I have been thinking of two types of Christian faith communities in relationship to spiritual formation of Christians:
(a) The community that nurtures
In the community that nurtures, the community is the context in which spiritual formation takes place. People join a community for what the community may offer them. Then by taking part in the community undergoes spiritual formation. When they find that they cannot learn anymore from this community, they leave to find other communities that may help them. This is akin to a university where one joins the community to learn skills for a certain profession or to acquire a degree. Once that is achieved, the person leaves for other communities.
(b) Nurturing community
In a nurturing community, spiritual formation takes place because the person is the content of the community. One grows spiritually with the community because the community is growing. One becomes the community and takes on characteristics of the community. The analogy for this is the family. One is born into this and is always part of it even when relocated to a different geographic location.
I wonder which type of Christian faith community do you belong in?
.
Showing posts with label Descriptors Spiritual Formation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Descriptors Spiritual Formation. Show all posts
Monday, August 4, 2008
A Matter Of Christian Faith Communities
I have been thinking of two types of Christian faith communities in relationship to spiritual formation of Christians:
(a) The community that nurtures
In the community that nurtures, the community is the context in which spiritual formation takes place. People join a community for what the community may offer them. Then by taking part in the community undergoes spiritual formation. When they find that they cannot learn anymore from this community, they leave to find other communities that may help them. This is akin to a university where one joins the community to learn skills for a certain profession or to acquire a degree. Once that is achieved, the person leaves for other communities.
(b) Nurturing community
In a nurturing community, spiritual formation takes place because the person is the content of the community. One grows spiritually with the community because the community is growing. One becomes the community and takes on characteristics of the community. The analogy for this is the family. One is born into this and is always part of it even when relocated to a different geographic location.
I wonder which type of Christian faith community do you belong in?
.
(a) The community that nurtures
In the community that nurtures, the community is the context in which spiritual formation takes place. People join a community for what the community may offer them. Then by taking part in the community undergoes spiritual formation. When they find that they cannot learn anymore from this community, they leave to find other communities that may help them. This is akin to a university where one joins the community to learn skills for a certain profession or to acquire a degree. Once that is achieved, the person leaves for other communities.
(b) Nurturing community
In a nurturing community, spiritual formation takes place because the person is the content of the community. One grows spiritually with the community because the community is growing. One becomes the community and takes on characteristics of the community. The analogy for this is the family. One is born into this and is always part of it even when relocated to a different geographic location.
I wonder which type of Christian faith community do you belong in?
.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Literature Review on Spiritual Formation
Historically the term “spiritual formation” was used to denote the training of men and women for full time church ministry (Sheldrake 2005, 309). The content of the curriculum was academic training on scripture, theology, philosophy and liturgy. It also involved training in the spiritual disciplines especially in a disciplined prayer life. However, this is not the spiritual formation referred to in contemporary discussion of the subject.
Contemporary spiritual formation is difficult to study. It is a multidisciplinary subject involving psychology, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, education and theology. A review of the literature will show a large variety of definitions and practices associated with the subject. The language used, different philosophies and worldviews are different to different authors. Various authors differ in their approach to theology, anthropology and psychology. Others struggle between practice and theory. The fundamental commonality among the different authors is that concept of spiritual formation is about spiritual growth. However, their different basis of approach has lead to fundamental differences in their definitions and outworking of their concept of spiritual formation.
First, some authors used the word Christian spiritual formation to differentiate it from spiritual formation that occurs in different worldviews and religious traditions. In this review, I shall limit myself to Christian authors. Second, many authors equate spiritual formation to spiritual growth in persons. However, an argument can be made that spiritual formation also occurs to communities. This will be taken into consideration in the review. Third, some authors fail to differentiate spiritual formation from discipleship or use these words interchangeably. Others use words like faith formation, spiritual transformation, Christian formation, and spiritual growth. Finally, there are not many studies done to establish an exegetical foundation for spiritual formation as currently practiced in evangelicalism. The word “spiritual formation” does not appear in the Bible. Most authors just skim around the theological aspects and focus on the practice.
read more
Contemporary spiritual formation is difficult to study. It is a multidisciplinary subject involving psychology, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, education and theology. A review of the literature will show a large variety of definitions and practices associated with the subject. The language used, different philosophies and worldviews are different to different authors. Various authors differ in their approach to theology, anthropology and psychology. Others struggle between practice and theory. The fundamental commonality among the different authors is that concept of spiritual formation is about spiritual growth. However, their different basis of approach has lead to fundamental differences in their definitions and outworking of their concept of spiritual formation.
First, some authors used the word Christian spiritual formation to differentiate it from spiritual formation that occurs in different worldviews and religious traditions. In this review, I shall limit myself to Christian authors. Second, many authors equate spiritual formation to spiritual growth in persons. However, an argument can be made that spiritual formation also occurs to communities. This will be taken into consideration in the review. Third, some authors fail to differentiate spiritual formation from discipleship or use these words interchangeably. Others use words like faith formation, spiritual transformation, Christian formation, and spiritual growth. Finally, there are not many studies done to establish an exegetical foundation for spiritual formation as currently practiced in evangelicalism. The word “spiritual formation” does not appear in the Bible. Most authors just skim around the theological aspects and focus on the practice.
read more
Literature Review on Spiritual Formation
Historically the term “spiritual formation” was used to denote the training of men and women for full time church ministry (Sheldrake 2005, 309). The content of the curriculum was academic training on scripture, theology, philosophy and liturgy. It also involved training in the spiritual disciplines especially in a disciplined prayer life. However, this is not the spiritual formation referred to in contemporary discussion of the subject.
Contemporary spiritual formation is difficult to study. It is a multidisciplinary subject involving psychology, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, education and theology. A review of the literature will show a large variety of definitions and practices associated with the subject. The language used, different philosophies and worldviews are different to different authors. Various authors differ in their approach to theology, anthropology and psychology. Others struggle between practice and theory. The fundamental commonality among the different authors is that concept of spiritual formation is about spiritual growth. However, their different basis of approach has lead to fundamental differences in their definitions and outworking of their concept of spiritual formation.
First, some authors used the word Christian spiritual formation to differentiate it from spiritual formation that occurs in different worldviews and religious traditions. In this review, I shall limit myself to Christian authors. Second, many authors equate spiritual formation to spiritual growth in persons. However, an argument can be made that spiritual formation also occurs to communities. This will be taken into consideration in the review. Third, some authors fail to differentiate spiritual formation from discipleship or use these words interchangeably. Others use words like faith formation, spiritual transformation, Christian formation, and spiritual growth. Finally, there are not many studies done to establish an exegetical foundation for spiritual formation as currently practiced in evangelicalism. The word “spiritual formation” does not appear in the Bible. Most authors just skim around the theological aspects and focus on the practice.
read more
Contemporary spiritual formation is difficult to study. It is a multidisciplinary subject involving psychology, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, education and theology. A review of the literature will show a large variety of definitions and practices associated with the subject. The language used, different philosophies and worldviews are different to different authors. Various authors differ in their approach to theology, anthropology and psychology. Others struggle between practice and theory. The fundamental commonality among the different authors is that concept of spiritual formation is about spiritual growth. However, their different basis of approach has lead to fundamental differences in their definitions and outworking of their concept of spiritual formation.
First, some authors used the word Christian spiritual formation to differentiate it from spiritual formation that occurs in different worldviews and religious traditions. In this review, I shall limit myself to Christian authors. Second, many authors equate spiritual formation to spiritual growth in persons. However, an argument can be made that spiritual formation also occurs to communities. This will be taken into consideration in the review. Third, some authors fail to differentiate spiritual formation from discipleship or use these words interchangeably. Others use words like faith formation, spiritual transformation, Christian formation, and spiritual growth. Finally, there are not many studies done to establish an exegetical foundation for spiritual formation as currently practiced in evangelicalism. The word “spiritual formation” does not appear in the Bible. Most authors just skim around the theological aspects and focus on the practice.
read more
Monday, April 14, 2008
Restoring the Image of the Trinity
Spiritual Formation as Restoring the Image of the Trinity (imatatio Trinitatis)The doctrine of the Trinity is that God reveals himself in the Scripture as God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There is only one God and in the essence of this one Godhead, there are three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These three persons are neither parts of one another, facets, or modes of existence but are co-equal and co-eternal.[1] According to theologian Stanley Grenz contemporary understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity stems from a consensus among theologians that view “theological language as metaphorical” (2001,7-8). Thus it allows theologians from different traditions to interact on this doctrine since a revival of interest stimulated by Karl Barth in the last century (Olson and Hall 2002, 95).
Malaysian theologian Albert Sundaraj Walters suggests a contextualized model of the Trinity which he named “Trinity from Below.” He constructs this model from interviews with Malaysian Christians and Muslims and then reflected on his findings theologically. Using the banana tree as a symbol of “fullness of life,” he writes, “Thus, this image of the banana tree is closely linked to the Trinity which portrays the essence of Being as a coming-from and a going-to, a giving and receiving” (2002, 276). A Korean theologian in the United States, Jung Young Lee uses the Chinese symbol of Yin-Yang to express his understanding of the Trinity. He starts with Jesus whose dual nature as man and God is reflected in the two portions of the Yin-Yang symbol. The feminine Yin represents the Holy Spirit which is female and Mother. The Yang represent the masculine and hence God the Father. (Lee 1996). These are just two examples of how Asian theologians are engaged in understanding the Trinity.
Catholic theologian Karl Rahner’s describes the Trinity in a short sentence, “The ‘economic’ Trinity is the ‘immanent’ Trinity and the ‘immanent’ Trinity is the ‘economic’ Trinity” (1967, 22). Olson and Hall broke that rather cryptic statement into “immanent Trinity”(beyond the world) and “economic Trinity”(within history). What Rahner is saying is that God created the world and relates to the world, but the world is not part of God. Otherwise, saving the world “becomes God’s self-salvation as well.” (Olson and Hall 2002, 3). Thus God is uniquely one: “The Lord, our God is one Lord” (Deu.6:4) who is the creator that stands outside of his creation.
The three persons of the Trinity relates to one another. The Father sends the Son and yet remains with him (Jn 8:29). The Son represents the Father and obey him willingly (Jn 8:28). Jesus proclaims that he is God (Jn 8:58) and accept faith and worship from his disciples (Matt.16:16, Jn 20:28). The Holy Spirit is part of this relationship (Jn 14-16). The close and intimate relationship and interaction within the Trinity is often referred to as perichoresis, the Greek word for a dance. As in a dance, there is a dynamic energy as each dancer moves in perfect partnership and equality with each other.[2]
Volf in arguing for an anthropological model of “social trinitarianism” emphases that the Trinity is not just understood by God’s self-revelation but also by what was done in salvation history (2006, 5-7). He then elaborates that there is a role for a person with the image of God or of the Trinity (imatatio Trinitatis). According to him,
Because God has made us to reflect God’s own triune being, our human tasks are not first of all to do as God does – and certainly not to make ourselves
as God is – but to let ourselves be indwelled by God and to celebrate and
proclaim what God has done, is doing, and will do (2006, 6-7).
This role of human, created in God’s image and fulfilling the potential of that image by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is similar to our definition of Christian spiritual formation. I will argue that this aspect of the Trinity is the basis for Christian spiritual formation. I will use an anthropological approach which is consistent with my approach in the earlier parts of this section concerning shalom and the image of God.
