Christian Virtue & the Spiritual Disciplines
An introduction to the relationship of ethics/virtue and the formation of the self. Emphasis upon the impact of one's early relational history and training as well as true Christian training. Included in this is the relationship of the spiritual disciplines as a means of the training of spiritual growth into the image of Christ.
Books
1. Open Heart, Open Mind by Thomas Keating
2. Signature Sins by Mangis
3. The Virtue Driven Life by Groeschel
4. Spiritual Disciplines Handbook by Calhoun
5. Prayer by Richard Foster
Week 1 Class Highlights
Surprisingly enough, training (or retraining) a soul is not about rigorous spiritual disciplines. The popular disciplines are actually a tiny monastic list that has been adopted into modern spirituality. Spiritual disciplines are the retraining of every human capacity in the Spirit.
There are different terms to describe the maturing process of the Christian faith. A major portion of Christian growth occurs during times of dryness, suffering, doubt, fear and loss (often called a Dark Night). God moves in darkness over the familiar strengths of theology, bible reading, worldview, prayer etc (Darkness of the Intellect). God also can show us how our character/wisdom is empty (meaningless) on our own without Him (Emptiness of Character). Times like this can lead the Christian to despair, but as we allow ourselves to be honest with God, God provides illumination so the Christian can trust Him on a deeply personal level. Illumination is the Spirit's work of bringing faith to the heart as it becomes aware of the presence of the Spirit of God. It is experienced during a time of darkness when we realize God is here, He is good, and we don't need to fear. Though we may not feel Him, in this time we long for Him.
Week 1 Assignment, due Sept. 16
1. Begin reading Keating
2. Prayer Project- See Prayer Project for further explanation & information on what this is.
Spend 15 min Praying/pondering this question....Have I experienced any of this sort of "Illumination" or "longings"?
Spend 15 min Praying/pondering this question...Have I experienced "darkness of intellect"? Am I tempted to trust that instead of God?
Spend 15 min Praying/pondering...Have I experienced "emptiness of character"? Or am I tempted to trust my character instead of God?
Writeup your reflections or what this was like for you.
This touches on that topic we talked about while backpacking: virtue and it's place in the Christian life. I like what you said about virtue being something Christians inherited from Greek thought, not from Jewish thought. I forget what you said is a good idea to replace it. Was it holiness? Or something more communal/social rather than individualistic?
ReplyDeleteConnor,
DeleteYes, good memory. I started thinking about that this summer at Mount Hermon after hearing Stuart Brisco teach on Leviticus/1 Peter. It seems that in the Old and New Testament God is concerned much more with His people holiness than their virtue (Covenants, Sacrificial System, the Law, Wisdom Literature, even the Exiles, the Incarnation, the Cross and the Spirit). He is a "jealous God" concerned for the faithfulness of His people, and holds them accountable for it, despite their sin tendencies and, as you see throughout the bible, flagrant vices.
Virtues, from what Coe teaches, are "the capacities that cause us to flourish as human persons". Which is great, I mean, who doesn't want to flourish? We're all longing for that heavenly experience in some way. And, in a sense, flourishing is shalom--a by product of holiness. But does the move from "holiness" to "flourishing" direct our desires to a different place? (Unless you define flourishing as holiness). Holiness is focused directly on God: "Be Holy for I am Holy". His holiness commands our worship, especially when compared to our vices. While flourishing is directed toward my desires of/for Go, my expectations of him, and the way I experience Him. These are an important piece of holiness, but I think God directly addresses our holiness rather than virtue because He is not as concerned about fixing and growing us as He is about being with us and being reconciled to us. Both are concerns of His, but the latter is a priority to Him (ex: in OT Sacrificial System, in NT Cross and Ressurection). God wants our eyes fixed only on Him, rather than the exercise of our own virtue. Virtue worships God because of how He as grown me, Holiness worships God because He is.
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Holiness, in the biblical mind, occurred in a place, a setting, a space. You went from one place which was unclean/unholy (like the house of the sick) to a place that was clean/holy (like the tabernacle). There was a blood sacrifice which made that place holy (the lamb). And God's presence was their in holiness with the people. In the New Testament, the spacial sense of holiness remains. Those who place their faith in Jesus as the holy sacrifice of God for the sins of all humanity, then are moved from unclean/unholy to clean/holy. "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Col 1.13) And " remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." (Eph 2. 12-13). In the New Testament, then was a spacial transfer, we went from the kingdom of Satan to the Kingdom of God, from unclean/unholy to clean/holy.
DeleteThis is where virtue is confusing. Virtue is not a transfer, it is an earned/worked/trained change in human character. Holiness is a declaration. An item was consecrated for the tabernacle, then it was holy and contained spiritual power and significance. So for Christians, we have been consecrated in Christ, and we are holy and contain spiritual power and significance.
Holiness was also communal. The Israelites Holiness depended on not only their sin, but the sins of those around them. This was so serious that those who committed flagrant sins against the Law were stoned. In the New Testament, we see this in Ananias and Sapphira when they lie to the Peter and the Church community and God judges them right there on the spot. (Acts 5. 1-11). As Christians, being declared holy doesn't always change our virtues (initially), but it changes our identity, our relationships and our lifestyle. The move to virtue is individualistic toward sin and therefore toward growth away from sin. If our Holiness is meant to be communal, then we may need to have some serious conversations with the Christians around us, and they with us.
DeleteLastly, Holiness was not something one could earn. It was seen as far off, separate, totally distinct, wholly other. There were not five steps toward holiness, or spiritual disciplines that make you more holy. Holiness and Unholiness was a declared reality by God over a person or a people. As Christians, we think we can earn holiness is God's eyes, and maybe we've blurred it's definition too close to virtue. We cannot work on our holiness. We are holy because God is holy. If we are His, holiness is ours, and that declaration is enough for our sins past, sins now and sins future. Because our holiness isn't based on us, it is based on God, who is holy and makes us holy.
We still have a lot of material to move through in this class, so there's a lot more to learn about these topics. But these are my initial thoughts about the difference between the focus on holiness and the focus on virtue. I do think that Coe's thoughts on virtue are helpful to think about growth in the Christian life. But if it distracts me from the holy God, then it isn't virtue in the end. Understanding the development of virtue will help me to understand the capacities of human beings for imitating Christ and being filled with the Spirit--which are powerful by products of graced holiness.