The Grace of Playing: Pedagogies for Leaning into God’s New Creation

by Courtney T. Goto

Believers and teachers of faith regularly know the in-breaking of God's Spirit in their midst, when revelatory experiencing unexpectedly shifts habits of thinking, feeling, and doing toward more life-giving ways of being and becoming. When the moment is right, Spirit breathes new life into dry bones. Though religious educators have much practical wisdom about facilitating learning that is creative and transformative, sharper concepts, cases, and theory can help them do it more critically and assist learners to practice openness to wonder, surprise, and authenticity. The Grace of Playing explains how we can create the conditions for revelatory experiencing by understanding it in light of playing. The notion of playing "as if" can be powerfully reclaimed from ecclesial ambivalence, casual speech, and commercial interests that often lead playing to be associated with childishness, frivolity, or entertainment. This book theorizes adults playing for the sake of faith, drawing on D. W. Winnicott's psychoanalytic theory, a revision of Jurgen Moltmann's theology of play, biblical texts, medieval devotional practices, as well as art and aesthetics that help local faith communities engage in theological reflection. Communal forms of playing in/at God's new creation provide insights into pedagogies in which learners are creating and are created anew.

174 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 11, 2016

Reviews

[Audrey Webber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let's Play!

This is a really thoughtful work pushing for the need to not collect experiences but work through our experiencing in order to love as Christ loves. There was quite a bit of a focus on the three examples of the nuns playing with the dolls, fools for Christ, and the garden created at a California church. While these were good examples, I felt it could have gone deeper into either the theology behind playing, or offered some other examples. Overall, though, a really nice dive into the work of Moltmann and others.

[Logan Kruck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goto’s work was foundational for the work of Make-believe and play as it forms our imaginations about ourselves, others, and the world around us. Make believe is the space where we test possibilities and roles with one another, suspending normal rules and expectations, so we can test what works in reality. It also requires a sense of empathy, creativity, openness, and wonder.