Biblical Spirituality

This is a compilation of 10 articles on Spirituality. Thus each chapter is written by a different individual or two. So there is a wide range of writing style and concepts by different theologians.

Some of the topics include:
Chapter two, Spirituality and Spiritual Formation in the Old Testament (emphasis on creation)

Chapter three, Spirituality according to Jesus

Chapter four, Spirituality according to Paul

Chapter five, Spirituality according to James

And my favorite, Chapter ten, Spirituality and Our Work.

While the entire book is dealing with a theological framework of what Spirituality is I very much appreciated Chapter ten which breaks down the concepts into what happens in our work place. It was reported that, "it was found that an overwhelming majority reported that the church had done little or nothing to equip them for faithful living at work." As a pastor I found that comment disheartening. Why? Because I think it is very true.

The church does a good job of teaching and training people about the spiritual aspects of their personal lives, but it doesn't often teach its disciples how to share their faith in their workplace, or even how to apply Biblical Principles to our daily work environment.

It was stated that, "The moral terrain of our work lives is mostly defined by law and economics rather than theology, leaving us with an uninspired ethical pragmatism lacking in wisdom and heart." As part of my work in Missions, I taught Vocational Job Training. I taught about our attitudes at work, how to dress, what to expect, how to conduct ourselves, etc. But what was really captivating for the students was teaching what the Bible says about work.

God created man, but He created him to work. Six days shall you work and on the seventh day rest. Work is an integral part of our lives. We spend 1/3rd of our lives at our jobs. That's a lot of time. If God created us to work, then He wants to be a large part of our work. That doesn't mean we all do "Christian" work, it means that we at work we don't stop being "Christian."

Well, I should stop and just review the book. The concepts of the book are about how we view Spirituality and how we apply that to our lives. It will give you a great Theological groundwork, but it will enliven it with a practical outworking for our daily lives.

This will be a good addition to anyones library as a great teaching and reference tool.

It is important for the prospective reader to realize that this is a theology of Biblical Spirituality and not a Christian Living book.While parts of it are academic it accessible to the average reader if they know the style before embarking on the book. The book is read at 300+ page with 10 essay by different authors and a wonderful bibliography at the end (I love a good bibliography). Chapter titles are:
Chapter 1, A trajectory of spirituality
Chapter 2, Spirituality and Spiritual Formation in the Old Testament
Chapter 3, Spirituality according to Jesus
Chapter 4, Spirituality according to Paul
Chapter 5, Spirituality according to James
Chapter 6, Holiness in the Biblical Story
Chapter 7, A Heritage of Evangelical Spirituality
Chapter 8, Spiritualities in the Christian Tradition
Chapter 9, Spiritual and embodied disciplines
Chapter 10, Spirituality and Our Work.

I think every reader would find something that speaks to them. The chapters don’t need to be read in order as they build on top of each other as much as share a common theme. While I needed to move through at a quicker pace in order to review I would recommend slowing down with the book, having your Bible open and taking our time with the material to draw the most out of it. I know I intend to go back and do just that. There are several chapters that draw on spirituality as it is seen in the Old Testament, New Testament, Gospels, writings of Paul and James, then two chapters covering spirituality throughout Christian History and in different denominations/traditions. It was eye opening, I learned quite a bit. My personal favorite was Guthrie’s essay on Holiness in the Biblical Story. I am drawn to anything that challenges us to read the Bible as a single narrative and understand each part within the whole. Guthrie writes of the importance of separation in holiness and how that takes us back to the heart and character of God. He uncovers five holy dynamics we can see God work throughout the Biblical story from the Garden of Eden to the Church. Enlightening and fascinating!

This is an informative book about what Scripture, major authors and several Christian traditions teach about the pursuit of holiness. (3723/4980) The first several contributors generally review portions of Scripture, Old Testament, writings of Paul, etc. Next, the writings of major theologians such as Luther and Calvin are explored. Then the writings of many, such as John Owen and Charles Wesley, are covered. Lastly the movements of the last century, such as the Charismatic and spiritual formation movements, are reviewed.

