Jerome W. Berryman

SILENCE IS STRANGER THAN IT USED TO BE: TEACHING SILENCE AND THE FUTURE OF HUMANKIND

Abstract Silence needs to be shown to be taught. This is because the nonverbal, which is a different way of referencing the world than symbols, cannot be translated into words. Teaching silence is of special importance today because of the connection between silence and the creation of existential meaning, as well as the functioning of the creative process itself. The loss of silence in our culture will result in the loss of religious meaning and the impairment of creativity. Without deep meaning and the creative process the human species is at risk.

Spirituality, Religious Education, and the Dormouse

Abstract A simplification of the epistemology of Richard of St. Victor is used to distinguish the knowing of the spirit by contemplation from the knowing of the body by the senses and the knowing of the mind by reason in order to clarify the primary kind of knowing that makes religious education unique. Richards definition of contemplation is compared to Garveys description of play and Csikszentmihalyis flow to provide a contemporary way to evaluate how the teacher and learner will feel when spirit‐knowing is being successfully taught.

LAUGHTER, POWER, AND MOTIVATION IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 1

What is the legitimate use of power in religious education? Laughter can help us answer this question. First, we will look at the history of laughter and its relation to freedom. Second, four models of laughter will be described and evaluated. Third, we will discuss how it feels for order to emerge out of chaos in human beings and what kind of laughter emerges from that experience. Finally, the rediscovery of intrinsic motivation will be narrated and implications drawn to guide our teaching and learning. 1Deep gratitude is expressed to the Dean, Clergy, Staff, and Congregation of St. Johns Cathedral, Denver, Colorado, where this paper was developed during Advent, 1997, when I was their Theologian in Residence.