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Storytelling and conversion in children

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Storytelling and conversion in children

Aitken, Wendy Ann Jewkes (2001) Storytelling and conversion in children. Masters thesis, Concordia University.

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Abstract

This thesis explores storytelling and its use in conversion in children. Bernard Lonergan identifies a three-fold conversion: intellectual, religious and moral. Intellectual conversion allows us to distinguish between the world of immediacy and the world mediated by meaning. Religious conversion points us towards God, and moral conversion acknowledges a distinction between satisfactions and values, and it is committed to values even when they oppose satisfactions. It begins with an overview of storytelling, storytellers, and stories and how they are used in communities to facilitate intellectual awakening to our world constituted by meaning. It then moves to the stories of Jesus, where children discover God and begin to develop a relationship with him. It is helpful for parents and other caregivers to have some understanding of how children grow and develop. Developmentalists will help in the understanding of psycho-social, cognitive, moral and faith development in children. Finally, anthropologist Robert Coles reflects on the mystery involved in the development of moral persons. The development of a religious sense in children begins at birth. Stories, and in particular, the Jesus stories, are used to help children develop a relationship with God, and to ultimately make choices based on values rather than rules. Our desire is to help children choose actions that are true and good; to choose long-term value over short-term satisfaction. Storytelling can be used as an introduction to God, and is important in the development of religious imagination, for stories can evoke a more powerful faith than doctrine.

Divisions:Concordia University > Faculty of Arts and Science > Theological Studies
Item Type:Thesis (Masters)
Authors:Aitken, Wendy Ann Jewkes
Pagination:vi, 143 leaves ; 29 cm.
Institution:Concordia University
Degree Name:M.A.
Program:Theological Studies
Date:2001
Thesis Supervisor(s):Jamieson, Christine
Identification Number:BV 4925 A38 2001
ID Code:1496
Deposited By: Concordia University Library
Deposited On:27 Aug 2009 17:19
Last Modified:13 Jul 2020 19:49
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