First, Christian spiritual formation is a process of being in communion with the Trinitarian God. Grenz describes the influence of social personalism[3] as the realisation the self who is not a “what” but a “who.” This “who” emerges out of conversations with other “whos” to become persons-in-communion. However it is when persons-in-communion become part of a conversation with God that the “who” discover discovers its identity as a person-in-relationship (2001, 12-14). It is in community with a Christian faith community that we discover who we are. This is only possible in relationships with others in the community and with God. When God created us, it is to enjoy a relationship with him (Gen.3:8, 9). Our spiritual growth is a process of self discovery in relationship with God and with others. Puritan theologian John Owen in his 1657 book, Communion with the Triune God described in detail the communion possible with the Triune God, and individually with God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Owen 2007). He noted,
Our communion, then with God consists in his communication of himself unto us, with our return unto him of that which he requires and accepts, flowing from
that union which in Jesus Christ we have with him (Owen 2007, 94 edited by Kelly
M.Kapic and Justin Taylor)
The Trinitarian God engages individuals in Christian faith communities in communion. Communion helps us to know God by moving from a cognitive state to an experiential state. This is sometimes called faith[4]. We learn about love too. In order to save us and to reveal himself to us, God became incarnate. Jesus Christ is God incarnate; fully human and fully God (1 Jn. 1:1-3). God the Father shows us love in action as Jesus the Son suffers and dies on the cross. The persons of the Trinity are so close that when Jesus suffers, the Father and the Holy Spirit also experience suffering. Erickson comments, “This says that God is not merely aloft and indifferent to suffering in the world. The second person of the trinity has acted to take some of that evil’s effects on himself ” (2000, 74).
Second, Christian spiritual formation is about a process of building relationships. Theologian Jürgen Moltmann suggests that it is the interpersonal relationship within the Godhead that gives us the model to love our neighbours (1981, 199). Within the Godhead, there is mutual respect, submission, harmony and equality. This should then be the model for us to respect, submit and live with one another in harmony and equality (Erickson 2000, 84-98). Walters suggests that hospitality and friendship are important elements in learning from the interpersonal relationship within the Trinity (2002, 265- 278).
Third, Christian spiritual formation is a process of forming a people for the Trinitarian God (Rom.8:29, 30: 1 Peter 2:9-10). The Biblical record is a meta-narrative of how God is calling a people to himself, those whom he has prepared before creation began. Gabriel Franke illustrates, “In the most elementary of terms, these refrains are the chapter heading of The Christian Story: Creation, Fall, Covenant, Jesus Christ, Church, Salvation, Consummation, with their Prologue and Epilogue, God.” (1996, 5). God, the Father intervenes in history to create this group of people. To prove his commitment, God has sealed this group of people with the Holy Spirit. This special group of people is the ecclesia (the called out ones) or the Church who will praise and worship him for all eternity. In a series of lectures on The Promises & Problems of Evangelical Spirituality given in Regent College, Vancouver, Simon Chan said that the “church is pre-existing. God uses creation as a means to bring the church into existence for communion with him.”[5] Grenz in his examination of the postmodern self, identifies the “ecclesial” self that is formed in the Church in communion and as an image of the relational Trinitarian God (2001, 331-336). Theologian Miroslaf Volf, writing from the perspective of Roman Catholic and Orthodox theologies concludes also that the Church is the image of the Trinity (Volf 1998).
Finally, Christian spiritual formation is a process of being the body of Christ on earth after Jesus has ascended to heaven. This body of Christ or the Church will carry on Jesus’ mission here on earth. To enable them to complete this mammoth task, God the Father sent the Holy Spirit to indwell them and empower and guide them with spiritual gifts and other divine powers. Jesus’ mission is to carry out to completion the Father’s plan of redemption for all fallen men and women, and the fallen creation itself. The idea of mission dei (mission of God) was first mooted following the lead of Karl Barth at the International Missionary Council held in Willingen, Germany (Seamands 2005,160). The one-in-three or plurality of the Trinity also helps to explain the relationship of the Trinity to creation or the natural world. Theologian Colin Gunton, using T.F. Torrance “parallel rationalities” argues that
the plurality in unity of the triune revelation enables us to do justice to the diversity, richness, and openness of the world without denying its unity in
relativistic versions of pluralism. It is that vision that trinitarian theology
has to offer the fragmented modern world (Gunton 1997,103.
Missio dei is the restoration of human beings and nature, through the empowering of the people of God by the Holy Spirit. Canadian theologian Paul Stevens explains, “Mission is God’s own going forth – truly an ekstasis of God. He is Sender, Sent and Sending,” (Stevens 1999, 194).
The challenge is to explain the Trinity to a multicultural pluralistic society like Malaysia. Simon Chan posed some interesting questions
How do we teach the Trinity vis-avis the world religions such as Hinduism,
Buddhism and Islam?…How does the Christian doctrine of the Spirit relate to the
traditional Asian animistic instinct?... What do we make of the hierarchical
structure of the Asian family?...How does Christian prayer differ from the idea
prevailing in popular religions that it is an “exchange” between a person and
the deity? (2006,116-117)
In examining the Trinitarian influence on ministry, theologian Stephen Seamands discovers seven characteristics: (1) relational personhood, (2) joyful intimacy, (3) glad surrender, (4) complex simplicity, (5) gracious self-acceptance, (6) mutual indwelling, and (7) passionate mission (Seamands 2005). These seven characteristics should not only influence ministry but also describe Christian spiritual formation. At least it may offer a common ground to dialogue with other religions and Asian cultures.
Bibliography
Chan, S. (2006). Liturgical Theology: The Church as Worshiping Community. Downers Grove, Illinois, InterVarsity Press.
Dykstra, C. (2005). Growing in the Life of Faith: Education and Christian Practices. Louisville, KN, Westminster John Knox Press.
Erickson, M. J. (2000). Making Sense of the Trinity. Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books.
Fackre, G. (1996). The Christian Story: A Narrative Interpretation of Basic Christian Doctrine. Grand Rapids. MI, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Grenz, S. J. (2001). The Social God and the Relational Self: A Trinitarian Theology of the Imago Dei. Louisville, KY, Westminster John Knox Press.
Grenz, S. J. (2004). Rediscovering the Triune God: The Trinity in Contemporary Theology. Minneapolis, MN, Fortress Press.
Gunton, C. (1997). The Trinity, Natural Theology, and a Theology of Nature. The Trinity in a Pluralistic Age: Theological Essays on Culture and Religion. K. J. Vanhoozer. Grand Rapids, MI, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company: 88-103.
Lee, J. Y. (1996). The Trinity in Asian Perspective. Nashville, Abingdon Press.
Moltmann, J. (1981). The Trinity and the Kingdom of God. London, SCM Press.
Olson, R. and C. Hall (2002). The Trinity. Grand Rapids, MI, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Owen, J. (2007). Communion with God. Wheaton, IL, Crossway Books.
Peterson, E. H. (2005). Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology. Grand Rapids, MI., William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Rahner, K. (1967). The Trinity. New York, Crossroad Publishing Company.
Seamands, S. (2005). Ministry in the Image of God: The Trinitarian Shape of Christian Service. Downers Groove, IL, InterVarsity Press.
Stevens, R. P. (1999). The Other Six Days: Vocation, Work and Ministry in Biblical Perspective. Grand Rapids, MI., William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Volf, M. (1998). After Our Likeness: The Church as the Image of the Trinity. Grand Rapids, MI, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Volf, M. (2006). Being as God Is. God's Life in Trinity. M. Volf and M. Welker. Minneapolis, MN, Fortress Press: 3-12.
Walters, A. S. (2002). We Believe in One God? Reflections on the Trinity in the Malaysian Context. New Delhi, ISPCK.
Endnotes
[1] Following Karl Barth, some of the Protestant theologians like Jürgen Moltman, Wolfhart Pannenberg and Eberhard Jüngel in Germany; T.F. Torrance and Colin Gunton in the United Kingdom; Ted Peters, Miroslav Volf, Elizabeth Johnson, Emil Brunner, Paul Tillich, Robert Jensen and Millard Erickson in the North America; Leonardo Boff, Okechukwu Ogbonnaya and Jung Young Lee in Latin America, Africa and Asia; Roman Catholics theologians like Karl Rahner,and Catherine Mowry LaCunga; Orthodox theologians like Vladimir Lossky and John Zizioulas, have been influential in developing our theological understanding of the Trinity. Olson and Hall have written a comprehensive historical and theological survey of the doctrine of the Trinity with a very useful bibliography on books published in English on the Trinity . see Olson, R. and C. Hall (2002). The Trinity. Grand Rapids, MI, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. See also Rahner, K. (1967). The Trinity. New York, Crossroad Publishing Company.; Grenz, S. J. (2004). Rediscovering the Triune God: The Trinity in Contemporary Theology. Minneapolis, MN, Fortress Press.
[2] The Greek word perichoresis is not in the Bible. It is a word from classical Greek and was introduced by Greek theologian John Damascene in the eight century. Damascene used it “to highlight the dynamic interpersonal character of the Trinity in contrast to impersonal images and abstraction.” See Peterson, E. H. (2005). Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology. Grand Rapids, MI., William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p.344.
[3] Grenz attributes much of the thinking behind “social personalism” as based on the works of Martin Buber, Michael Polanyi, and John Macmurray. Grenz, S. J. (2001). The Social God and the Relational Self: A Trinitarian Theology of the Imago Dei. Louisville, KY, Westminster John Knox Press. p.10-14.
[4] Dykstra makes this point, “…that faith is still primarily a matter of knowing some thing, however, we have missed what is fundamental about it. For faith is not only knowing the message, it is knowing the Messenger. (italics author’s) Dykstra, C. (2005). Growing in the Life of Faith: Education and Christian Practices. Louisville, KN, Westminster John Knox Press. p.21. Hence faith is not blind.
[5] Notes transcribed while listening to lectures. Spring School, Regent College, Vancouver. 29 May-9 June, 2006
picture credit
Restoring the Image of the Trinity
Spiritual Formation as Restoring the Image of the Trinity (imatatio Trinitatis)The doctrine of the Trinity is that God reveals himself in the Scripture as God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There is only one God and in the essence of this one Godhead, there are three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These three persons are neither parts of one another, facets, or modes of existence but are co-equal and co-eternal.[1] According to theologian Stanley Grenz contemporary understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity stems from a consensus among theologians that view “theological language as metaphorical” (2001,7-8). Thus it allows theologians from different traditions to interact on this doctrine since a revival of interest stimulated by Karl Barth in the last century (Olson and Hall 2002, 95).
Malaysian theologian Albert Sundaraj Walters suggests a contextualized model of the Trinity which he named “Trinity from Below.” He constructs this model from interviews with Malaysian Christians and Muslims and then reflected on his findings theologically. Using the banana tree as a symbol of “fullness of life,” he writes, “Thus, this image of the banana tree is closely linked to the Trinity which portrays the essence of Being as a coming-from and a going-to, a giving and receiving” (2002, 276). A Korean theologian in the United States, Jung Young Lee uses the Chinese symbol of Yin-Yang to express his understanding of the Trinity. He starts with Jesus whose dual nature as man and God is reflected in the two portions of the Yin-Yang symbol. The feminine Yin represents the Holy Spirit which is female and Mother. The Yang represent the masculine and hence God the Father. (Lee 1996). These are just two examples of how Asian theologians are engaged in understanding the Trinity.
Catholic theologian Karl Rahner’s describes the Trinity in a short sentence, “The ‘economic’ Trinity is the ‘immanent’ Trinity and the ‘immanent’ Trinity is the ‘economic’ Trinity” (1967, 22). Olson and Hall broke that rather cryptic statement into “immanent Trinity”(beyond the world) and “economic Trinity”(within history). What Rahner is saying is that God created the world and relates to the world, but the world is not part of God. Otherwise, saving the world “becomes God’s self-salvation as well.” (Olson and Hall 2002, 3). Thus God is uniquely one: “The Lord, our God is one Lord” (Deu.6:4) who is the creator that stands outside of his creation.
