Need to response to classmate main post:
Stages of Faith.
As it pertains to Fowler's Stages of Faith, there are a few stages that I agree with and there are a few that I do not. I can identify with stages 1 & 2 when I was a child. At that time my knowledge about God was basic. I understood him to be some man that lived in the clouds who could make all my dreams come true. Children don't have the capacity to understand faith in depth, although I have met a few who have a deeper understand than most children. Stage 3 describes faith as something that we have or agree with because it "feels right" over what makes intellectual sense ( BERGER pg. 505). When it comes to the Christian faith, we cannot go off of what we see or know. Sometimes what we see or know limits our ability to believe! For ex: An unbeliever might have trouble believing in God because he cannot be seen. The believer looks at the earth and its beautiful and says "there has to be a God even though I cannot see him". In stage 4 I think about those who believe in something just because they have been told that it is right, and because they want to fit in or find approval. I believe that stage 5 (the belief in the power of prayer and love of God) can be achieved much sooner that Fowler suggests. I also believe that stage 6 happens much sooner than it is listed by fowler. Because we are all individuals, theres no way to put a time frame on a persons development spiritually. We all progress and experience God differently.
Faith is powerful. It gives us hope, something to look forward to, reassurance and introduces us to Gods love.
References: The Developing Person Through The Life Span, BERGER, 8th Edition