THE RELEVANCE OF EXPERIENTIAL KNOWLEDGE O F JESUS IN SEMINARY FORMATION IN THE LIGHT OF JOHN 14:1-14

The formation of the human person has always been a herculean labour as a result of the complex nature of human beings. The human specie has similarities with other animal species but some other features radically distinguish human beings from other living beings. Outstanding of these features is the power of reasoning and freewill. The human person can make decisions based on the level of reasoning and disposition. The formation of the human person can never be imposed as a result of the freewill. This means the human person can be impervious to formation passing through the person. John 14:1-14 presents a conversation between Jesus and his disciples about his imminent return to his father. In this pericope, Jesus takes up both Thomas and Philip over their shallow knowledge of him in spite of their closeness to him. Thomas did not know that Jesus is the way and Philip failed to see God in Jesus. Their familiarity with Jesus did not simply afford them this experiential knowledge. This paper opines that it is a possibility for seminarians to spend years in the seminary learning about Jesus without actually knowing him. Experiential knowledge of Jesus is different from academic knowledge. Academic knowledge is necessary in as much as it leads to the experiential knowledge. The danger, however, comes when the knowledge the seminarian has of Jesus during his seminary formation is limited to the academic knowledge. This can hamper his effectiveness as a priest in the 21 st century.

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