There is a wealth of information included in the book and this would make a fine textbook for a Bible college class or something similar. Readers would become aware of important Bible passages and theologians who have written on the subject. They would also receive a good overview of what various traditions of Christianity have taught over the centuries. The footnotes would give readers lots of resources to consult to study further.

I was disappointed the emphasis of the book was knowledge and not implementing the truths given. There is no practical strategy provided by the contributors. The spiritual disciplines are mentioned, following the works of Richard Foster. There is also a foot note to encourage readers to consult Donald S. Whitey's books to learn how to engage in some of the spiritual practices. (4286/4980) Interestingly, the only specific strategy given is on good nutrition, proper rest, sleep, lust, gluttony, and sloth. Principles are also given for integrating spirituality and work.

This book would be a good resource for pastors and teachers but is not so practical for the general layperson.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

The number of people saying that they are spiritual but not religious is increasing. Meditation and yoga are growing in popularity. Recently, Democratic Presidential candidate Marianne Williamson’s tweets went viral with their Oprah inspired spiritualism. People are desperately searching for something spiritually meaningful in their lives. I greatly appreciate Biblical Spirituality, edited by Christopher W. Morgan, and published by Crossway. It offers a clear, biblically based and practically helpful study of spirituality.

Biblical Spirituality starts with a chapter on the “Trajectory of Spirituality.” It states:

“Talk of spirituality can be vague and loose, detached from Scripture while appearing biblical, and so clarity is crucial as we consider formation and our spiritual journeys.”

This book is rich in theology and scripture tying our spirituality to the gospel. It avoids the pitfalls of wishy-washy postmodern spirituality with clear exegesis of scripture and historical scholarship. If footnotes are your thing, this book will delight you.

Biblical Spirituality dives into spiritual formation in the Old Testament. It then moves to spirituality in the New Testament. Chapters are dedicated to examining spirituality as presented by Jesus (who the book says is the supreme authority on spirituality), James, and Paul. There is a chapter examining the heritage of evangelical spirituality, looking at Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Owen, John Wesley, Jonathan Edwards, and J.C. Ryle. It rounds out with chapters on the history of spiritual disciplines in the Christian tradition, the spiritual and embodied disciplines, and spirituality in the workplace.

The first half of the book or so builds a solid foundation for a theology of spirituality. The later chapters focus on the history of Christian spiritual practices and practical application. Donald Whitney’s Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life is one of my favorites, so I really enjoyed reading how spiritual disciplines have developed. Whitney’s book is one they recommend.

I also thought the chapter on embodied disciplines was unique. It is the most practical chapter. It makes the argument that there is a divide in contemporary evangelicalism. Christians tend to focus on spiritual disciplines, promoting spiritual life and spiritual solutions. Yet, they tend to neglect their bodies. As an example, the chapter states of Christians, “Protestants are the most overweight, with Southern Baptists claiming the top spot on the obesity scale.” The chapter gives practical embodied disciplines for health, stress, rest, sex, and nutrition. Some of the practical tips seem obvious, but simply look around. You’ll find they’re not being practiced.

If you have questions about spirituality and spiritual disciplines, Biblical Spirituality will give you a solid foundation and clear answers. It also points to many resources for practical applications.

