Maurer, S. (1981, Spring). "Enfleshing scripture through literature." Horizons: The Journal of the College Theology Society, 8, 114-119.

OVERVIEW

Dr. Maurer, Saint Mary’s College (Winona, MN) assistant professor of religious studies, and a faculty team designed eclectic literature and Scripture courses for incoming college freshmen. The courses, "The Meaning of Literature" and "Sacred Scripture: Stories of God," were separate, but were intended to be "interdependent, feeding into and being nourished by each other." The following further explains the courses’ purpose: "simply to show that the human experience which brought forth scripture continues to be ours, whether it issues in literature or in life. This experience, recalled and interpreted in community or within self, shapes and creates our identity, our uniqueness. It becomes our ‘story.’ "

DESIGN

Students examined nine classical literary pieces, searching for themes paralleled in Scripture. Classic literature reflects human experiences common to all; reader identification with stories emerges. By introducing Scripture to literature, students applied Scripture to their story and, perhaps, into their life. Dr. Maurer highlights the positive elements of the studies: "The crowning result of the course was a heightened student sensitivity to movements within their own lives which they were willing to recognize, identify and claim because their story, somehow, mysteriously, was in tune with a literary story and/or the stories of God."

CONCLUSIONS

Critical faculty and student evaluations affirmed the following about the course study:

• It provided a learning situation in which students could discover themselves and reflect on the ultimates.
• It fostered intellectual growth, preparing students for a deeper, inner movement toward adulthood.

IMPLICATIONS

1. Literature is a part of creation and, therefore, is intended to be holistic.
2. Youth workers should use literature to help young people explore both cognitive and emotive perspectives of life.
3. One needs to understand his or her own heart and mind when reading any kind of literature.
4. To be vulnerable to what one reads, allowing it to "speak" its intended purposes, is a gift one should give to oneself and others.

Craig Kunkle and Anne Montague cCYS