Searching for God # 106

A layman's introducion to the often-confusing subject of spirituality with the help of Robin Mass and Gabriel O'Donnell O.P. (Ordo Praedicatorum, Order of Preachers) and their text, Spritual Traditions for the Contemporary Church, 1990.

Given the subtle nuanced and mysterious, ephemeral ineffable and mystical nature of God, not only the word, but the notion, the images, and the many diverse relationships people everywhere have, or perceive they/we have, one of the most mysterious subjects within the broad umbrella of faith and religion is spiritual theology.

What is spiritual theology?

In order to begin, let’s first look at a quote from a ‘functional atheist’ who is planning to enter a three-month stay at a Trappist monastery.

I am going to a Trappist monastery high in the Rockies, to be a monk for three months. And what does it offer? I only dimly know, after having tried to months to explain my decision. I am a theologian--- I spend my life reading, teaching, thinking writing about God. But I must be honest- I have never experienced God, not really. I am embarrassed by piety; I am ill at east with those who thrive on God talk; I have no awareness of what one might mean by the ‘presence of God.’     (Spiritual Traditions for the Contemporary Church, Robin Mass and Gabriel O’Donnell, p. 11)

In their introduction, The Theory That Undergirds Our Practice, Mass and O’Donnell write these words:

The literature of spiritual theology typically focuses on question of the ‘interior life,’ a phrase that describes the inner search for God and the development of a relationship with Christ that is hidden within our hearts and minds. ..Since the seventeenth century, it has been the custom to divide the study of theology into two basic categories, relating (roughly) to theory and practice. In Roman Catholicism, these categories are designated ‘dogmatic theology’ and ‘moral theology.’ In Protestantism, with both the nomenclature and methodology differing, one speaks of  ‘systematic theology’ and ‘Christian ethics.’ Dogmatic and systematic theology deal with confessional statements. Their goal is precise and careful definition of all forms of doctrinal formulation. Moral theology and ethics deal with how the Christian person lives out the implications of the doctrinal confession. (Ibid, p.13)

Sadly, already this scribe’s eyes have become somewhat glazed over, given the highly rational and structured, disciplined and linear integration of these concepts, positing the subject and the issues of one’s faith to a philosophical, scholarly, rational and empirical foundation that omits something less scientific, less scholarly, far less rational and far more mystical, personal experience.

Nevertheless, ‘Christians of every age—with the possible exception of our own—have been preoccupied with the question, How can I be more perfectly Christian? (Ibid, p. 14)

Maslow’s actualization, Jung’s individuation, Frankl’s search for meaning (logotherapy), and the issue of an ‘existential moment’ (when one discerns one’s own meaninglessness)…..and the pivotal and transformational moments of human life, loss, divorce, death, trauma….. all of these concepts, notions and moments have the potential to shift marginally,  alter dramatically, or even break one’s psychic/emotional/spiritual equanimity. However one’s life path opens to, embraces, endures and/or celebrates dramatic change, many consider such moments to be metaphorically related to, even integrated with, death.

 (More about this in another post, given that at least this scribe’s vision of life cannot be separated, divided or even disconnected from death. The notion that death is ‘evil’ because it is unnatural, or a consequence of sin, or the ‘last enemy’ has little to no relevance for this scribe. Barth’s reference to death as ‘nothingness,’ or ‘absurdity’ form both a theological and psychological perspective leaves this scribe askance. Similarly, like Funk, and others, anticipating an apocalyptic rapture is also a form of escape; as a Christian, I am deeply concerned and focused on the l life here and now.)

For some Christians, hitting ‘rock-bottom’ has the potential to ‘save’ one spiritually, through a form of repentance, rebirth, forgiveness, and the accompanying notion of being ‘born again,’ having accepted Christ as one’s personal saviour.

The convergence, overlap, inter-connection and relation of one’s cognitive, emotional, psychic life with one’s spiritual/faith/belief/choices is one begging mutual recognition, respect, integration and blending, as if in an alchemical fire, from mystics, scholars, agnostics, atheists, and Christian faithful alike. Religionists and theologians have, intermittently, tentatively and cautiously entered and even briefly embraced the psychological and the philosophical as ‘related’ to, and yet definitely separate from, one’s faith and belief in God.

Are we, consciously and/or unconsciously, attempting to imitate Christ, considered as a model of the perfection we all strive to attain? And with that ‘attainment’ are we then anticipating our ‘reward’ of an eternal afterlife in heaven?

Are we in training to first consider and then envision, and then enact such an imitative life? In the early church, are the ascetics, those committed to a life of celibacy, models for others? Are ascetics ‘getting ready’ for God?

In the early church, (approximately the first six or seven centuries) such questions as the divinity/humanity of Christ occupied theologians, and the historic oscillation of the theme or issue found articulate and scholarly men  on both sides. Also, good spirits or angels and evil spirits, demons, consumed considerable energy, thought, imagination and documentation. The concept of the meaning of salvation, through the mystery of Christ, brought about divisions about the divinity of Christ. Was Christ inferior to God (Arianism) versus the negation of Christ’s human soul or mind (Appolinarianism)? Nestorianism ‘divided the human and the divine natures of Christ; Monophysitism denied Christ’s human nature; Monothelitism claimed that Christ has only one will…..If they overemphasized either his humanity or his divinity, it was because they were convinced that either a ‘more human’ or a ‘more divine’ Christ would be a better savior. In other words, it was the issue of human salvation that propelled their speculations. (Ibid, p. 27)

Liturgy and preaching were also important to the early church.

It should be noted…that the liturgy’s preeminent place in early Christianity stemmed from its relatively exclusive claim on the believer’s attention. When Christians gathered, it was for no other purpose, as a rule, that to celebrate Baptism or the Eucharist, to pray the psalms, or to hear an instruction of some sort….(I)t is thanks to the liturgy that the Christians of these early centuries lived through the seasons of Lent and Easter (or Pentecost) and the great feasts of the Church in particularly vivid fashion. (Ibid, p. 31-32)

Martyrdom, too played a significant role in the early church.

The martyrs, who took their name from the fact that they witnessed to Christ by the shedding of their own blood, were seen by the early Church as the persons closest to the Lord, and this vital likeness provided the single greatest claim to the respect and reverence that other Christians willingly gave them…..So intimate were martyrs with the Lord that it could be said that the was suffering in them, and this, in turn, had the effect of alleviating their suffering…..By the end of the second century we learn that martyrdom was considered a form of baptism for those who had never been baptized, while for those who had already received the sacrament but had fallen into sin, it was an opportunity for forgiveness……..(T)he monk was a martyr to his daily routine and his struggle with evil spirits. The virgin was a martyr to the temptations against purity she experienced. Asceticism in general was a martyrdom, and self-imposed exile, according to Ambrose, was even better than martyrdom. (Ibid. p. 33-34)

Before they conclude their ‘introductory chapter, Mass and O’Donnell list four topics that had significance for church history: spiritual exegesis of the Bible, virginity, monasticism, and the hagiographic ideal (the model of sanctity or holiness proposed by the ancient writers when they portray the lives of the saints.)

We will return to them in a succeeding post….

At this point, it is clear that the traditional cornerstones of imitating Christ, attempting to have a relationship to God (especially to Christ, following the Crucifixion and Resurrection, rather than attending to the historic Jesus, as Funk reminds us), sacrifice and formal liturgy, even prior to the introduction of wide-spread literacy, were becoming deeply embedded in the Church’s ethos, culture, belief system and personal life choices. Instruction in the faith accompanied the homilies, and while discipline could still be lax and intermittent, the pathways were begun for future centuries.

To be continued……