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Invitation to a Journey - part 5
This is part five of some excerpts and reflections from "Invitation to a Journey: a road map for spiritual formation" by M. Robert Mulholland Jr.
His proposed definition of Christian spiritual formation is:
"Spiritual formation is a process of being conformed to the image of Christ for the sake of others".
If you have ever done a Myers Briggs personality type test you might like to look at some of the suggested preferences for the spiritual life for the standard preference pairs extraversion(E)/introversion(I), sensing(S)/intuition(I), thinking(T)/feeling(F), judgment(J)/perception(P). Remember, people are on a continuum between these preferences and they are not right or wrong. But they may help us understand that others may be just as spiritual as us, they just tend to approach it in a different way.
Remember, Mulholland is careful to warn that psychology is no substitute for spirituality and neither is spirituality a substitute for psychology.
Introvert Preference
Tend to adopt models of spirituality that
emphasize solitude, reflection, mediation
contemplation etc. |
---- |
Extrovert Preference
Tend to select models of spirtuality that
bring us together with people in worship
fellowship, prayer groups etc. Will want
corporate rather than private spirituality |
Intuition Preference
Creative use of our imagination, recreating
bible passages in mind's eye, listening to
thoughts and ideas that emerge from within
|
---- |
Sensing Preference
Spiritual forms will use senses - chanting,
incense, listening to inspiring music or
sounds of nature, working with paint/clay
may be worship, use symbols and
movement |
Thinking Preference
Tend to cerebral spirituality, appreciate
reason, tend to analytical and theoretical
wrestling with scripture, tend to theologize
abstractly rather than personal struggle with
its personal application. |
---- |
Feeling Preference
Tend to focus more on relationship with
God and others, encounter God through
relationships and the emotions that come
with them, prayer emerges more from
feelings than thoughts, incarnate our
spiritual insights in relationships |
Judging Preference
Spiritual life highly structured and regulated,
devotions planned and follow a pattern,
systematic reading of scripture, want to be
'in control' of our relationship with God |
---- |
Perception Preference
May find difficult to develop a regular
structured set of spiritual practices, take
our spirituality where we find it or an
opportunity comes up, appreciate
spontaneity in both individual and
corporate forms of spirituality and become
restless with regular/ordered forms of
worship |
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David Wanstall, 01/04/2009 |
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| | (Guest) | 07/04/2009 14:14 | | "Remember, Mulholland is careful to warn that psychology is no substitute for spirituality and neither is spirituality a substitute for psychology"
Are you for real??? "neither is spirituality a substitute for psychology..." what on earth does that mean?
| | | David Wanstall | 14/04/2009 17:40 | | Psychology focuses on the operation of the mind and has developed through the reflections and observations of humans. Spirituality focuses on our relationship with God, and Christian spirituality comes from the revelation in God's word. They focus on different (but overlapping) parts of life. Christian spirituality is based on the authority of God's word, while psychology is contingent and not authoritative in the same way.
Just as human observations and reflections in the areas of physiology, diet, etc. may shed light and be of benefit to our lives, the same can apply to psychology. For example insights into how different people learn and different sorts of learning disorders.
God's word doesn't necessarily address all areas of physiology and psychology in great detail so there is scope for and potential benefit from human investigation in these fields of study. NOT as a replacement for Christian spirituality but as an adjunct to it. Where humans have ideas in these areas they can be held against scripture and if not inconsistent with scripture may be of benefit. But these ideas shouldn't be seen as on the same level of importance or authority as those of scripture.
That is why in part four of this series regarding the myers brigss stuff I said:
'The following thoughts are not inspired or infallible, feel free to discard them but have a ponder and leave your comments'.
| | | (Guest) | 19/04/2009 23:54 | | Absolutely agree with elements of your response. I agree that we as fallible humans have insights in many things... be they diet, physiology as you mentioned etc. What troubles me is your using human “know how” in the application of spiritual matters.
I know a whole lot about evolutionary theory and physiology but I certainly wouldn’t apply it to my walk with God. Your sentence more or less places equal weighting on psychology and spirituality (intentional or not).
Why do we need something other than God and His word? Why do we need psychology as an adjunct? Is God and His word not sufficient? I think God knows far more than any ‘expert’. Spirituality doesn’t focus “on a part of life” it is all encompassing. We don’t need the world’s wisdom especially in our walk with God.
There are numerous scriptures about not embracing worldly wisdom. Imagine if God listened to psychology experts. He would hardly have had Abraham almost offer up Isaac as a sacrifice. Imagine all the psychological trauma in Isaac that modern experts would be outraged about! “My Dad is going to kill me” would have earned at least 50 hours of couch time!!!”
No. As you say “these ideas shouldn't be seen as on the same level of importance or authority as those of scripture.” I would go further: these ideas have no import whatsoever on scripture.
Many things seem good and beneficial unless closely scrutinized against scripture which sadly many christians don’t do. They are even less likely to question things and check it against scripture when it comes from the pulpit!
Its precisely what we see in the church now. Mans wisdom is held above the Word. The Bible gets “reinterpreted” to conform to modern mans “wisdom”. We must reinterpret Genesis because scientists say evolution is true. We have some reinterpret scriptures pertaining to homosexuality etc etc.
Now lets not go substituting spirituality for psychology. No, that is far too sacrosanct.
There is far too much emphasis on this theory and that. We are no different to Adam and Eve. Much of the church are not only eating of the Tree of Knowledge they are now camped beneath it! Always running around in a quest for knowledge etc. We need to eat of the Tree of Life. Jesus. Lets forgo the urge to titillate our intellectual taste-buds and get back to spiritual reality. Lets get back to our first love and the Source of Life.
In relation to you comment 'The following thoughts are not inspired or infallible, feel free to discard them but have a ponder and leave your comments', I can only say: “why are you presenting material that may or may not be of God”? As a pastor you should be presenting ONLY inspired and infallible material or at least praying that God would do so through you. You wouldn’t give your kids a bag of “food” saying “some of this has great nutritional value, some has the nutritional value of candy floss and some is poison... now you guys decide and discuss”!
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