Table of Contents
Introduction
Purpose, aim of this book
Chapter One: Questions of DEFINITIONS
Definitions of spirituality
Definition of Christian spirituality
Historical notes in the development of the terms
Spirituality and theology: relationships and methodologies
Chapter Two: Questions of CONTEXT
Place and Space: Geography as a major impact on spirituality
The contribution of sociology to the study of Christian spirituality
Modernism to Post-Modernism
Post-modernism as the impetus behind the current resurgence in the interest of spirituality
The social/collective dimension of spirituality
Why we should care about spirituality
Chapter Three: Questions of GOD
The contribution of images of God to the study of Christian spirituality
The transcendent subject before the Transcendent Other
The immanent Self and the immanent Other
Models of God - Trinity: influence on spirituality and practice
The apophatic and kataphatic ways
Chapter Four: Questions of ANTHROPOLOGY
The contribution of anthropology to the study of Christian spirituality
Importance of models of the "self": the transcendent subject
Models of the Self
The sexual Self
The contemplative Self
The creative/imaginative self
The relational self
Chapter Five: Questions of HISTORY
The contribution of history to the study of Christian spirituality
Historical method in the study of Christian spirituality
Role and place of tradition
Chapter Six: Questions of TEXT
The contribution of hermeneutical theory in the reading of the "spiritual classics"
Reading and appropriation of the "spiritual classics"
Reader / reception / appropriation theory / metaphors
Art, music, and other cultural traces as "text" - importance of in Christian spirituality
Chapter Seven: Questions of HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
The contribution of psychology to the study of Christian spirituality
The three-fold classical spiritual itinerary
Mysticism and asceticism
Other models of spiritual development / growth; importance of affectivity
Contemplative psychology
Chapter Eight: Questions of SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
Prayer, Devotions, and Piety
Spiritual Direction
Contemplation and Meditation
Rites and Rituals: the materiality/sacramentality of Christian spirituality
Pilgrimage
Bible Study, Bible Reading, and Lectio
The Practice of Everyday Life
Chapter Nine: Questions of "CROSS-CURRENTS"
Business/Work
Leadership
Health
Government
Education
Built environment, Architecture, and City-making
Cyberspace
New Age
Chapter Ten: Questions of the "CRITICAL EDGES"
Critical Theory and Cultural Analysis
Feminism and Eco-feminism
Men’s Movements
Liberation Spirituality
Marital Spirituality
Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgendered Spirituality
Ecumenism and Inter-religious dialogue
Liturgical Spirituality
Justice-making
Postcolonialism
Multiculturalism
Otherness and Reconciliation
Conclusion
