These two articles enter from the realm of Transformational Theology addressing our struggles with personal authenticity and Spiritual Formation. They reference scripture, philosophers, cinema, and personal stories of suffering in bringing home the universality of man's search for a coherent True Self. In Forming an Authentic Self in an Inauthentic World, Kenneth Boa speaks to our innate drive to find a coherent identity, a requisite change in perspective and spiritual exercises for the formation and maturation of the true self. In Two Trees-Two Selves, Gary Moon effectively, and somewhat poetically, plumbs 'willfulness –vs- willingness', the 'Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil' -vs- the 'Tree of Life', elucidating the chronic personal conflict between the True Self/False Self.

Educational Objectives

• Will have a better understanding of the conflict between the false self and the true self
• Will have a clearer conceptualization of the contrast between willingness and willfulness
• Will understand what is meant by personal and corporate spiritual disciplinesWill have a better understanding of the difference between informational reading and formational reading
• Will be more knowledgeable of Kierkegaard's, Pascal's and C.S. Lewis's descriptions of the difficulty in developing one’s own authenticity

Syllabus / Course Instructions

• The Course consists of reading the articles Forming an Authentic Self in an Inauthentic World and Two Trees-Two Selves, successfully completing an online posttest and filling out a course evaluation.
• Purchasing your course will give you access to both a printable copy of the test and an online version. Print the test to use as a companion as you read the book and answer the questions.
• You cannot exit the online test once you begin, so have your answers available.