The Spiritual Experience
David A. Steere
Routledge eBooks October 24, 2018 DOI: 10.4324/9780203777657-3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that spiritual experience begins where theological or religious thought stops, and that broader definitions of spirituality are more relevant to the "spiritually homeless," whose condition arose from mainstream church life's failure to provide pathways to spiritual experience. Contends that asceticism and mysticism are the two historic impulses undergirding all spiritual traditions, with asceticism's particular form shaped by the vision of spiritual presence a community seeks. |
Abstract
Spiritual experience commands the quality of attention. Spirituality has been called the psychological or experiential counterpart to dogma. Definitions can be broad or narrow in scope as found among the papers in the 1967 Durham Conference on Spirituality. For the spiritually homeless, the broader definitions are more relevant. Spiritual experience begins at the point where theological or religious thought stops. Spiritual homelessness arose in the failure of existing pathways to spiritual experience in mainstream church life. Traditional Protestant spirituality was based upon right belief and heartfelt response to scripture. The visual imagery of light and darkness runs throughout the literature on spirituality, presenting another choice between apparent opposites. To many the joyful experience of spiritual presence is a simple happening unmerited and unexpected. Two historic impulses undergird all spiritual traditions: asceticism and mysticism. The particular form that asceticism takes is shaped by the vision of spiritual presence sought in the religious community.