Gerald A. Arbuckle - Böcker

Formation is a rite of passage or initiation ritual. This book draws on the findings of social anthropological studies of initiation tiruals and contemporary biblical studies of rites of passage. Since initiation rituals are of critical importance in the life journeys of individuals and groups, the book's central theme is relevant to educationalists and ritual leaders in the Church and secular society. Most religious congregations founded since the thirteenth century were formed for prophetic ministry to a world in change, yet for centuries before Vatican II, their candidates were rarely trained explicitly for this task. Through years of quasi-indoctrination and voluntary incarceration they were taught, in a monastic atmosphere of unchanging order, that the world was evil and to be avoided. Conformity to a theological, ecclesiastical and pastoral status quo was the most esteemed value in a candidate. This emphasis was contrary to the very nature of active religious life. Religious must be prophetic challengers of the status quo within the Church and society.Training for membership in active religious congregations, therefore, must now be radically reformed, but there are no road maps available to direct educationalists in developing programmes that would stimulate candidates to be radically creative in ministry.From Chaos to Mission creates a framework for radical thinking and practical action about the critical ussue of formation of religious for mission today.

How can Catholic leaders effectively train and form members of our institutions in the Gospel values that are the ultimate foundation of Catholic identities?Internationally recognized author, educator, and facilitator Gerald A. Arbuckle argues that it is time to acknowledge that the programs and processes used in the past are inadequate to our postmodern age. The systems previously used to educate the staffs of our hospitals, universities, schools, and other institutions rarely succeed today. Although didactic teaching and discursive learning have their place, they cannot be the primary method for forming identities.Catholic Identity or Identities? will assist a wide range of people- bishops, theologians, pastoral workers, institutional leaders and staffs, and more-in their various ministries. Arbuckle draws on several disciplines, including Scripture, theology, and history, but in particular cultural anthropology, to explain the importance of refounding adult formation for Catholic ministries and the practical ways to achieve it.

For most people, fundamentalism in the modern world has become synonymous with a radical form of Islam, but fundamentalism in many shapes and forms is also very much present in Western societies. Yes, fundamentalist economic, political, nationalistic, and religious movements are aplenty in the West. Using the lens of cultural anthropology, Gerald A. Arbuckle examines fundamentalist attitudes and movements in this book, exploring why they arise and how readers can constructively respond to them.