AADVENT - Reflection - The Theological Spectrum

I had the honor and privilege to accompany the faith journeys of eight amazing, faithful, young adult Asian Americans for over a week in July.   They all came with their own convictions of faith, including the Bible, God and  Jesus.  All were introduced to the study of theology, the Bible, the history of Asians and African Americans and a discussion of God’s calling in their lives.  Many of them were exposed to interpretations of the Bible, Faith, God and Jesus from the different perspectives of the faculty and mentors.   

One exercise had people place themselves on a theological spectrum from 1- 7.  One participant made his own number “8.”   Number one being that Jesus is the only way to God, any other way leads to hell to number seven being the thought that there are many paths to God.   Requiring the participants to place themselves on the spectrum was in effect calling them  “out”  which many felt that they were being viewed as narrow minded if they found themselves clustered in the 1 and 2 area. Reflecting on the conversations and the reaction of this exercise, I found myself wondering why does it matter, personally!  I believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior and I pray that I am given the strength, courage, energy and creativity to follow Christ’s teachings as humanly possible.  I also know that salvation for me is a mystery and that when I leave this earthly place, God and I will have a conversation about this place she created “good.”  The participants wanted the leadership to place themselves on the spectrum and the results were not surprising to me, all of us landed in the 5, 6, & 7 range.   In order for the participants to understand our positions, we did another exercise.  We place ourselves in the spectrum according to our faith experience when young adults.   Not surprisingly, most ended up in the 1,2, & 3 category.   Life experiences, God, education and understanding others perspectives shaped their faith journey and moved them from one end of the spectrum to the other. Some of the leadership also stated that their faith journey continues to develop as they grow. 

My hope is that AADVENT participants understood that the exercise was not to label them, but to show them the different perspectives  in faith communities and that’s okay. (Well, at least for me, that’s okay!)