Table of Contents
Introduction xi
Chapter 1 Religion and Spirituality 1
Locating Spirituality 2
Finding One's Spirituality 7
Chapter 2 Spirituality as the Basis of Theology 16
Seekers and Spirituality 17
The Experience of Transcendence 19
Finding a Conception of God 19
Jesus Represents God 20
Jesus Engenders a Spirituality 22
A Jesus Spirituality as a Basis for a New Theology 24
Chapter 3 The Uniqueness of Jesus 27
Uniqueness as the Particularity of Jesus 27
Uniqueness and the Status of Jesus among the Religions 34
Uniqueness and the Divinity of Jesus 40
Chapter 4 The Spirituality of the Cross 43
How Does One Address the Question of the Cross? 45
Historically Who and What Caused Jesus's Crucifixion? 47
Understanding the Crucifixion Spiritually 49
Making Sense of the Cross Today 52
Chapter 5 Spirituality and Church 57
The Concept of Spirituality 58
Christianity Began as a Spirituality of Following Jesus 59
How Jesus Spirituality Became a Church 61
Ecclesial Spirituality: Following Christ in Community 64
Chapter 6 Following Jesus in a Scientific Age 69
Scientific Challenges to Christian Faith and Spirituality 70
Spirituality of Following Jesus 74
Following Jesus in a Scientific Age 76
Chapter 7 Personal Spirituality and Ecclesial Authority 84
Personal Sanctification in Everyday Life 85
Religious Authority 89
Why Church Authority Is Needed 95
The Kind of Authority That Is Needed 96
Chapter 8 Liberation and Spirituality 102
Liberation and Spirituality 102
Four Witnesses to Christian Spirituality 105
The Eschatological Meaning of Liberation 110
Chapter 9 The Logics of Liberation and Spirituality and Ecospirituality: Two Facets of Creation Spirituality 114
The Logic of Liberation Spirituality 115
The Logic of Ecocentered Spirituality 118
What Christian Faith Adds to These Spiritualities 122
Chapter 10 Four Gifts of the American Church to the Universal Church 126
Religious Freedom 127
Women in the Church 129
Laity in the Church 131
Religious Openness to Other Faiths 134
Chapter 11 The Spiritual Exercises as an Ecumenical Strategy 138
Presuppositions 139
Spirituality as the Core of Christianity 144
Christian Spirituality as Foundation of the Church 146
The Spiritual Exercises Nurture What Christians Share in Common 151
Ecumenical Uses of the Spiritual Exercises 154
Chapter 12 Truth in Other Religions 160
No More Competition among Religions 161
Assessing Religious Diversity 163
The Kernel of Christian Faith 165
Religious Pluralism as a Natural Condition 166
Chapter 13 Ecclesial Spirituality and Living With Other Religions 170
Truth and Error 172
Humans as One Family 173
Grounds for a Spiritual Embrace of Other Religions 175
A Nondivisive Christian Mission Spirituality 177
Dialogue and Religious Reconciliation 180
The Common Bond of Compassion 183
Chapter 14 Trinity as the Central Christian Doctrine 186
The Genesis and Development of the Doctrine 186
The Story the Doctrine Narrates 189
The Failure of This Doctrine Today 191
Retelling the Trinitarian Narrative 192
What Is Trinity? 195
Index 197