The three persons of the Trinity relates to one another. The Father sends the Son and yet remains with him (Jn 8:29). The Son represents the Father and obey him willingly (Jn 8:28). Jesus proclaims that he is God (Jn 8:58) and accept faith and worship from his disciples (Matt.16:16, Jn 20:28). The Holy Spirit is part of this relationship (Jn 14-16). The close and intimate relationship and interaction within the Trinity is often referred to as perichoresis, the Greek word for a dance. As in a dance, there is a dynamic energy as each dancer moves in perfect partnership and equality with each other.[2]
Volf in arguing for an anthropological model of “social trinitarianism” emphases that the Trinity is not just understood by God’s self-revelation but also by what was done in salvation history (2006, 5-7). He then elaborates that there is a role for a person with the image of God or of the Trinity (imatatio Trinitatis). According to him,
Because God has made us to reflect God’s own triune being, our human tasks are not first of all to do as God does – and certainly not to make ourselves
as God is – but to let ourselves be indwelled by God and to celebrate and
proclaim what God has done, is doing, and will do (2006, 6-7).
This role of human, created in God’s image and fulfilling the potential of that image by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is similar to our definition of Christian spiritual formation. I will argue that this aspect of the Trinity is the basis for Christian spiritual formation. I will use an anthropological approach which is consistent with my approach in the earlier parts of this section concerning shalom and the image of God.
First, Christian spiritual formation is a process of being in communion with the Trinitarian God. Grenz describes the influence of social personalism[3] as the realisation the self who is not a “what” but a “who.” This “who” emerges out of conversations with other “whos” to become persons-in-communion. However it is when persons-in-communion become part of a conversation with God that the “who” discover discovers its identity as a person-in-relationship (2001, 12-14). It is in community with a Christian faith community that we discover who we are. This is only possible in relationships with others in the community and with God. When God created us, it is to enjoy a relationship with him (Gen.3:8, 9). Our spiritual growth is a process of self discovery in relationship with God and with others. Puritan theologian John Owen in his 1657 book, Communion with the Triune God described in detail the communion possible with the Triune God, and individually with God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Owen 2007). He noted,
Our communion, then with God consists in his communication of himself unto us, with our return unto him of that which he requires and accepts, flowing from
that union which in Jesus Christ we have with him (Owen 2007, 94 edited by Kelly
M.Kapic and Justin Taylor)
The Trinitarian God engages individuals in Christian faith communities in communion. Communion helps us to know God by moving from a cognitive state to an experiential state. This is sometimes called faith[4]. We learn about love too. In order to save us and to reveal himself to us, God became incarnate. Jesus Christ is God incarnate; fully human and fully God (1 Jn. 1:1-3). God the Father shows us love in action as Jesus the Son suffers and dies on the cross. The persons of the Trinity are so close that when Jesus suffers, the Father and the Holy Spirit also experience suffering. Erickson comments, “This says that God is not merely aloft and indifferent to suffering in the world. The second person of the trinity has acted to take some of that evil’s effects on himself ” (2000, 74).
Second, Christian spiritual formation is about a process of building relationships. Theologian Jürgen Moltmann suggests that it is the interpersonal relationship within the Godhead that gives us the model to love our neighbours (1981, 199). Within the Godhead, there is mutual respect, submission, harmony and equality. This should then be the model for us to respect, submit and live with one another in harmony and equality (Erickson 2000, 84-98). Walters suggests that hospitality and friendship are important elements in learning from the interpersonal relationship within the Trinity (2002, 265- 278).
Third, Christian spiritual formation is a process of forming a people for the Trinitarian God (Rom.8:29, 30: 1 Peter 2:9-10). The Biblical record is a meta-narrative of how God is calling a people to himself, those whom he has prepared before creation began. Gabriel Franke illustrates, “In the most elementary of terms, these refrains are the chapter heading of The Christian Story: Creation, Fall, Covenant, Jesus Christ, Church, Salvation, Consummation, with their Prologue and Epilogue, God.” (1996, 5). God, the Father intervenes in history to create this group of people. To prove his commitment, God has sealed this group of people with the Holy Spirit. This special group of people is the ecclesia (the called out ones) or the Church who will praise and worship him for all eternity. In a series of lectures on The Promises & Problems of Evangelical Spirituality given in Regent College, Vancouver, Simon Chan said that the “church is pre-existing. God uses creation as a means to bring the church into existence for communion with him.”[5] Grenz in his examination of the postmodern self, identifies the “ecclesial” self that is formed in the Church in communion and as an image of the relational Trinitarian God (2001, 331-336). Theologian Miroslaf Volf, writing from the perspective of Roman Catholic and Orthodox theologies concludes also that the Church is the image of the Trinity (Volf 1998).
Finally, Christian spiritual formation is a process of being the body of Christ on earth after Jesus has ascended to heaven. This body of Christ or the Church will carry on Jesus’ mission here on earth. To enable them to complete this mammoth task, God the Father sent the Holy Spirit to indwell them and empower and guide them with spiritual gifts and other divine powers. Jesus’ mission is to carry out to completion the Father’s plan of redemption for all fallen men and women, and the fallen creation itself. The idea of mission dei (mission of God) was first mooted following the lead of Karl Barth at the International Missionary Council held in Willingen, Germany (Seamands 2005,160). The one-in-three or plurality of the Trinity also helps to explain the relationship of the Trinity to creation or the natural world. Theologian Colin Gunton, using T.F. Torrance “parallel rationalities” argues that
the plurality in unity of the triune revelation enables us to do justice to the diversity, richness, and openness of the world without denying its unity in
relativistic versions of pluralism. It is that vision that trinitarian theology
has to offer the fragmented modern world (Gunton 1997,103.
Missio dei is the restoration of human beings and nature, through the empowering of the people of God by the Holy Spirit. Canadian theologian Paul Stevens explains, “Mission is God’s own going forth – truly an ekstasis of God. He is Sender, Sent and Sending,” (Stevens 1999, 194).
The challenge is to explain the Trinity to a multicultural pluralistic society like Malaysia. Simon Chan posed some interesting questions
How do we teach the Trinity vis-avis the world religions such as Hinduism,
Buddhism and Islam?…How does the Christian doctrine of the Spirit relate to the
traditional Asian animistic instinct?... What do we make of the hierarchical
structure of the Asian family?...How does Christian prayer differ from the idea
prevailing in popular religions that it is an “exchange” between a person and
the deity? (2006,116-117)
In examining the Trinitarian influence on ministry, theologian Stephen Seamands discovers seven characteristics: (1) relational personhood, (2) joyful intimacy, (3) glad surrender, (4) complex simplicity, (5) gracious self-acceptance, (6) mutual indwelling, and (7) passionate mission (Seamands 2005). These seven characteristics should not only influence ministry but also describe Christian spiritual formation. At least it may offer a common ground to dialogue with other religions and Asian cultures.
Bibliography
Chan, S. (2006). Liturgical Theology: The Church as Worshiping Community. Downers Grove, Illinois, InterVarsity Press.
Dykstra, C. (2005). Growing in the Life of Faith: Education and Christian Practices. Louisville, KN, Westminster John Knox Press.
Erickson, M. J. (2000). Making Sense of the Trinity. Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books.
Fackre, G. (1996). The Christian Story: A Narrative Interpretation of Basic Christian Doctrine. Grand Rapids. MI, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Grenz, S. J. (2001). The Social God and the Relational Self: A Trinitarian Theology of the Imago Dei. Louisville, KY, Westminster John Knox Press.
Grenz, S. J. (2004). Rediscovering the Triune God: The Trinity in Contemporary Theology. Minneapolis, MN, Fortress Press.
Gunton, C. (1997). The Trinity, Natural Theology, and a Theology of Nature. The Trinity in a Pluralistic Age: Theological Essays on Culture and Religion. K. J. Vanhoozer. Grand Rapids, MI, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company: 88-103.
Lee, J. Y. (1996). The Trinity in Asian Perspective. Nashville, Abingdon Press.
Moltmann, J. (1981). The Trinity and the Kingdom of God. London, SCM Press.
Olson, R. and C. Hall (2002). The Trinity. Grand Rapids, MI, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Owen, J. (2007). Communion with God. Wheaton, IL, Crossway Books.
Peterson, E. H. (2005). Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology. Grand Rapids, MI., William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Rahner, K. (1967). The Trinity. New York, Crossroad Publishing Company.
Seamands, S. (2005). Ministry in the Image of God: The Trinitarian Shape of Christian Service. Downers Groove, IL, InterVarsity Press.
Stevens, R. P. (1999). The Other Six Days: Vocation, Work and Ministry in Biblical Perspective. Grand Rapids, MI., William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Volf, M. (1998). After Our Likeness: The Church as the Image of the Trinity. Grand Rapids, MI, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Volf, M. (2006). Being as God Is. God's Life in Trinity. M. Volf and M. Welker. Minneapolis, MN, Fortress Press: 3-12.
Walters, A. S. (2002). We Believe in One God? Reflections on the Trinity in the Malaysian Context. New Delhi, ISPCK.
Endnotes
[1] Following Karl Barth, some of the Protestant theologians like Jürgen Moltman, Wolfhart Pannenberg and Eberhard Jüngel in Germany; T.F. Torrance and Colin Gunton in the United Kingdom; Ted Peters, Miroslav Volf, Elizabeth Johnson, Emil Brunner, Paul Tillich, Robert Jensen and Millard Erickson in the North America; Leonardo Boff, Okechukwu Ogbonnaya and Jung Young Lee in Latin America, Africa and Asia; Roman Catholics theologians like Karl Rahner,and Catherine Mowry LaCunga; Orthodox theologians like Vladimir Lossky and John Zizioulas, have been influential in developing our theological understanding of the Trinity. Olson and Hall have written a comprehensive historical and theological survey of the doctrine of the Trinity with a very useful bibliography on books published in English on the Trinity . see Olson, R. and C. Hall (2002). The Trinity. Grand Rapids, MI, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. See also Rahner, K. (1967). The Trinity. New York, Crossroad Publishing Company.; Grenz, S. J. (2004). Rediscovering the Triune God: The Trinity in Contemporary Theology. Minneapolis, MN, Fortress Press.
[2] The Greek word perichoresis is not in the Bible. It is a word from classical Greek and was introduced by Greek theologian John Damascene in the eight century. Damascene used it “to highlight the dynamic interpersonal character of the Trinity in contrast to impersonal images and abstraction.” See Peterson, E. H. (2005). Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology. Grand Rapids, MI., William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p.344.
[3] Grenz attributes much of the thinking behind “social personalism” as based on the works of Martin Buber, Michael Polanyi, and John Macmurray. Grenz, S. J. (2001). The Social God and the Relational Self: A Trinitarian Theology of the Imago Dei. Louisville, KY, Westminster John Knox Press. p.10-14.
[4] Dykstra makes this point, “…that faith is still primarily a matter of knowing some thing, however, we have missed what is fundamental about it. For faith is not only knowing the message, it is knowing the Messenger. (italics author’s) Dykstra, C. (2005). Growing in the Life of Faith: Education and Christian Practices. Louisville, KN, Westminster John Knox Press. p.21. Hence faith is not blind.
[5] Notes transcribed while listening to lectures. Spring School, Regent College, Vancouver. 29 May-9 June, 2006
picture credit
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Spiritual Formation as Restoring the Image of God
God created the present creation in six days and on the seventh day he rested (Gen.1:1-2:1). He made man and woman in his own image, the imago dei (Gen.1:26-27). Theologian Anthony Hoekema in his exhaustive study of the image of God discerned two aspects; a functional aspect as “involving man in his threefold relationship – to God, to others, and to nature” (1986, 75-82), and a structural aspect as moving from the “original image” to the “the perverted image” after the Fall, and the “the renewed image”, to “the perfected image” in God’s redemptive work (1986, 82-96).Man and woman are created for a relationship with God (Gen.3:8-9). Unfortunately the man and woman disobeyed him, and fell, distorting his perfect creation in what is known as the “original sin” or Fall resulting in Hoekema’s “perverted image”(Gen.3:1-24). There is also a break in the threefold functioning relationship with God, others and nature. Theologian Demarest presents this as historical fact while others like Karl Barth and Emil Brunner argues that the fall is not historical but “saga or legend” (Demarest 1984,405). It is beyond the scope of this post to examine in depth this theological topic. As theologian Henri Blocher has noted, “the controversies has continued unabated through the centuries” (1997, 15). I am more in agreement with the perspective of Demarest and Blocher.
