Abstract:

Imagination is fundamental to the Christian faith in that it involves seeing the spiritual reality through material reality. Religious education aims at leading the students towards an ever-deepening and loving knowledge of Jesus Christ as the visible image of the invisible God, a selfless service of one’s neighbour, and an authentic sacramental prayer and worship “in Spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). To achieve this, religious education needs a methodology that helps the students discern God’s revelation in Christ written in Scripture, attested by Church Tradition, and reflected on in human experience. Imagination as a method in teaching Christian doctrine means three things. First, it is an essential element in real human knowing, and, consequently, an indispensable aspect in the process of teaching and learning. Second, both divine revelation and the graced human response of faith are mediated by an imaginative language articulated in Scriptures, Church tradition, and human experience. It is on the level of the imagination that the encounter of the divine and human in this world is possible. Lastly, imagination fosters a real grasp of doctrines as saving truths and their actual integration in life.

Final Defense:

Board of Examiners: Fr. Johnny Go, S.J., Ed.D. (Principal Examiner), Fr. Ronald Bagley, C.J.M., D.Min., Fr. James Kroeger, M.M., D.Miss., and Dr. Patricia Lambino

Proposal Defense:

Board of Examiners: Carmen Valdes Ph.D., Michael Demetrius Asis Ph.D. and Ma. Lucia Natividad, Ph.D. (Adviser).