As a practical theologian Ryan approaches faith and spirituality through a lens of human experience and context. It is less about right believing and more right-relationship and Christian living. While Scripture and Tradition play important roles in the spiritual journey, of ultimate concern to practical theologians is how such is negotiated within the personal and the particular.
A few important questions that guide this inquiry include:
(1) Who are we as humans and how is our experience of the divine (transcendent) part of God’s ongoing revelation in the world?
(2) In what ways does social location (e.g., geography, ethnicity, sexual identity, etc.) influence faith and praxis?
(3) What cultural attributes (praxes, values, virtues, etc.) inform Christian believing and practice?
(4) Finally, what power dynamics exist within faith communities and how is such exercised for the good of the entire community, especially those traditionally marginalized or excluded?
These areas of reflection are not discrete categories of exploration; rather, human experience, context and culture is lived intersectionally. Thus, an integrating and holistic approach puts the practical in dialogue with Scripture and Tradition. The personal and particular serve as important authoritative sources in discerning the Mystery at the center of Christian faith and practice.
The heart of the Gospel message is about cultivating Christ’s good news of justice, love, and peace. This same Scripture reminds us repeatedly that Jesus lives in and through us. In our capacity as human agents, broken yet embodied, we are called to respond to The One’s gratuitous gifts and grace.
Practical theology offers a powerful prism in which to reconcile faith and reason, belief and action, concepts and experience, unity and diversity, and the local and the universal.
We are one and many.
Ryan J. Hoffmann 