God sent his Son to redeem fallen human beings by his death on the cross and by his resurrection. Those who receive his Son are restored in union and justified. He sends the Holy Spirit to empower them as they are restored into the image of Christ (renewed image) and as his special people. God the Father wants to work in partnership with his restored human beings in his plan to redeem his whole creation[1]. The end result is the “perfected image” of God for humankind and a new heaven and earth. Hoekema summarises “the purpose of redemption is to restore the image of God in man” (1986, 27).
The restoration of the image of God is not just limited to individual human beings but also involve the Church. This is because all believers are part of the Church which is the body of Christ (Eph. 5:26). The Church is the laos, the special called-out people of God. The restoration of the image of God has a corporate component, or “ecclesiastical aspect” as Hoekema indicates (1986, 89). Approaching from the epistemological rather than anthropological angle, theologian Ian McFarland postulates that in restoring the divine image, one receives more revelation and knowledge of God (McFarland 2005).
There are some connections between the image of God and Christian spiritual formation. First, Christian spiritual formation is the process of restoring the fallen imago dei in each human being so that he or she become more like God. Hoekema notes that “because Christ is the perfect image of God, becoming more like God also means becoming more like Christ” (1986,89). Hence Christian spiritual formation is to restore our fallen nature to become like that of Christ’s or Christlikeness (Gal. 4:19; Rom.8:29; 2 Cor 3:18). It is after being restored that we can be who God has created us to be.
Second, Christian spiritual formation in restoring the image of God is also restoring its functioning as relationship builder. This means restoring our vertical relationship with God, and horizontal relationship with other persons and nature. Christianity is relational because of its characteristic of relationship building. The image of God is also the image of the Trinity. The three persons in the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) are in close relationship to one another. When we are restored to the image of God, we are also restored to a relationship to the Triune God. This is because as we restore the image of Christ in us, we are drawn into the Trinitarian relationship through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Third, Christian spiritual formation in restoring the image of God in individuals has a corporate effect. Individual members of the body of Christ contribute to the body and come to a deeper knowledge of God; and to partake of the nature of God (2 Peter 1:4; 1 Jn. 3:12). As each of us individually restores our divine image, we are also doing so corporately because we are the body of Christ. Therefore, the restoration of the image of God also restores the body of Christ which is the church.
Finally, Christian spiritual formation in restoring the image of God is a cooperative effort between the Holy Spirit and individuals. The Holy Spirit works through Scripture and the means of grace[2] which slowly transforms believers into his likeness. For the believers it may involve making tough choices and sometimes being placed in painful circumstances. Christian spiritual formation is a continuing process of making choices that will result in the restoration of the image of God within us.
Bibliography
Arnold, W. T. (1996). Salvation. Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology. W. A. Elwell. Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books: 701-703.
Blevins, D. G. (2005). "Renovating Christian Education in the 21st Century: A Wesleyan Contribution." Christian Education Journal: Series 3 2(1): 6-29.
Blocher, H. (1997). Original Sin: Illuminating the Riddle. Downer Drive, IL, InterVarsity Press.
Demarest, B. A. (1984). Fall of Man. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. W. A. Elwell. Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books: 403-405.
Erickson, M. J. (1999). ChristianTheology. Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books.
Hoekema, A. A. (1986). Created in God's Image. Grand Rapids, MI, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
McFarland, I. A. (2005). The Divine Image: Envisioning the Invisible God. Minneapolis, MN, Augsburg Fortress.
White, R. E. O. (1984). Salvation. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. W. A. Elwell. Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books: 967-969.
Endnotes
[1] This is a brief outline of God’s great plan of redemption or salvation. See White, R. E. O. (1984). Salvation. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. W. A. Elwell. Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books: 967-969. also see Arnold, W. T. (1996). Salvation. Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology. W. A. Elwell. Grand Rapids, MI, baker Books: 701-703. A more detail treatment see Erickson, M. J. (1999). ChristianTheology. Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books. p.901-1032. These are all from the evangelical view.
[2] Means of grace was coined by John Wesley. Unfortunately Wesley varies his definitions in his various sermons and writing. Basically, he divided means of grace into two groups: acts of piety and acts of mercy. Later, as the Methodist movement matures, he divided the means of grace into instituted and prudential means. Dean Blevins elaborates, “The instituted means are very similar to Wesley’s understanding of ordinances or acts of piety, and include prayer (private, family, and public), searching the Scriptures (by reading, meditating, and hearing), the Lord’s Supper, fasting, and Christian Conference…The prudential means include particular rules, arts of holy living, acts of ministry, and larger attitudes toward daily living listed under the headings of watching, denying ourselves, taking up the cross, and exercising the presence of God.” Blevins, D. G. (2005). "Renovating Christian Education in the 21st Century: A Wesleyan Contribution." Christian Education Journal: Series 3 2(1): 6-29.p.14
.
Spiritual Formation as Restoring the Image of God
God created the present creation in six days and on the seventh day he rested (Gen.1:1-2:1). He made man and woman in his own image, the imago dei (Gen.1:26-27). Theologian Anthony Hoekema in his exhaustive study of the image of God discerned two aspects; a functional aspect as “involving man in his threefold relationship – to God, to others, and to nature” (1986, 75-82), and a structural aspect as moving from the “original image” to the “the perverted image” after the Fall, and the “the renewed image”, to “the perfected image” in God’s redemptive work (1986, 82-96).Man and woman are created for a relationship with God (Gen.3:8-9). Unfortunately the man and woman disobeyed him, and fell, distorting his perfect creation in what is known as the “original sin” or Fall resulting in Hoekema’s “perverted image”(Gen.3:1-24). There is also a break in the threefold functioning relationship with God, others and nature. Theologian Demarest presents this as historical fact while others like Karl Barth and Emil Brunner argues that the fall is not historical but “saga or legend” (Demarest 1984,405). It is beyond the scope of this post to examine in depth this theological topic. As theologian Henri Blocher has noted, “the controversies has continued unabated through the centuries” (1997, 15). I am more in agreement with the perspective of Demarest and Blocher.
God sent his Son to redeem fallen human beings by his death on the cross and by his resurrection. Those who receive his Son are restored in union and justified. He sends the Holy Spirit to empower them as they are restored into the image of Christ (renewed image) and as his special people. God the Father wants to work in partnership with his restored human beings in his plan to redeem his whole creation[1]. The end result is the “perfected image” of God for humankind and a new heaven and earth. Hoekema summarises “the purpose of redemption is to restore the image of God in man” (1986, 27).
The restoration of the image of God is not just limited to individual human beings but also involve the Church. This is because all believers are part of the Church which is the body of Christ (Eph. 5:26). The Church is the laos, the special called-out people of God. The restoration of the image of God has a corporate component, or “ecclesiastical aspect” as Hoekema indicates (1986, 89). Approaching from the epistemological rather than anthropological angle, theologian Ian McFarland postulates that in restoring the divine image, one receives more revelation and knowledge of God (McFarland 2005).
There are some connections between the image of God and Christian spiritual formation. First, Christian spiritual formation is the process of restoring the fallen imago dei in each human being so that he or she become more like God. Hoekema notes that “because Christ is the perfect image of God, becoming more like God also means becoming more like Christ” (1986,89). Hence Christian spiritual formation is to restore our fallen nature to become like that of Christ’s or Christlikeness (Gal. 4:19; Rom.8:29; 2 Cor 3:18). It is after being restored that we can be who God has created us to be.
Second, Christian spiritual formation in restoring the image of God is also restoring its functioning as relationship builder. This means restoring our vertical relationship with God, and horizontal relationship with other persons and nature. Christianity is relational because of its characteristic of relationship building. The image of God is also the image of the Trinity. The three persons in the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) are in close relationship to one another. When we are restored to the image of God, we are also restored to a relationship to the Triune God. This is because as we restore the image of Christ in us, we are drawn into the Trinitarian relationship through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Third, Christian spiritual formation in restoring the image of God in individuals has a corporate effect. Individual members of the body of Christ contribute to the body and come to a deeper knowledge of God; and to partake of the nature of God (2 Peter 1:4; 1 Jn. 3:12). As each of us individually restores our divine image, we are also doing so corporately because we are the body of Christ. Therefore, the restoration of the image of God also restores the body of Christ which is the church.
Finally, Christian spiritual formation in restoring the image of God is a cooperative effort between the Holy Spirit and individuals. The Holy Spirit works through Scripture and the means of grace[2] which slowly transforms believers into his likeness. For the believers it may involve making tough choices and sometimes being placed in painful circumstances. Christian spiritual formation is a continuing process of making choices that will result in the restoration of the image of God within us.
Bibliography
Arnold, W. T. (1996). Salvation. Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology. W. A. Elwell. Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books: 701-703.
Blevins, D. G. (2005). "Renovating Christian Education in the 21st Century: A Wesleyan Contribution." Christian Education Journal: Series 3 2(1): 6-29.
Blocher, H. (1997). Original Sin: Illuminating the Riddle. Downer Drive, IL, InterVarsity Press.
Demarest, B. A. (1984). Fall of Man. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. W. A. Elwell. Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books: 403-405.
Erickson, M. J. (1999). ChristianTheology. Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books.
Hoekema, A. A. (1986). Created in God's Image. Grand Rapids, MI, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
McFarland, I. A. (2005). The Divine Image: Envisioning the Invisible God. Minneapolis, MN, Augsburg Fortress.
White, R. E. O. (1984). Salvation. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. W. A. Elwell. Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books: 967-969.
Endnotes
[1] This is a brief outline of God’s great plan of redemption or salvation. See White, R. E. O. (1984). Salvation. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. W. A. Elwell. Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books: 967-969. also see Arnold, W. T. (1996). Salvation. Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology. W. A. Elwell. Grand Rapids, MI, baker Books: 701-703. A more detail treatment see Erickson, M. J. (1999). ChristianTheology. Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books. p.901-1032. These are all from the evangelical view.
[2] Means of grace was coined by John Wesley. Unfortunately Wesley varies his definitions in his various sermons and writing. Basically, he divided means of grace into two groups: acts of piety and acts of mercy. Later, as the Methodist movement matures, he divided the means of grace into instituted and prudential means. Dean Blevins elaborates, “The instituted means are very similar to Wesley’s understanding of ordinances or acts of piety, and include prayer (private, family, and public), searching the Scriptures (by reading, meditating, and hearing), the Lord’s Supper, fasting, and Christian Conference…The prudential means include particular rules, arts of holy living, acts of ministry, and larger attitudes toward daily living listed under the headings of watching, denying ourselves, taking up the cross, and exercising the presence of God.” Blevins, D. G. (2005). "Renovating Christian Education in the 21st Century: A Wesleyan Contribution." Christian Education Journal: Series 3 2(1): 6-29.p.14
.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Spiritual Formation to Shalom
Shalom is a Hebrew word, often translated in English as peace. In the Old Testament, shalom is a frequently used word. Greek scholar Mounce notes that LXX translates Hebrew šālôm, which occurs 250 times in the Old Testament with eirēnē (2006, 503). Examining the usage of the word in the Old Testament, Beck and Colin Brown discovered the usage of šālôm covers wholeness, completeness, well-being, prosperity, health, contentment and salvation. However it has a social dimension in good relationships between countries, righteousness and justice (Beck and Brown 1986, 777).
Theologian Hugh White uses a historical or developmental approach to understand the usage of the word šālôm in the Old Testament. He finds that šālôm are basically used in two settings. The first is its usage in a tribal setting in early Hebrew history where it denotes “an organic unity”, and secondly in a national setting as a covenant community (White 1973). In the tribal setting “the shalom of tribal life thus consisted of a dynamic, organically unified life process made stable by the institution of blood kinship” (White 1973, 9). The blood kinship was the static component but the dynamic life process involved living individually and corporately in such a way as to promote harmony and unity within the tribe. This concept was further expanded when the Hebrew became a covenant community. The promise of the covenant was “I will grant peace (shalom) in the land and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid.”(Lev.26:6a).
