According to Scott Peck, there are various stages to spiritual growth. It is worth noting that Peck focuses on four stages of spiritual growth. Peck postulates that the four stages are important, and each stage have noticeable significance. Faith is a journey of development and growth in spiritual life. The stages are Stage I, Stage II, Stage III, as well as Stage IV. Stage I is disordered reckless and chaotic (Seaward, 2013). Evidently, children form part of this stage. Those in these stage disobey and defy any will that tend to be greater that their own. In addition, frequent pretenders are part of Stage I since they pretend to be pious and loving, yet their relationships with others are self-serving and manipulative.
Stage II refers to the stage whereby individual has a blind faith and sees the world divided into wrong and right or evil and good. Those individuals who learn to obey the authority will reach Stage II (Carroll, 2001). In fact, individuals in Stage II are threatened by other who thinks differently. Clear-cut reasons drive their religious life. They do not question God, but they have a blind eye. The blind faith drives then to be willing and humble to serve. The law abiding individuals do not move out of the stage.
Stage III is characterized by questioning and science skepticism. Individuals in Stage III are only convinced through logical reasons, but not by acts of faith. People in this stage are always committed to social causes and are opposed to various issues (Seaward, 2013). Compared to Stage II, individuals in Stage III are more spiritual despite the fact that they are scientifically minded.
Stage IV entails a stage whereby individuals enjoy the beauty and mystery of nature. They develop some sense of deeper understanding on issues of love and comparison, forgiveness and mercy, as well as evil and good. They are religious because they focus on being part of the mystery of uncertainty. In the general perspective, transition from Stage I to Stage II is always sharp, while transition from Stage III to Stage IV is gradual (Carroll, 2001). One of the difficulties concerning spiritual stages is that some people believe it is unhelpful. Each of the stages has its strengths and weaknesses and cannot be compared to a greater perspective. In the general perspective, each of the stage as stated by Peck is unique and elaborate on the journey of spiritual growth and faith.
References
Carroll, B. (2001). The materialistic wall: A catalyst for awakening. Victoria, B.C: Trafford.
Seaward, B. L. (2013). Health of the human spirit: Spiritual dimensions for personal health. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
