In Session 2, Dr. Michael Spezio argues that Christian identity is cultivated through grace-shaped practices that form stable dispositions (habitus) and imitation (imitatio). Drawing on psychology and neuroscience—especially research on mindfulness and virtue—he suggests that empirical accounts of attention, affect, and practice complement classic theological claims: grace doesn’t bypass human faculties but shapes them over time through liturgy, imitation of Christ, and ecclesial disciplines. In short, grace-formed practices train perception and desire, yielding persons whose habits are increasingly aligned with Christlike love.
Kirk Wegter-McNelly responds by affirming the interdisciplinary promise while pressing theological guardrails: empirical measures of virtue can’t substitute for grace’s givenness, and talk of habitus/imitatio must keep divine initiative central. He raises questions about normativity (what counts as “virtue”), ecclesial context (how communities scaffold formation), and scope (where neuroscience illumines practice vs. where theology must lead). The exchange frames a constructive partnership: science helps map how practices shape persons, while theology names why—grace as God’s action creating and sustaining Christian identity.
Timestamps
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Opening & introductions 00:00
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Framing the question: identity, grace, and practice 03:00
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Imitatio & habitus: theological anchors 08:00
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Mindfulness/virtue science: attention, affect, and habit formation 15:00
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Neuroscience case notes: how practices shape perception/desire 24:00
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Ecclesial practices as laboratories of grace (liturgy, confession, communion) 32:00
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Limits of measurement; keeping divine initiative central 40:00
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Response (Kirk Wegter-McNelly): cautions and constructive proposals 48:00
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Audience Q&A: methodology, normativity, pastoral uptake 58:00
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