We live in a time in which people are more positive about things that are spiritual. This is an unfortunate reaction (or over-reaction) against the negativity surrounding religions and religiosity. However, true spirituality does not invalidate religious thought at all. For Christians, all spirituality must be anchored on the Bible, the infallible Word of God. Thus, with a revival of interest in all things spiritual, it is a good opportunity to help fellow Christians to be anchored in the way the Bible defines spirituality. This book is designed to speak into this need. Toward this end, ten scholars and theologians have contributed research articles to help us understand and appreciate the way the Bible have described true spirituality. The ten chapters cover a wide range of spiritual thought ranging from the Old Testament to the New Testament; historic tradition to evangelical spirituality; spiritual formation to workplace applications; etc. Christopher W Morgan and Justin L McLendon begins with an overview of spirituality through the ages. They share DA Carson's viewpoint that all spirituality ought to stem from the gospel of Jesus Christ. They sketch the trajectory from the creation spirituality in Genesis to the glory of God in Revelation. We understand the five large milestones being: Creation; Fall; Incarnation; Resurrection; and Glorification.
Paul R House gives us a view of spirituality based on the Imago Dei, the Image of God, contending that we need lifelong learning and practice in order to attain the fullest versions of ourselves to reflect God's Image. Charles L Quarles looks at the New Creation Spirituality, to help us see the way Jesus has transformed our spirituality. On our own, we can never attain true spirituality. Quarles covers a lot of ground pertaining to the role of Jesus transforming us through the many teachings in the gospels. Benjamin M Skaug and Christopher W Morgan looks at the spirituality from Paul's perspective. In particular, they examine Paul's inner tensions between knowing the good he ought to do and battling the evil he ought not to do. These tensions personify the clash between the effects of sin and the purpose of humankind. They examine six different kinds of tensions based on Romans 6-8. Christopher W Morgan adds to Paul's spirituality with a look at James's "Integrated Spirituality." He argues from four different passages in James to help us connect faith and works; faith and trials; personal holiness and community love; teachings and church health. He sums up the integrated spirituality as loving one another through words and deeds. George H Guthrie describes biblical spirituality from the holiness angle. For a Holy God requires holiness in us. The five dynamics of holy walk are described as: holy presence; holy space; holy time; holy sacrifice and cleansing; holy words. Anthony L Chute brings us a heritage of evangelical spirituality using six famous historical persons: Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Owen, John Wesley, Jonathan Edwards, and JC Ryle. Using Titus 2:11-14 as his framework, Chute is able to draw in the specific spiritual emphasis of each character. Nathan A Finn follows up with spiritualities from the Christian Tradition, asking how each of these traditions have approached holiness. He first compares and contrasts the Roman Catholic and the Protestant traditions. In the second half of his work, he shows us the three evangelical traditions: Born again; Born in the Spirit; and Spiritual Disciplines. Gregg R Allison deals with how to bridge the "great divide" between the material and the immaterial; body and spirit; etc. He goes into the history of dualism followed by the need for disciplines to train our practice of embodied spirituality. He even shows us the importance of physical health as part of holistic spirituality. Finally, Gregory C Cochran concludes with an article on "Spirituality and our Work." He shares with us the principle of honoring all work as valuable to God; expect God to bless our work; to esteem others in our work; and to avoid the futility and vanity of work.

My Thoughts
In a world where some say everything is spiritual, Christopher W Morgan and his fellow contributors have helped us bring true spirituality down to earth. We see it incarnated in the person of Jesus Christ. We are reminded that God is holy and we are called to be holy. We appreciate the history and traditions behind each spiritual emphasis. We understand how the present focus on disciplines is just part of the bigger picture of biblical spirituality. Let me offer three thoughts on this book.

First, the contributors are spot on to anchor all the spiritualities on the Bible. True spirituality is biblical spirituality. This is important because nobody can invent spirituality on their own. Spiritual things must be revealed to us by the Spirit. The contributors are all convicted in the centrality of the gospel. This enables them to explore the trajectory of spirituality from the many different angles: Historical, Contextual, Evangelical views, work, etc. Without an anchor, it is easy to head in all kinds of direction. Thankfully, the revealed Word of God gives us the needed platform to discuss biblical spirituality.

Second, this book is an exercise in integrated spirituality. All the contributors play their role in ensuring that there is a unified perspective with regard to their treatment of spirituality. The pattern is similar throughout. Each contributor comes with a central big idea in their articles. In spite of the diversity of ideas, they frequently come back to this center, that God is Creator, God is holy, God is the reason we live for. We are also reminded that spirituality is not only the domain of spiritual disciplines. Throughout history, spirituality has already been practiced, albeit in a different format and manner.

Finally, this book is practical. A book like this may be written by academics and theologians, but there are ample examples of how we should live our spiritualities. I credit this to the authors' care to use simple layman language in their writings. The doctrinal material in the book are properly described with easy to understand terms.

All in all, I warmly recommend this book for reading and for reference for any believer wanting to grow spiritually.

Christopher W Morgan is professor of theology and the dean of the School of Christian Ministries at California Baptist University.

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Crossway Publishers and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.