Back to the future in spiritual formation: an exerience with the Spiritual Exercises for Presbyterian males in a local parish

Robert Eugene Slater

Etd

Back to the future in spiritual formation: an exerience with the Spiritual Exercises for Presbyterian males in a local parish

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MLA citation style (9th ed.)

Robert Eugene Slater. Back to the Future In Spiritual Formation: an Exerience with the Spiritual Exercises for Presbyterian Males In a Local Parish. San Francisco Theological Seminary. rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/1c8834a8-6878-4a19-b261-6c9ce2f7f1ba.

APA citation style (7th ed.)

R. E. Slater. Back to the future in spiritual formation: an exerience with the Spiritual Exercises for Presbyterian males in a local parish. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/1c8834a8-6878-4a19-b261-6c9ce2f7f1ba

Chicago citation style (CMOS 17, author-date)

Robert Eugene Slater. Back to the Future In Spiritual Formation: an Exerience with the Spiritual Exercises for Presbyterian Males In a Local Parish. San Francisco Theological Seminary. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/1c8834a8-6878-4a19-b261-6c9ce2f7f1ba.

Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.

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Robert Eugene Slater

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In Copyright

Abstract

As American culture enters the 21st century a shift is on from trusting the experience of respected authority to listening attentively to the authority of one's experience. More and more individuals are giving importance to their personal spiritual experience. Simultaneously, such people are recognizing the value of usable patterns of spiritual formation from the history of Christian spirituality. These time-tested models are providing help in discovering the divine presence and identifying the quiet whispers of God in one's personal life as well as within the communities to which one belongs. Accepting a renewed quest of spirituality as part of our contemporary American society, this dissertation/project attempted to assist six men, from three distinct generations, in their everyday awareness of God. The pattern from the history of Christian spiritual formation under scrutiny was the 'Spiritual Exercises' written in the 16th century by Ignatius Loyola. From for 12 weeks, September 1 through November 30, six Presbyterian men from the same parish entered into the Exercises. The primary resource was 'Choosing Christ in the World: Directing the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola According to Annotation Eighteen and Nineteen' by Joseph Tetlow, S.J. During the 90 days each participant followed a daily sequence of prayer and reflection adapted from the Spiritual Exercises. Individually, the retreatants met twice a month with the retreat director/dissertation author and once a month gathered together as a group. Written journal entries composed during the experience, one-on-one meetings with the retreat director/author and self-evaluations completed by the participants at the beginning and conclusion of the project provide the basis to identify affect (emotions) and effect (behaviors) influenced by the experience with the Exercises. The author also utilized the work of William Straus and Neil Howe, 'Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069' to provide generational context and identify influences.

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