Diagnosing the Problem of Christian Immaturity: A Historical Perspective
A historical perspective on the problem of Christian immaturity is found in classical writings on Christian spirituality across the centuries. Here we find that the Christian will fail to mature without a clear sense of the goal of the spiritual life. Spiritual maturity will be inhibited also by a t...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2025
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| In: |
Journal of spiritual formation & soul care
Year: 2025, Volume: 18, Issue: 1, Pages: 8-27 |
| Further subjects: | B
John Newton
B Jonathan Edwards B maturity B Francis de Sales B John Bunyan B Contemplation B Johann Arndt B Bernard of Clairvaux B John Chrysostom B Walter Hilton B spiritual disciplines B John Cassian B Teresa of Avila B George Whitefield |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | A historical perspective on the problem of Christian immaturity is found in classical writings on Christian spirituality across the centuries. Here we find that the Christian will fail to mature without a clear sense of the goal of the spiritual life. Spiritual maturity will be inhibited also by a two-tier spirituality that obscures the universal call to holiness, and by any teaching that allows Christians to settle too into a merely nominal faith. Classical spiritual texts had a profound sense of the depth of the intractable human predicament in sin that contrasts with the modern attitude, suggesting that maturity will be inhibited if we do not appreciate how deep the trouble goes. Lastly, we find that an anthropocentric focus in spirituality, appropriate as the spiritual life begins, is an obstacle to maturity if the Christian fails to move beyond this to an attitude of contemplation, focusing more solely upon Jesus Christ. |
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| ISSN: | 2328-1030 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of spiritual formation & soul care
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/19397909251329091 |
