Abba, Father! Jesus' prayer and His relation to God: Implications for religious education

• Main Author: Hien, Pham Thi
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2000
• Subjects: Lord's prayer; God; Religious education; Image (Theology); Jesus Christ; Theology, Doctrinal; Religious Education
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_doctoral/843
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study aims to clarify Luke's intention when he presents Jesus' instruction: When you pray, say: Abba (Lk 11:2). There is a distinction among the people in the ancient world calling gods 'abba', the Jewish communities of the Old Testament speaking of God as Father, Jesus addressing God Abba, and his disciples invoking Abba, Father. This study is the relationship between Jesus and His Father, His identity, the revelation of the Trinitarian dimension of God in the invocation Abba, the role of the Trinity in human history, and the image of the Father. The study also discerns the relationship between Jesus' Father and his disciples, and their role in the proclamation of God's kingdom.To come up with a relevant, meaningful and extensive analysis of the issues mentioned, Lonergan's Method in Theology was used in this study. The central idea in Lonergan's method is the threefold conversion - religious, moral, intellectual - of the subject in his/her encounter with God, through the process of experience, understanding, judgment, and decision. For the purpose of illustration and application of Lonergan's transcendental method theory, the researcher paid special attention on the data of divine revelation - that is, the scriptural accounts especially Jesus' teaching in Luke: When you pray, say: Abba and those texts which are related to it (Lk 11:2). The researcher concluded that when addressing God Abba, Jesus expresses His relationship with God the Father in an absolute, unique, and exclusive manner. Through Him His disciples have the right to address God Father. However, they do not have the same relationship with the Father like Him. Another conclusion is the image of God revealed as a loving, caring, forgiving, and merciful Father.These findings are applied in Religious Education via sample modules adapted to different age levels using Lonergan's Method in Theology.