This thesis is based on the primary assumption that the maturity of the laymen’s faith is prerequisite to cause the real growth of the churches and to accomplish the mission of world evangelism. So it has following two purposes. The first is to esta...
This thesis is based on the primary assumption that the maturity of the laymen’s faith is prerequisite to cause the real growth of the churches and to accomplish the mission of world evangelism. So it has following two purposes. The first is to establish the basic theory of education for faith, and the second is to seek the bible education theory for the maturity of adult faith.
For the first purpose, the study on the nature of faith should be preceded. The faith is traditionally understood as the human response to God’s revelational grace. This indicates that we should cognize God’s revelational grace and further have whole personal response of trusting and doing. That is called faith. And faith is understood as a conception of wholestic faith that includes belief, trust and doing as a meaning of incessant advancing education for faith procedure to maturity.
So education for faith should be made in the cooperational relation of repentance, God’s revelational phase and nurture, human education phase. And it should be a life-long education that is helpful for the growth of the three dimensions of faith remarked previously. And then, it will present the basic theory of education for faith-mainly objects, contents, and method on the dialectic integration between transitional development of faith and conversional transformation. The purpose of faith-education is the maturity of christian life and is realized in the activation of mission and the qualitative growth of churches.
The contents of faith-education are encounter of the revelation (God’s Word) and the historical life. The method of faith-education is the wholestic (whole-men) integration method that grow three dimensions of Faith and make both conversion and nurture.
For the second purpose, the seeking out of the Bible education theory for the growth of faith, it is prerequisite to study on the essence of Bible, relation of, Bible and revelation ad faith. The Words of Bible can be the Word of God in Spirit, so the concern of Bible education should be concentrated on the contents of the revelation, the Word of God. The contents of the revelation is God himself. Therefore Bible education to let us have only knowledge about God is inefficient. The true Bible education for growth of faith should be reached to making us have knowledge of God that can be got through encounter with God’s revelation. After that, it is possible for us to have whole-personal Transformation realizing God’s truth and showing proper reaction in our lives and maturity of faith which is the purpose of Bible education. The maturity of faith in each layman is prerequisite for the qualitative growth of churches and is the foundation for the activation of laymen as the main group of mission. To seek the methodology of Bible education for the growth of faith, the understanding of adult layman as learners is prerequisite and then the third way should be proposed that will synthesize Bible contents-centered education and Bible experience-centered Education. The method for it will be proceeded through following procedure.
The first phase is the course of reflective cognition, the cognitive education phase which leads to the acquisition of objective knowledge about text and context.
The second phase is the course of imaginary insight, the affective education phase which leads to the internalization of Bible-truth surmounting the objectivity and the individuality of the knowledge that is revealed in the first course through deep consideration and insights into the relations of text, context and the translators.
The third phase is that of realization of determination, the conative education phase that leads to the reactions in concrete behaviors in lives to the Biblical truths recognized and realized.
When the dynamics of Bible as God’s Words and the dynamics of human being becomes identified through this wholestic integration method, the learners can not only shorten the gap between faith and faith life but have the power to transform their lives into those of mature christians.