Celtic spirituality: a means toward experiencing God's presence

William S Parks

Etd

Celtic spirituality: a means toward experiencing God's presence

Public Deposited

MLA citation style (9th ed.)

William S Parks. Celtic Spirituality: a Means Toward Experiencing God's Presence. Asbury Theological Seminary. rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/5c4b502e-d367-4cdf-8f9f-faec04583afc.

APA citation style (7th ed.)

W. S. Parks. Celtic spirituality: a means toward experiencing God's presence. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/5c4b502e-d367-4cdf-8f9f-faec04583afc

Chicago citation style (CMOS 17, author-date)

William S Parks. Celtic Spirituality: a Means Toward Experiencing God's Presence. Asbury Theological Seminary. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/5c4b502e-d367-4cdf-8f9f-faec04583afc.

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

Creator

William S Parks

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In Copyright

Abstract

Celtic Christians of the first millennium are characterized by their view of the pervasive presence of God in the lives of individuals as evidenced by their prayers. This project explores the effect of introducing the Celtic understanding of God's presence in the world on the religious and prayer practices of college students. A small group of students met weekly to discuss articles on Celtic spirituality and to review prayers from the Celtic tradition. A pre- and posttest design with no comparison group measured changes in their perception of the presence of God in their lives. They also recorded daily responses to two questions: How have I experienced the presence of God today? and How have I reacted to the presence of God today? These responses were coded using categories suggested by perceived manifestations of God's presence in a person's life: connectedness with God, others, and creation; right relationships; a greater sense of the greatness of God; occurrence of private prayer and corporate worship; acceptance of self and one's gifts; a sense of being led or called; freedom and peace in the midst of crisis or calamity; sacrifice and power in daily life; and, other categories that emerged from the data. This study suggests that the participants experienced the truth communicated in Scripture that God is present in our world and that God's presence is something that can be experienced in a variety of ways and places, chiefly through a sense of connectedness with other persons rather than directly to God or to creation. Furthermore it suggests that being exposed to a different view of God's presence can increase a person's sensitivity to that presence. Participants expressed an appreciation for the Celtic integration of the Christian faith into all aspects of their lives and came to see the reality that all that we do is prayer. However, this awareness did not substantially affect the time and manner in which the participants prayed to God.

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