However as the tribal šālôm demands blood unity, the national šālôm demands obedience to the Yahweh covenant. Whites notes that “it is in this context, then, shalom acquires its connection with love, faithfulness, justice and righteousness” (1973,15). It is in the four prophets that White discovers the “eschatological prophetic visions of shalom” that links the Old Testament and the New Testament. These are Isaiah (prince of peace), Jeremiah (new covenant), Ezekiel (covenant of peace), and Deutero-Isaiah (suffering servant) (1973, 20-24).
In the New Testament, eirēnē is found 91 times, 24 of which are in the Gospels (Beck and Brown 1986,780). Beck and Brown comments that the meaning of eirēnē in the New Testament have the same “form and content” as its meaning in the Old Testament (1986,180). The expansion is that Christ himself is eirēnē (Eph.2:14-18), he is the mediator of eirēnē, bringing reconciliation (Col.1:20), and a “sense of wholeness both for men and the world (2 Cor.:17; Gal.6:15)” (Beck and Brown 1986,781). Beck and Brown notes “the whole process of believers’ sanctification, preservation and perfecting (1 Thess.5:23; Heb. 13:20) serves to deepen their participation in the peace of God” (1986,781). Christian spiritual formation may be understood as growing into shalom.
The Bible presents the time of the Garden of Eden before the fall as paradise. It would have been a time of shalom where there is what theologian Edward Powers describes as an ecology “of the relationship of people, creatures, and nature.” (Powers 1973,15). God is interested in a whole person, a whole people of his own, a whole earth and a whole creation which is implied in the concept of shalom. The Christian Story is about God recreating his shalom again. First, shalom is personal. It is a person finding wholeness by reconnecting to God and other people and learning to live without harming the environment. Theologian Norma Everist writes,
Shalom is about wholeness or completeness in an individual. Mounce notes that shalom is Jesus’ “parting gift”[1] to his disciples (2006,503). Joldersma, in unpacking Wolterstorff’s idea of shalom writes,
Therefore it is to shalom that the process of Christian spiritual formation of an individual proceeds.
Second, shalom is also for a community. Luke uses the word shalom to describe the early struggling Christian church (Acts 9:31). Expanding on this Everist writes,
The shalom concept of tribal and national or covenant community is now carried on by the laos or people of God (1 Peter 2:9-10). This means that a community must work together to create this shalom. Shalom is both something to work for and is also a gift from God (Rom.1:7; 1 Cor.1:3).
Finally, shalom is when the wholeness of all creation is restored with the creation of the new heavens and earth. This eschatological concept of shalom gives us hope and motivation in working to achieve it.
The concept of shalom gives an idea of what Christian spiritual formation should be achieving. Christian spiritual formation should be producing wholeness or completeness in individuals, communities and in the world. It also looks forward to an eschatological shalom. However shalom cannot be achieved without the restoration of the image of God in mankind. Christian spiritual formation is part of the process of the restoration of the image of God or imago dei which was perverted during the Fall (Demarest 1984,404). The complete restoration process or salvationstarts with justification by faith which is followed by Christian spiritual formation or sanctification and ends with glorification (Erickson 1999, 960-1013).
Bibliography
Beck, H. and C. Brown (1986). Peace. The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology. C. Brown. Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan. 2: 776-783.
Demarest, B. A. (1984). Fall of Man. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. W. A. Elwell. Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books: 403-405.
Erickson, M. J. (1999). ChristianTheology. Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books.
Everist, N. C. (2002). The Church as Learning Community: A Comprehensive Guide to Christian Education. Nashville, Abingdon Press.
Mounce, W. D., Ed. (2006). Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words. Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan.
Powers, E. A. (1973). Signs of Shalom. Philadelphia, Joint Educational Development United Church Press.
White, H. C. (1973). Shalom in the Old Testament. Phildelphia, Division of Christian Education of the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries.
Wolterstorff, N. (2004). Educating for Shalom: Essays on Christian Higher Education. Grand Rapids, MI, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Endnotes
[1] Jn. 14:27; 16:33; 20:19, 21, 26
[2] Jer. 6:14; 8:11
Theologian Hugh White uses a historical or developmental approach to understand the usage of the word šālôm in the Old Testament. He finds that šālôm are basically used in two settings. The first is its usage in a tribal setting in early Hebrew history where it denotes “an organic unity”, and secondly in a national setting as a covenant community (White 1973). In the tribal setting “the shalom of tribal life thus consisted of a dynamic, organically unified life process made stable by the institution of blood kinship” (White 1973, 9). The blood kinship was the static component but the dynamic life process involved living individually and corporately in such a way as to promote harmony and unity within the tribe. This concept was further expanded when the Hebrew became a covenant community. The promise of the covenant was “I will grant peace (shalom) in the land and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid.”(Lev.26:6a).
However as the tribal šālôm demands blood unity, the national šālôm demands obedience to the Yahweh covenant. Whites notes that “it is in this context, then, shalom acquires its connection with love, faithfulness, justice and righteousness” (1973,15). It is in the four prophets that White discovers the “eschatological prophetic visions of shalom” that links the Old Testament and the New Testament. These are Isaiah (prince of peace), Jeremiah (new covenant), Ezekiel (covenant of peace), and Deutero-Isaiah (suffering servant) (1973, 20-24).
In the New Testament, eirēnē is found 91 times, 24 of which are in the Gospels (Beck and Brown 1986,780). Beck and Brown comments that the meaning of eirēnē in the New Testament have the same “form and content” as its meaning in the Old Testament (1986,180). The expansion is that Christ himself is eirēnē (Eph.2:14-18), he is the mediator of eirēnē, bringing reconciliation (Col.1:20), and a “sense of wholeness both for men and the world (2 Cor.:17; Gal.6:15)” (Beck and Brown 1986,781). Beck and Brown notes “the whole process of believers’ sanctification, preservation and perfecting (1 Thess.5:23; Heb. 13:20) serves to deepen their participation in the peace of God” (1986,781). Christian spiritual formation may be understood as growing into shalom.
The Bible presents the time of the Garden of Eden before the fall as paradise. It would have been a time of shalom where there is what theologian Edward Powers describes as an ecology “of the relationship of people, creatures, and nature.” (Powers 1973,15). God is interested in a whole person, a whole people of his own, a whole earth and a whole creation which is implied in the concept of shalom. The Christian Story is about God recreating his shalom again. First, shalom is personal. It is a person finding wholeness by reconnecting to God and other people and learning to live without harming the environment. Theologian Norma Everist writes,
Jesus made shalom through the cross (Col.1:20; Eph.2:15-16). When Jesus healed and forgave people, he dismissed them by saying, “Go in shalom.” We are to “seek and pursue it.”(Ps.34:14b as quoted in 1 Pet. 3:11 ). We are to be at peace, pursue it, send it, and keep it. Shalom is an active fruit of the spirit and a mark of the realm of God. It is about the matrix of peace, harmony, and wholeness and is both a gift and task for the very goal of our teaching and learning life together. Shalom is an active fruit of the spirit and a mark of the realm of God. It is about the matrix of peace, harmony, and wholeness and is both a gift and task for the very goal of our teaching and learning life together. (2002, 68-69)
Shalom is about wholeness or completeness in an individual. Mounce notes that shalom is Jesus’ “parting gift”[1] to his disciples (2006,503). Joldersma, in unpacking Wolterstorff’s idea of shalom writes,
Shalom means people living in right relationships with God, themselves, each other, and nature- and in taking delight in such relationships. Shalom involves finding meaning in our experiences and celebrating the actualizing of creation’s potentials. Shalom involves recognizing in ourselves that place where Gods’goodness finds its answer in our gratitude. Shalom is an ethical community where all the members have a full and secure place in the community. As such, it embraces a “non-abandonment” view of the creation that involves redeeming it.(Wolterstorff 2004, xii)
Therefore it is to shalom that the process of Christian spiritual formation of an individual proceeds.
Second, shalom is also for a community. Luke uses the word shalom to describe the early struggling Christian church (Acts 9:31). Expanding on this Everist writes,
Shalom is communal, meaning the right relationship between friends, neighbors, a community, nation, or even all the inhabited world (oikoumene). The heart of the meaning is close to life itself.
Shalom is linked with truth and justice in the Hebrew Bible, especially by Jeremiah[2]. Forgiveness, righteousness, justification, reconciliation, pardon, restoration, good news, and salvation - all words which point to harmony in any relationship- are all part of the semantic domain of shalom. In Paul’s theology in the New Testament Bible, justification by faith gives shalom with God through Jesus Christ.”(Everist 2002 ,68)
The shalom concept of tribal and national or covenant community is now carried on by the laos or people of God (1 Peter 2:9-10). This means that a community must work together to create this shalom. Shalom is both something to work for and is also a gift from God (Rom.1:7; 1 Cor.1:3).
Finally, shalom is when the wholeness of all creation is restored with the creation of the new heavens and earth. This eschatological concept of shalom gives us hope and motivation in working to achieve it.
The concept of shalom gives an idea of what Christian spiritual formation should be achieving. Christian spiritual formation should be producing wholeness or completeness in individuals, communities and in the world. It also looks forward to an eschatological shalom. However shalom cannot be achieved without the restoration of the image of God in mankind. Christian spiritual formation is part of the process of the restoration of the image of God or imago dei which was perverted during the Fall (Demarest 1984,404). The complete restoration process or salvationstarts with justification by faith which is followed by Christian spiritual formation or sanctification and ends with glorification (Erickson 1999, 960-1013).
Bibliography
Beck, H. and C. Brown (1986). Peace. The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology. C. Brown. Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan. 2: 776-783.
Demarest, B. A. (1984). Fall of Man. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. W. A. Elwell. Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books: 403-405.
Erickson, M. J. (1999). ChristianTheology. Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books.
Everist, N. C. (2002). The Church as Learning Community: A Comprehensive Guide to Christian Education. Nashville, Abingdon Press.
Mounce, W. D., Ed. (2006). Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words. Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan.
Powers, E. A. (1973). Signs of Shalom. Philadelphia, Joint Educational Development United Church Press.
White, H. C. (1973). Shalom in the Old Testament. Phildelphia, Division of Christian Education of the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries.
Wolterstorff, N. (2004). Educating for Shalom: Essays on Christian Higher Education. Grand Rapids, MI, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Endnotes
[1] Jn. 14:27; 16:33; 20:19, 21, 26
[2] Jer. 6:14; 8:11
Spiritual Formation to Shalom
Shalom is a Hebrew word, often translated in English as peace. In the Old Testament, shalom is a frequently used word. Greek scholar Mounce notes that LXX translates Hebrew šālôm, which occurs 250 times in the Old Testament with eirēnē (2006, 503). Examining the usage of the word in the Old Testament, Beck and Colin Brown discovered the usage of šālôm covers wholeness, completeness, well-being, prosperity, health, contentment and salvation. However it has a social dimension in good relationships between countries, righteousness and justice (Beck and Brown 1986, 777).
Theologian Hugh White uses a historical or developmental approach to understand the usage of the word šālôm in the Old Testament. He finds that šālôm are basically used in two settings. The first is its usage in a tribal setting in early Hebrew history where it denotes “an organic unity”, and secondly in a national setting as a covenant community (White 1973). In the tribal setting “the shalom of tribal life thus consisted of a dynamic, organically unified life process made stable by the institution of blood kinship” (White 1973, 9). The blood kinship was the static component but the dynamic life process involved living individually and corporately in such a way as to promote harmony and unity within the tribe. This concept was further expanded when the Hebrew became a covenant community. The promise of the covenant was “I will grant peace (shalom) in the land and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid.”(Lev.26:6a).
