Dr. Pam King responds to the lecture by Dr. Kenda Creasy Dean from Princeton Theological Seminary, reflecting on the “telos” of Christian faith and its relationship to empowering youth.
Project Dates
September 2020—Present
Thrive Research Team
Principal Investigator: Pamela Ebstyne King
Postdoctoral Research Associate: Rodrigo Riveros Miranda
Project Overview
Given the radical and frantic change throughout society, the Telos Project seeks to convene interdisciplinary scholars and to synthesize existing scholarship to further understand the ends of human development and thriving. Drawing on psychological science, philosophical, and theological perspectives, teleology provides a framework for human thriving pointing to the importance of the development of differentiated individuals in reciprocating relationships with others, and evolving moral and spiritual aspirations that contribute to flourishing society.
Related Publications
The Reciprocating Self, 2nd Ed.
In this revised and expanded second edition, Jack Balswick, Pamela Ebstyne King, and Kevin Reimer present a model of human development that ranges across all of life’s stages, based on a theologically grounded understanding of the nature of persons and the self.
Critically engaging social science research and theory, this book offers an integrated approach that provides insight helpful to college and seminary students, as well as those serving in the helping professions.
- King, P. E. (2020). Joy Distinguished: Teleological Perspectives of Joy as a Virtue. Journal of Positive Psychology, 15:1, 33-39. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2019.1685578
- King, P. E., & Defoy, F. (2020). Joy as a virtue: The means and ends of joy. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 48(4), 308-31. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091647120907994
- Schnitker, S. A., King, P. E., & Houltberg, B. (2019). Religion, Spirituality, and Thriving: Transcendent Narrative, Virtue, and Lived Purpose. In Hardy, S. & King, P. E. (eds.). Special section: Processes of religious and spiritual influence in adolescence, Journal of Research on Adolescence, 29(2), 276-290.
- King, P. E. (2016). The reciprocating self: Trinitarian and Christological anthropologies of being and becoming. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 35(3), 215-232.
Selected Presentations
The role of telos
Dr. Pam King defines telos and explains the important role it plays in youths’ lives this interview with the Yale Youth Ministry Institute.
This interview was published by Yale Youth Ministry Institute.
Practical applications of telos
Dr. Pam King sits down with the Yale Youth Ministry Institute and shares the meaningful ways youth practitioners can help advance a youth’s telos or purpose.
This interview was published by Yale Youth Ministry Institute.
Young people & the church
This interview was published by FULLER Studio.