I need to rethink is seeing myself as the beloved. Often times I
feel so ashamed of myself that I begin to see myself as a mistake and question whether I am really loved
by God or not or even capable of following him. The second is the image that submitting to solitude can
lead to experiencing more true joy and that prayer should consist of a more dedicated time to spending
time listening to God. These videos and readings showed that forgiveness, community, right view of God,
viewing oneself correctly, and finally resting in the solitude are all important aspects of the Christian life.
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