However as the tribal šālôm demands blood unity, the national šālôm demands obedience to the Yahweh covenant. Whites notes that “it is in this context, then, shalom acquires its connection with love, faithfulness, justice and righteousness” (1973,15). It is in the four prophets that White discovers the “eschatological prophetic visions of shalom” that links the Old Testament and the New Testament. These are Isaiah (prince of peace), Jeremiah (new covenant), Ezekiel (covenant of peace), and Deutero-Isaiah (suffering servant) (1973, 20-24).
In the New Testament, eirēnē is found 91 times, 24 of which are in the Gospels (Beck and Brown 1986,780). Beck and Brown comments that the meaning of eirēnē in the New Testament have the same “form and content” as its meaning in the Old Testament (1986,180). The expansion is that Christ himself is eirēnē (Eph.2:14-18), he is the mediator of eirēnē, bringing reconciliation (Col.1:20), and a “sense of wholeness both for men and the world (2 Cor.:17; Gal.6:15)” (Beck and Brown 1986,781). Beck and Brown notes “the whole process of believers’ sanctification, preservation and perfecting (1 Thess.5:23; Heb. 13:20) serves to deepen their participation in the peace of God” (1986,781). Christian spiritual formation may be understood as growing into shalom.
The Bible presents the time of the Garden of Eden before the fall as paradise. It would have been a time of shalom where there is what theologian Edward Powers describes as an ecology “of the relationship of people, creatures, and nature.” (Powers 1973,15). God is interested in a whole person, a whole people of his own, a whole earth and a whole creation which is implied in the concept of shalom. The Christian Story is about God recreating his shalom again. First, shalom is personal. It is a person finding wholeness by reconnecting to God and other people and learning to live without harming the environment. Theologian Norma Everist writes,
Shalom is about wholeness or completeness in an individual. Mounce notes that shalom is Jesus’ “parting gift”[1] to his disciples (2006,503). Joldersma, in unpacking Wolterstorff’s idea of shalom writes,
Therefore it is to shalom that the process of Christian spiritual formation of an individual proceeds.
Second, shalom is also for a community. Luke uses the word shalom to describe the early struggling Christian church (Acts 9:31). Expanding on this Everist writes,
The shalom concept of tribal and national or covenant community is now carried on by the laos or people of God (1 Peter 2:9-10). This means that a community must work together to create this shalom. Shalom is both something to work for and is also a gift from God (Rom.1:7; 1 Cor.1:3).
Finally, shalom is when the wholeness of all creation is restored with the creation of the new heavens and earth. This eschatological concept of shalom gives us hope and motivation in working to achieve it.
The concept of shalom gives an idea of what Christian spiritual formation should be achieving. Christian spiritual formation should be producing wholeness or completeness in individuals, communities and in the world. It also looks forward to an eschatological shalom. However shalom cannot be achieved without the restoration of the image of God in mankind. Christian spiritual formation is part of the process of the restoration of the image of God or imago dei which was perverted during the Fall (Demarest 1984,404). The complete restoration process or salvationstarts with justification by faith which is followed by Christian spiritual formation or sanctification and ends with glorification (Erickson 1999, 960-1013).
Bibliography
Beck, H. and C. Brown (1986). Peace. The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology. C. Brown. Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan. 2: 776-783.
Demarest, B. A. (1984). Fall of Man. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. W. A. Elwell. Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books: 403-405.
Erickson, M. J. (1999). ChristianTheology. Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books.
Everist, N. C. (2002). The Church as Learning Community: A Comprehensive Guide to Christian Education. Nashville, Abingdon Press.
Mounce, W. D., Ed. (2006). Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words. Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan.
Powers, E. A. (1973). Signs of Shalom. Philadelphia, Joint Educational Development United Church Press.
White, H. C. (1973). Shalom in the Old Testament. Phildelphia, Division of Christian Education of the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries.
Wolterstorff, N. (2004). Educating for Shalom: Essays on Christian Higher Education. Grand Rapids, MI, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Endnotes
[1] Jn. 14:27; 16:33; 20:19, 21, 26
[2] Jer. 6:14; 8:11
Theologian Hugh White uses a historical or developmental approach to understand the usage of the word šālôm in the Old Testament. He finds that šālôm are basically used in two settings. The first is its usage in a tribal setting in early Hebrew history where it denotes “an organic unity”, and secondly in a national setting as a covenant community (White 1973). In the tribal setting “the shalom of tribal life thus consisted of a dynamic, organically unified life process made stable by the institution of blood kinship” (White 1973, 9). The blood kinship was the static component but the dynamic life process involved living individually and corporately in such a way as to promote harmony and unity within the tribe. This concept was further expanded when the Hebrew became a covenant community. The promise of the covenant was “I will grant peace (shalom) in the land and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid.”(Lev.26:6a).
However as the tribal šālôm demands blood unity, the national šālôm demands obedience to the Yahweh covenant. Whites notes that “it is in this context, then, shalom acquires its connection with love, faithfulness, justice and righteousness” (1973,15). It is in the four prophets that White discovers the “eschatological prophetic visions of shalom” that links the Old Testament and the New Testament. These are Isaiah (prince of peace), Jeremiah (new covenant), Ezekiel (covenant of peace), and Deutero-Isaiah (suffering servant) (1973, 20-24).
In the New Testament, eirēnē is found 91 times, 24 of which are in the Gospels (Beck and Brown 1986,780). Beck and Brown comments that the meaning of eirēnē in the New Testament have the same “form and content” as its meaning in the Old Testament (1986,180). The expansion is that Christ himself is eirēnē (Eph.2:14-18), he is the mediator of eirēnē, bringing reconciliation (Col.1:20), and a “sense of wholeness both for men and the world (2 Cor.:17; Gal.6:15)” (Beck and Brown 1986,781). Beck and Brown notes “the whole process of believers’ sanctification, preservation and perfecting (1 Thess.5:23; Heb. 13:20) serves to deepen their participation in the peace of God” (1986,781). Christian spiritual formation may be understood as growing into shalom.
The Bible presents the time of the Garden of Eden before the fall as paradise. It would have been a time of shalom where there is what theologian Edward Powers describes as an ecology “of the relationship of people, creatures, and nature.” (Powers 1973,15). God is interested in a whole person, a whole people of his own, a whole earth and a whole creation which is implied in the concept of shalom. The Christian Story is about God recreating his shalom again. First, shalom is personal. It is a person finding wholeness by reconnecting to God and other people and learning to live without harming the environment. Theologian Norma Everist writes,
Jesus made shalom through the cross (Col.1:20; Eph.2:15-16). When Jesus healed and forgave people, he dismissed them by saying, “Go in shalom.” We are to “seek and pursue it.”(Ps.34:14b as quoted in 1 Pet. 3:11 ). We are to be at peace, pursue it, send it, and keep it. Shalom is an active fruit of the spirit and a mark of the realm of God. It is about the matrix of peace, harmony, and wholeness and is both a gift and task for the very goal of our teaching and learning life together. Shalom is an active fruit of the spirit and a mark of the realm of God. It is about the matrix of peace, harmony, and wholeness and is both a gift and task for the very goal of our teaching and learning life together. (2002, 68-69)
Shalom is about wholeness or completeness in an individual. Mounce notes that shalom is Jesus’ “parting gift”[1] to his disciples (2006,503). Joldersma, in unpacking Wolterstorff’s idea of shalom writes,
Shalom means people living in right relationships with God, themselves, each other, and nature- and in taking delight in such relationships. Shalom involves finding meaning in our experiences and celebrating the actualizing of creation’s potentials. Shalom involves recognizing in ourselves that place where Gods’goodness finds its answer in our gratitude. Shalom is an ethical community where all the members have a full and secure place in the community. As such, it embraces a “non-abandonment” view of the creation that involves redeeming it.(Wolterstorff 2004, xii)
Therefore it is to shalom that the process of Christian spiritual formation of an individual proceeds.
Second, shalom is also for a community. Luke uses the word shalom to describe the early struggling Christian church (Acts 9:31). Expanding on this Everist writes,
Shalom is communal, meaning the right relationship between friends, neighbors, a community, nation, or even all the inhabited world (oikoumene). The heart of the meaning is close to life itself.
Shalom is linked with truth and justice in the Hebrew Bible, especially by Jeremiah[2]. Forgiveness, righteousness, justification, reconciliation, pardon, restoration, good news, and salvation - all words which point to harmony in any relationship- are all part of the semantic domain of shalom. In Paul’s theology in the New Testament Bible, justification by faith gives shalom with God through Jesus Christ.”(Everist 2002 ,68)
The shalom concept of tribal and national or covenant community is now carried on by the laos or people of God (1 Peter 2:9-10). This means that a community must work together to create this shalom. Shalom is both something to work for and is also a gift from God (Rom.1:7; 1 Cor.1:3).
Finally, shalom is when the wholeness of all creation is restored with the creation of the new heavens and earth. This eschatological concept of shalom gives us hope and motivation in working to achieve it.
The concept of shalom gives an idea of what Christian spiritual formation should be achieving. Christian spiritual formation should be producing wholeness or completeness in individuals, communities and in the world. It also looks forward to an eschatological shalom. However shalom cannot be achieved without the restoration of the image of God in mankind. Christian spiritual formation is part of the process of the restoration of the image of God or imago dei which was perverted during the Fall (Demarest 1984,404). The complete restoration process or salvationstarts with justification by faith which is followed by Christian spiritual formation or sanctification and ends with glorification (Erickson 1999, 960-1013).
Bibliography
Beck, H. and C. Brown (1986). Peace. The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology. C. Brown. Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan. 2: 776-783.
Demarest, B. A. (1984). Fall of Man. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. W. A. Elwell. Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books: 403-405.
Erickson, M. J. (1999). ChristianTheology. Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books.
Everist, N. C. (2002). The Church as Learning Community: A Comprehensive Guide to Christian Education. Nashville, Abingdon Press.
Mounce, W. D., Ed. (2006). Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words. Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan.
Powers, E. A. (1973). Signs of Shalom. Philadelphia, Joint Educational Development United Church Press.
White, H. C. (1973). Shalom in the Old Testament. Phildelphia, Division of Christian Education of the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries.
Wolterstorff, N. (2004). Educating for Shalom: Essays on Christian Higher Education. Grand Rapids, MI, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Endnotes
[1] Jn. 14:27; 16:33; 20:19, 21, 26
[2] Jer. 6:14; 8:11
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Understanding Shalom
The word “Shalom” is an interesting word. Shalom is translated as:
(1) to be in a covenant of peace, be at peace, (Qal) to be at peace, peaceful one (participle), (Pual) one in covenant of peace (participle), (Hiphil) to make peace with, to cause to be at peace,(Hophal) to live in peace;
(2) to be complete, be sound, (Qal) to be complete, be finished, be ended, to be sound, be uninjured, (Piel) to complete, finish, to make safe, to make whole or good, restore, make compensation, to make good, pay, to requite, recompense, reward, (Pual) to be performed, to be repaid, be requited, (Hiphil) to complete, perform, to make an end of.
LXX translate Hebrew shalom, 250 times with the Greek word, eirene. Luke uses the word shalom (eirene) to describe the early struggling Christian church (Acts 9:31).
Wolterstorff, a Christian educator writes, “Shalom means people living in right relationships with God, themselves, each other, and nature- and in taking delight in such relationships. Shalom involves finding meaning in our experiences and celebrating the actualizing of creation’s potentials. Shalom involves recognizing in ourselves that place where Gods’ goodness finds its answer in our gratitude. Shalom is an ethical community where all the members have a full and secure place in the community. As such, it embraces a “non-abandonment” view of the creation that involves redeeming it.”
Expanding on this, Norma Everist from Wartburg Theological seminary in Duduque, Iowa writes, “Shalom looks both backward and forward. It recalls the paradisiacal Garden of Eden, and anticipates the coming of the reign of God. Shalom is personal, and may apply to Godself or to an individual human being. Shalom is communal, meaning the right relationship between friends, neighbors, a community, nation, or even all the inhabited world (oikoumene).”
