Reading Scripture can be challenging and confusing, and we live in a world where it is not only mis-interpreted but sometimes intentionally manipulated and abused. Given how vital such reading is for spiritual development, how do we read Scripture well and with maturity?

Scripture and Spirituality: Wisdom, Imagination, and Maturity is a new workshop from Naming the Real designed to help you engage Scripture well, moving away from fundamentalist orientations or Bible-readings which were designed to give certainty and power rather than teaching faith, humility, and love. We will explore how Scripture invites us into the way of descent—the death of ego and the celebration of imperfection—for the sake of freedom. 

The goal of this workshop is to empower you to live a fully flourishing life that helps heal and transform the world around you. 

Upcoming Workshops

Workshop Description

We will explore Scripture itself as containing, not just in its individual chapters or verses but in its wholistic layout and message, a roadmap for spiritual development that progresses from necessary ego and boundary formation, through prophetic awakening and the transcendence of rigidity, to the emergence of mature spirituality based in humility and non-dualistic thinking. We will look at Jesus as the exemplar of these dynamics and the culmination of maturity. Addressing both high level concepts as well as the most practical, “life on the ground” guidance of Scripture, we will approach Scripture as a gift from God that must be stewarded with thoughtfulness and care.

This is an experiential workshop, so even though there will be lectures and “content download,” you will be nevertheless invited to participate beyond a merely intellectual level. We will engage a number of interactive exercises and small and large group sharing.

In Scripture as Spirituality, you will learn:

• How the ancient stories of Scripture were understood in their context 
• How specific cultural biases cause us to “miss the point” when reading Scripture 
• How to make sense of the confusing and strange parts of Scripture 
• How your own place in your journey of spiritual development informs how you read scripture (inspired by M. Scott Peck’s ‘Four Stages of Spiritual Development)
• How Scripture invites us out of religious rigidity and into spirituality (openness, humility, and the death of ego)
• How the main goal of spirituality and of reading Scripture is experiential knowledge of God (not “going to heaven when we die”)
• Practices for staying grounded in the spirituality of Scripture
• How to raise our tolerance for living in uncertainty 
• How to move from either/or to both/and thinking

While this workshop will center around Christian faith and tradition, people from all faith traditions are welcome.

We would love to have you participate in this inaugural event! Register here, or to learn more, email us at [email protected]. We hope to see you soon.

Register Now

Partnership: Giving to Nurture Spiritual Development

Naming the Real is a non-profit and we want all people to be able to participate. If you would like to give towards this work or offer a scholarship: Donate Here.