The concept of shalom as having passive and active components is interesting. Everist goes on to explain, “For humankind, shalom is both passive and active. God’s people are dependent on this gracious, promised gift. Jesus made shalom through the cross (Col.1:20; Eph.2:15-16). When Jesus healed and forgave people, he dismissed them by saying, “Go in shalom.” We are to “seek and pursue it.” (Ps.34:14b as quoted in 1 Pet. 3:11 ). We are to be at peace, pursue it, send it, and keep it (Rom.12;18; 1 Thess.5:13; 2 Cor. 13:11) Rom.14:19; 1 Cor. 16:11). Shalom is an active fruit of the spirit and a mark of the realm of God. It is about the matrix of peace, harmony, and wholeness and is both a gift and task for the very goal of our teaching and learning life together. Finally shalom in Christian community is an inclusive concept, signifying a place, a dwelling and a life where we can be different together (Eph.2:14-22).” Therefore the heart of the meaning is close to life itself.
Shalom is linked with truth and justice in the Hebrew Bible, especially by Jeremiah (Jer. 6:14; 8:11). Forgiveness, righteousness, justification, reconciliation, pardon, restoration, good news, and salvation-words which point to harmony in any relationship- are all part of the semantic domain of shalom. In Paul’s theology in the New Testament Bible, justification by faith gives shalom with God through Jesus Christ. Shalom is Jesus’ “parting gift” to his disciples (Jn. 14:27; 16:33; 20:19, 21, 26). Therefore it is in shalom that the process of spiritual formation proceeds.
I will suggest that it is our responsibility as Christian educators to bring followers of Jesus to a cognitive KNOWLEDGE of God, to an EXPERIENTIAL encounter with Him, to develop an INCARNATIONAL and MISSIONAL lifestyle, and to a place of BEING in a right relationship with God and other people so as to be in SHALOM.
.
(1) to be in a covenant of peace, be at peace, (Qal) to be at peace, peaceful one (participle), (Pual) one in covenant of peace (participle), (Hiphil) to make peace with, to cause to be at peace,(Hophal) to live in peace;
(2) to be complete, be sound, (Qal) to be complete, be finished, be ended, to be sound, be uninjured, (Piel) to complete, finish, to make safe, to make whole or good, restore, make compensation, to make good, pay, to requite, recompense, reward, (Pual) to be performed, to be repaid, be requited, (Hiphil) to complete, perform, to make an end of.
LXX translate Hebrew shalom, 250 times with the Greek word, eirene. Luke uses the word shalom (eirene) to describe the early struggling Christian church (Acts 9:31).
Wolterstorff, a Christian educator writes, “Shalom means people living in right relationships with God, themselves, each other, and nature- and in taking delight in such relationships. Shalom involves finding meaning in our experiences and celebrating the actualizing of creation’s potentials. Shalom involves recognizing in ourselves that place where Gods’ goodness finds its answer in our gratitude. Shalom is an ethical community where all the members have a full and secure place in the community. As such, it embraces a “non-abandonment” view of the creation that involves redeeming it.”
Expanding on this, Norma Everist from Wartburg Theological seminary in Duduque, Iowa writes, “Shalom looks both backward and forward. It recalls the paradisiacal Garden of Eden, and anticipates the coming of the reign of God. Shalom is personal, and may apply to Godself or to an individual human being. Shalom is communal, meaning the right relationship between friends, neighbors, a community, nation, or even all the inhabited world (oikoumene).”
The concept of shalom as having passive and active components is interesting. Everist goes on to explain, “For humankind, shalom is both passive and active. God’s people are dependent on this gracious, promised gift. Jesus made shalom through the cross (Col.1:20; Eph.2:15-16). When Jesus healed and forgave people, he dismissed them by saying, “Go in shalom.” We are to “seek and pursue it.” (Ps.34:14b as quoted in 1 Pet. 3:11 ). We are to be at peace, pursue it, send it, and keep it (Rom.12;18; 1 Thess.5:13; 2 Cor. 13:11) Rom.14:19; 1 Cor. 16:11). Shalom is an active fruit of the spirit and a mark of the realm of God. It is about the matrix of peace, harmony, and wholeness and is both a gift and task for the very goal of our teaching and learning life together. Finally shalom in Christian community is an inclusive concept, signifying a place, a dwelling and a life where we can be different together (Eph.2:14-22).” Therefore the heart of the meaning is close to life itself.
Shalom is linked with truth and justice in the Hebrew Bible, especially by Jeremiah (Jer. 6:14; 8:11). Forgiveness, righteousness, justification, reconciliation, pardon, restoration, good news, and salvation-words which point to harmony in any relationship- are all part of the semantic domain of shalom. In Paul’s theology in the New Testament Bible, justification by faith gives shalom with God through Jesus Christ. Shalom is Jesus’ “parting gift” to his disciples (Jn. 14:27; 16:33; 20:19, 21, 26). Therefore it is in shalom that the process of spiritual formation proceeds.
I will suggest that it is our responsibility as Christian educators to bring followers of Jesus to a cognitive KNOWLEDGE of God, to an EXPERIENTIAL encounter with Him, to develop an INCARNATIONAL and MISSIONAL lifestyle, and to a place of BEING in a right relationship with God and other people so as to be in SHALOM.
.
Understanding Shalom
The word “Shalom” is an interesting word. Shalom is translated as:
(1) to be in a covenant of peace, be at peace, (Qal) to be at peace, peaceful one (participle), (Pual) one in covenant of peace (participle), (Hiphil) to make peace with, to cause to be at peace,(Hophal) to live in peace;
(2) to be complete, be sound, (Qal) to be complete, be finished, be ended, to be sound, be uninjured, (Piel) to complete, finish, to make safe, to make whole or good, restore, make compensation, to make good, pay, to requite, recompense, reward, (Pual) to be performed, to be repaid, be requited, (Hiphil) to complete, perform, to make an end of.
LXX translate Hebrew shalom, 250 times with the Greek word, eirene. Luke uses the word shalom (eirene) to describe the early struggling Christian church (Acts 9:31).
Wolterstorff, a Christian educator writes, “Shalom means people living in right relationships with God, themselves, each other, and nature- and in taking delight in such relationships. Shalom involves finding meaning in our experiences and celebrating the actualizing of creation’s potentials. Shalom involves recognizing in ourselves that place where Gods’ goodness finds its answer in our gratitude. Shalom is an ethical community where all the members have a full and secure place in the community. As such, it embraces a “non-abandonment” view of the creation that involves redeeming it.”
Expanding on this, Norma Everist from Wartburg Theological seminary in Duduque, Iowa writes, “Shalom looks both backward and forward. It recalls the paradisiacal Garden of Eden, and anticipates the coming of the reign of God. Shalom is personal, and may apply to Godself or to an individual human being. Shalom is communal, meaning the right relationship between friends, neighbors, a community, nation, or even all the inhabited world (oikoumene).”
The concept of shalom as having passive and active components is interesting. Everist goes on to explain, “For humankind, shalom is both passive and active. God’s people are dependent on this gracious, promised gift. Jesus made shalom through the cross (Col.1:20; Eph.2:15-16). When Jesus healed and forgave people, he dismissed them by saying, “Go in shalom.” We are to “seek and pursue it.” (Ps.34:14b as quoted in 1 Pet. 3:11 ). We are to be at peace, pursue it, send it, and keep it (Rom.12;18; 1 Thess.5:13; 2 Cor. 13:11) Rom.14:19; 1 Cor. 16:11). Shalom is an active fruit of the spirit and a mark of the realm of God. It is about the matrix of peace, harmony, and wholeness and is both a gift and task for the very goal of our teaching and learning life together. Finally shalom in Christian community is an inclusive concept, signifying a place, a dwelling and a life where we can be different together (Eph.2:14-22).” Therefore the heart of the meaning is close to life itself.
Shalom is linked with truth and justice in the Hebrew Bible, especially by Jeremiah (Jer. 6:14; 8:11). Forgiveness, righteousness, justification, reconciliation, pardon, restoration, good news, and salvation-words which point to harmony in any relationship- are all part of the semantic domain of shalom. In Paul’s theology in the New Testament Bible, justification by faith gives shalom with God through Jesus Christ. Shalom is Jesus’ “parting gift” to his disciples (Jn. 14:27; 16:33; 20:19, 21, 26). Therefore it is in shalom that the process of spiritual formation proceeds.
I will suggest that it is our responsibility as Christian educators to bring followers of Jesus to a cognitive KNOWLEDGE of God, to an EXPERIENTIAL encounter with Him, to develop an INCARNATIONAL and MISSIONAL lifestyle, and to a place of BEING in a right relationship with God and other people so as to be in SHALOM.
.
(1) to be in a covenant of peace, be at peace, (Qal) to be at peace, peaceful one (participle), (Pual) one in covenant of peace (participle), (Hiphil) to make peace with, to cause to be at peace,(Hophal) to live in peace;
(2) to be complete, be sound, (Qal) to be complete, be finished, be ended, to be sound, be uninjured, (Piel) to complete, finish, to make safe, to make whole or good, restore, make compensation, to make good, pay, to requite, recompense, reward, (Pual) to be performed, to be repaid, be requited, (Hiphil) to complete, perform, to make an end of.
LXX translate Hebrew shalom, 250 times with the Greek word, eirene. Luke uses the word shalom (eirene) to describe the early struggling Christian church (Acts 9:31).
Wolterstorff, a Christian educator writes, “Shalom means people living in right relationships with God, themselves, each other, and nature- and in taking delight in such relationships. Shalom involves finding meaning in our experiences and celebrating the actualizing of creation’s potentials. Shalom involves recognizing in ourselves that place where Gods’ goodness finds its answer in our gratitude. Shalom is an ethical community where all the members have a full and secure place in the community. As such, it embraces a “non-abandonment” view of the creation that involves redeeming it.”
Expanding on this, Norma Everist from Wartburg Theological seminary in Duduque, Iowa writes, “Shalom looks both backward and forward. It recalls the paradisiacal Garden of Eden, and anticipates the coming of the reign of God. Shalom is personal, and may apply to Godself or to an individual human being. Shalom is communal, meaning the right relationship between friends, neighbors, a community, nation, or even all the inhabited world (oikoumene).”
The concept of shalom as having passive and active components is interesting. Everist goes on to explain, “For humankind, shalom is both passive and active. God’s people are dependent on this gracious, promised gift. Jesus made shalom through the cross (Col.1:20; Eph.2:15-16). When Jesus healed and forgave people, he dismissed them by saying, “Go in shalom.” We are to “seek and pursue it.” (Ps.34:14b as quoted in 1 Pet. 3:11 ). We are to be at peace, pursue it, send it, and keep it (Rom.12;18; 1 Thess.5:13; 2 Cor. 13:11) Rom.14:19; 1 Cor. 16:11). Shalom is an active fruit of the spirit and a mark of the realm of God. It is about the matrix of peace, harmony, and wholeness and is both a gift and task for the very goal of our teaching and learning life together. Finally shalom in Christian community is an inclusive concept, signifying a place, a dwelling and a life where we can be different together (Eph.2:14-22).” Therefore the heart of the meaning is close to life itself.
Shalom is linked with truth and justice in the Hebrew Bible, especially by Jeremiah (Jer. 6:14; 8:11). Forgiveness, righteousness, justification, reconciliation, pardon, restoration, good news, and salvation-words which point to harmony in any relationship- are all part of the semantic domain of shalom. In Paul’s theology in the New Testament Bible, justification by faith gives shalom with God through Jesus Christ. Shalom is Jesus’ “parting gift” to his disciples (Jn. 14:27; 16:33; 20:19, 21, 26). Therefore it is in shalom that the process of spiritual formation proceeds.
I will suggest that it is our responsibility as Christian educators to bring followers of Jesus to a cognitive KNOWLEDGE of God, to an EXPERIENTIAL encounter with Him, to develop an INCARNATIONAL and MISSIONAL lifestyle, and to a place of BEING in a right relationship with God and other people so as to be in SHALOM.
.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Comparing Spiritual Formation and Discipleship
Dallas Willard defines “spiritual formation in Christ is the process whereby the innermost being of the individual (the heart, will or spirit) takes on the quality or character of Jesus himself.” (p.53 italics author’s) and “discipleship is a life of learning from Jesus Christ how to live in the Kingdom of God now, as he himself did.” (p. 62). Here, Willard, distinguishes clearly that while there are certain overlap between discipleship and spiritual formation; spiritual formation is a more holistic term (process of character formation) while discipleship (how to live in the Kingdom of God) forms a subset of it.Willard gave two reasons why spiritual formation is becoming a popular term. First, discipleship
is a term that had pretty well lost its meaning because of the way it has been misused. Discipleship on the theological right has come to mean preparation for soul winning, under the direction of parachurch, efforts that had discipleship farmed out to them because the local church really wasn’t doing it. On the left, discipleship had come to mean some form of social activity or social service, from serving soup lines to political protest to …whatever. The term “discipleship” has currently been ruined so far as any solid ps
ychological and biblical content is concerned. (p. 53)The other reason Willard gave for the increasing use of the term spiritual formation is that denominational and traditional differences are not to taken as seriously now as it was in the past and a new term is needed to describe our commitment to God. Spiritual formation is considered a suitable acceptable term.
Willard, D. (2006). The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus's Essential Teachings on Discipleship. New York, HarperCollins Publisher.
Comparing Spiritual Formation and Discipleship
Dallas Willard defines “spiritual formation in Christ is the process whereby the innermost being of the individual (the heart, will or spirit) takes on the quality or character of Jesus himself.” (p.53 italics author’s) and “discipleship is a life of learning from Jesus Christ how to live in the Kingdom of God now, as he himself did.” (p. 62). Here, Willard, distinguishes clearly that while there are certain overlap between discipleship and spiritual formation; spiritual formation is a more holistic term (process of character formation) while discipleship (how to live in the Kingdom of God) forms a subset of it.Willard gave two reasons why spiritual formation is becoming a popular term. First, discipleship
is a term that had pretty well lost its meaning because of the way it has been misused. Discipleship on the theological right has come to mean preparation for soul winning, under the direction of parachurch, efforts that had discipleship farmed out to them because the local church really wasn’t doing it. On the left, discipleship had come to mean some form of social activity or social service, from serving soup lines to political protest to …whatever. The term “discipleship” has currently been ruined so far as any solid ps
ychological and biblical content is concerned. (p. 53)The other reason Willard gave for the increasing use of the term spiritual formation is that denominational and traditional differences are not to taken as seriously now as it was in the past and a new term is needed to describe our commitment to God. Spiritual formation is considered a suitable acceptable term.
Willard, D. (2006). The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus's Essential Teachings on Discipleship. New York, HarperCollins Publisher.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Spiritual Formation by Story Telling
We are all stories tellers. Stories have an important role in stimulating our imagination and our sense of wonder. Jesus uses parable or stories to teach important lessons. Other religious traditions also use stories to teach. Some stories teach “straight forward” moral lessons. Others are cryptic that leads one deeper into the spiritual life such as the koans of Zen Buddhism. Stories have the power to bypass the filters of our mental models to reach our subconscious and evoke responses. Hence stories are powerful tools for the spiritual life.
First, the Bible contains the greatest story of all, a metanarrative that tells of the love of God for man and of his redemptive plan to redeem the whole of creation. Brian McLaren calls this a “redemptive metanarrative” because unlike other metanarratives, it does not wipe out other narratives and impose itself as the only one. What it does is allow other narratives to come alongside and join it. The story or Christian meta-narrative is an important part of our faith journey. It gives us a sense of identity of who we are as ourselves and as children of God, and where we are going. The telling and retelling of the exodus narrative is an example of the principle of using stories to educate in the Old Testament. The exodus narrative tells of God’s faithfulness, deliverance, protection and guidance like in Exodus 3-20.
Loren Stuckenbruck from the University of Durham proposes that the Gospel of Mark was written specially for believers and for their spiritual formation as “it (Gospel of Mark) draws the church into an experience of trust in God who is very much alive." This biblical metanarrative on the oppression of the Israelites by the Egyptians and subsequent history of the nation of Israel being under the influence of other stronger nations with their dominant religious systems should resonate with Malaysian Christians who were once colonised by the Europeans so they know what it is like to be politically oppressed.
Second, the metanarrative is also called the Christian Story. Gabriel Fackre, Abbot Professor of Christian Theology at Andover Newton Theological School in Massachusetts, used the highlight of the Christian Story as the chapters of his book of the same name; “Creation, Fall, Covenant, Jesus Christ, Church, Salvation, Consummation, with their Prologue and Epilogue, God.”
Susanne Johnson from Perkins School of Theology, Southern mehodist University emphasis the idea that language and understanding culture plays an important role in realising our stories or narratives and how our stories fit into the Christian Story. In Malaysia, a positive post colonial legacy is the English language. This language allows Malaysian Christians to enter into a wider English speaking world where there are so much resources in that language. The Chinese emphasis on education also means that, more and more Chinese are being fluent in English. This is an important factor in effective communication.
Third, Johnson developed a model of spiritual formation based on the Christian Story. Spiritual growth was when we recognize that we each have our own stories and that we need to link our stories to that of the Christian Story. The Christian Story forms the context while the stories of the local congregation forms and informs our formation. The key to this formation is participation in worship, praxis and instruction, using the means of grace. Johnson calls this involvement of the church as “Steps in the Divine Dance of Redemption”
(1) Consciousness raising – is in sharing our own stories. As we share, we will realise that we are not alone, that others have similar stories to tell.
(2) Historical-contextual investigation – relating our story to the story told in the Bible.
(2) Theological. reflection - helps to look for answers that our stories raises in the Bible
(3) Norm clarification – our conclusions from our reflections help us to decide what are the normative values and responses we need to make.
(4) Strategic options for action – we then take positive steps.
(5) Annunciation and celebration – here, we act as a church to affirm the decision and action.
(6) Reorientation and re-entry – moving on in our stories, we continue the dance.
This is one example on why using our own stories and relating it to the Christian Story helps members of the communities of faith to grow spiritually. It implies trust and opening of “sacred spaces” where we can share without fear of being judged or condemned. The telling of the stories of the Malaysian Christians and linking it into the Christian Story offers and gives hope in living in Malaysia.
Finally, story telling is a very effective way of communication that cuts through our mental models. Mental models or worldviews are filters which our mind has formed concerning our perception of reality. We only perceive what our mental model allows us to. That is why what the mind does not know, the eyes do not see. A story has the power to bypass the safeguards of our mental models and reach our minds. A story can be a powerful tool for teaching. Jesus uses parables which are a form of stories.
Simon Chan from Trinity Theological College comments,
“There is a joke among English-speaking pastors that Chinese preachers don't preach; they tell stories. But without either of them knowing it, the Chinese preachers may have had the last laugh. In conveying the gospel through story-telling, they have in fact come closer to the biblical narrative tradition than their Western-educated counterparts.”
Again this highlights the differences between the English educated preachers and the Chinese educated preachers. English educated preachers usually received a Western style theological education which is based on Greek philosophy. It is normally strongly propositional in its argument. The Chinese educated preachers’ training is strongly influenced by Confucian ethics and pedagogy and may be considered pre-propositional in its argument. Hence their masterful use of stories.
Story Telling is an effective component of our spiritual formation.
photo credit
First, the Bible contains the greatest story of all, a metanarrative that tells of the love of God for man and of his redemptive plan to redeem the whole of creation. Brian McLaren calls this a “redemptive metanarrative” because unlike other metanarratives, it does not wipe out other narratives and impose itself as the only one. What it does is allow other narratives to come alongside and join it. The story or Christian meta-narrative is an important part of our faith journey. It gives us a sense of identity of who we are as ourselves and as children of God, and where we are going. The telling and retelling of the exodus narrative is an example of the principle of using stories to educate in the Old Testament. The exodus narrative tells of God’s faithfulness, deliverance, protection and guidance like in Exodus 3-20.
Loren Stuckenbruck from the University of Durham proposes that the Gospel of Mark was written specially for believers and for their spiritual formation as “it (Gospel of Mark) draws the church into an experience of trust in God who is very much alive." This biblical metanarrative on the oppression of the Israelites by the Egyptians and subsequent history of the nation of Israel being under the influence of other stronger nations with their dominant religious systems should resonate with Malaysian Christians who were once colonised by the Europeans so they know what it is like to be politically oppressed.
Second, the metanarrative is also called the Christian Story. Gabriel Fackre, Abbot Professor of Christian Theology at Andover Newton Theological School in Massachusetts, used the highlight of the Christian Story as the chapters of his book of the same name; “Creation, Fall, Covenant, Jesus Christ, Church, Salvation, Consummation, with their Prologue and Epilogue, God.”
Susanne Johnson from Perkins School of Theology, Southern mehodist University emphasis the idea that language and understanding culture plays an important role in realising our stories or narratives and how our stories fit into the Christian Story. In Malaysia, a positive post colonial legacy is the English language. This language allows Malaysian Christians to enter into a wider English speaking world where there are so much resources in that language. The Chinese emphasis on education also means that, more and more Chinese are being fluent in English. This is an important factor in effective communication.
Third, Johnson developed a model of spiritual formation based on the Christian Story. Spiritual growth was when we recognize that we each have our own stories and that we need to link our stories to that of the Christian Story. The Christian Story forms the context while the stories of the local congregation forms and informs our formation. The key to this formation is participation in worship, praxis and instruction, using the means of grace. Johnson calls this involvement of the church as “Steps in the Divine Dance of Redemption”
(1) Consciousness raising – is in sharing our own stories. As we share, we will realise that we are not alone, that others have similar stories to tell.
(2) Historical-contextual investigation – relating our story to the story told in the Bible.
(2) Theological. reflection - helps to look for answers that our stories raises in the Bible
(3) Norm clarification – our conclusions from our reflections help us to decide what are the normative values and responses we need to make.
(4) Strategic options for action – we then take positive steps.
(5) Annunciation and celebration – here, we act as a church to affirm the decision and action.
(6) Reorientation and re-entry – moving on in our stories, we continue the dance.
This is one example on why using our own stories and relating it to the Christian Story helps members of the communities of faith to grow spiritually. It implies trust and opening of “sacred spaces” where we can share without fear of being judged or condemned. The telling of the stories of the Malaysian Christians and linking it into the Christian Story offers and gives hope in living in Malaysia.
Finally, story telling is a very effective way of communication that cuts through our mental models. Mental models or worldviews are filters which our mind has formed concerning our perception of reality. We only perceive what our mental model allows us to. That is why what the mind does not know, the eyes do not see. A story has the power to bypass the safeguards of our mental models and reach our minds. A story can be a powerful tool for teaching. Jesus uses parables which are a form of stories.
Simon Chan from Trinity Theological College comments,
“There is a joke among English-speaking pastors that Chinese preachers don't preach; they tell stories. But without either of them knowing it, the Chinese preachers may have had the last laugh. In conveying the gospel through story-telling, they have in fact come closer to the biblical narrative tradition than their Western-educated counterparts.”
Again this highlights the differences between the English educated preachers and the Chinese educated preachers. English educated preachers usually received a Western style theological education which is based on Greek philosophy. It is normally strongly propositional in its argument. The Chinese educated preachers’ training is strongly influenced by Confucian ethics and pedagogy and may be considered pre-propositional in its argument. Hence their masterful use of stories.
Story Telling is an effective component of our spiritual formation.
photo credit
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