Journal of Spiritual Formation & Soul Care

2011, Vol. 4, No. 1, 5-26

Copyright 2011 by Institute of Spiritual Formation

Biola University, 1939-7909

O N SPIRITUAL THEOLOGY: A PRIMER

GREG PETERS

Biola University (La Mirada, CA)

Abstract: The intent of this article is to introduce an evangelical reading audience to

the historical discipline of "spiritual theology. " After offering a history of the development of "spiritual theology" the article concerns itself with the proper nature of
spiritual theology by way of its three sources: Scripture, systematic theology, and
church history. Greater attention is given to church history since it is here that evangelicals have proven historically to be least proficient. The article concludes by stating that evangelical scholars need to develop an appropriate "hermeneutic of spiritual theology. "

L HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF SPIRITUAL THEOLOGY

The term "spiritual theology" has been used for over two centuries by
Roman Catholic theologians and is gaining more widespread usage today in
evangelical educational institutions and publications. Due to this upsurge
in use and popularity, this article seeks to introduce readers to the main
themes of the historical discipline of spiritual theology while also offering
direction forward towards a uniquely evangelical spiritual theology that
makes use of the church's rich history.

A. Early Christian Essays

Treatises that we would today consider texts on spirituality date to at
least the third century and were intended to assist the believer in the promotion of their personal Christian life.' According to Kees Waaijman, sometime around the year 1200 "the practice of theology emancipated itself
from a system of Scripture readings and opted for a conceptual framework
derived from philosophy. Parallel to these processes, spirituality too began
' Aim Solignac, "Spiritualit. I. Le mot et l'histoire," in Dictionnaire de Spiritualit: Asctique et Mystique, Doctrine et Histoire, Tome 14, eds. Marcel Viller et
al., (Paris: G. Beauchesne et ses fils, 1990), 1156-1160.

Journal of Spiritual Formation Se Soul Care

to systematize itself and to develop its own conceptual patterns around

such basic modern categories as affectivity and experience." These treatises
were often published under various names but all had a common end: to
systematically present "the phenomenon of spirituality."^ Though not exclusively, this was often accomplished via a tripartite division of the spiritual life into beginner, advanced and perfected.^ The earliest proponents of
such a tripartite scheme were Clement of Alexandria (d. 214) and Origen
(d. 254). For Clement, the goal of the spiritual life is the vision of God
(theoria) and this is obtained by attaining knowledge (gnosis) and practicing love [agape] by way of ethical activity (ethike). Origen, in his Commentary on the Song of Songs, states that the biblical books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs correspond to the three stages of the spiritual
life: Proverbs to the ethike, Ecclesiastes to the physike (i.e., the contemplation of God's creation) and the Song of Songs to enoptike (i.e., the contemplation of the divine).** Origen's disciple and popularizer of the tripartite division was Evagrius of Pontus (d. 399). The threefold division is
summarized most clearly in his three works: Praktikos, Gnostikos and
Kephalaia Gnostica. In the first stage one eradicates evil through the acquisition of virtues by way of grace and discipline. In the second stage of his
schema, the contemplation of the physical world, one begins by contemplating the "earthly" creation and then moves up to a contemplation of the
"heavenly" creation. From here one may finally transition to the third
stage, which is contemplation of the Holy Trinity.' This tripartite division
found its way to the Western church. For example, Gregory the Great (d.
604), in his Moralia in lob, says that there are various "steps of merit" to
ascend before one is perfected: "For every elect person sets out from the
tenderness of his embryo in the first instance, and afterwards comes to

^ Kees Waaijman, Spirituality: Forms, Foundations, Methods (Leuven: Peeters,

2002), 369. Throughout this article I will make frequent use of Roman Catholic
sources though I will do so judiciously. Given that evangelicals are relatively new to
the academic study of spiritual theology, the most abundant secondary sources originate from the pens of Roman Catholic authors; therefore, a perceived over-reliance
on Roman Catholic theologians in this article is something that can only be remedied
by the very publication of articles such as this.
' Exceptions to this tripartite scheme are often found in western monastic authors, such as John Cassian (d. 435) and particularly Augustine of Hippo (d. 430),
who have their own developed schmas. On Cassian see Columba Stewart, Cassian
the Monk (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), and for Augustine see John Peter
Kenney, The Mysticism of Saint Augustine: Rereading the Confessions (New
York/London: Routledge, 2005).
'' Peter Tyler, "Triple Way," in The New Westminster Dictionary of Christian
Spirituality, ed. Philip Sheldrake (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2005),
626.
' See Greg Peters, "Evagrius of Pontus (c346-399)," in Dictionary of Christian
Spirituality, ed. Glen G. Scorgie (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, forthcoming).

Peters: On Spiritual Theology: A Primer

firmness for strong and vigorous achievements."* A similar sentiment is

found in William of St. Thierry's (d. 1148) The Golden Epistle: "As one
star differs from another in brightness so cell differs from cell in its way of
life: there are beginners, those who are making progress and the perfect."^
William's fellow Cistercian, Bernard of Clairvaux (d. 1153), also employed
the threefold schema in his The Steps of Humility and Pride: "Beginners are
not able to enjoy the sweetness of milk until they have been purged by the
bitter draught of fear. It must cleanse them of the infection of carnal pleasures. The perfect now turn from milk since they have had a glorious foretaste of the feast of glory. Only those in the middle, those who are growing,
who are still delicate, are content with the sweet milkfoods of charity."*

B. Mystical Theology
In addition to texts under a variety of names discussing and distilling
the tripartite scheme and/or theologizing about the spiritual life in general,
there was also, beginning in earnest in the high Middle Ages, texts dedicated to presenting a "mystical theology."' The Christian foundation for
these treatises was the Mystical Theology of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, a Syrian Christian of the fifth or sixth century steeped in the Neoplatonic tradition. Pseudo-Dionysius begins the Mystical Theology with a
summary of his understanding of the spiritual life, addressed to his "fellowelder" Timothy:
For this I pray; and, Timothy, my friend, my advice to you as you look
for a sight of the mysterious things, is to leave behind you everything
perceived and understood, everything perceptible and understandable,
all that is not and all that is, and, with your understanding laid aside,
to strive upward as much as you can toward union with him who is beyond all being and knowledge. By an undivided and absolute abandonment of yourself and everything, shedding all and freed from all, you

' Gregory the Great, Moralia in lob 22.20. English translation in Morals on the
Book of Job, by S. Gregory the Great, Volume II (Oxford: John Henry Parker, 1845),
586.
' William of St. Thierry, The Golden Epistle: A Letter to the Brethren at Mont
Dieu, trans. Theodore Berkeley (Kalamazoo: Gistercian Publications, 1980), 25.
' Bernard of Glairvaux, The Steps of Humility and Pride 2.4; English translation
in Bernard of Glairvaux, Treatises I: The Steps of Humility and Pride and On Loving God (Kalamazoo: Gistercian Publications, 1980), 33.
' It is important to keep in mind that the phrase "mystical theology" does not
only refer to a genre of theology but also to the contemplative task of knowing God
by way of negation. See Pseudo-Dionysius, Mystical Theology 3 for different ways of
knowing God. Thanks are due to an anonymous reader for this insight.

Journal of Spiritual Formation & Soul Care

will be uplifted to the ray of the divine shadow which is above everything that is.'"
For Pseudo-Dionysius the spiritual life consists in leaving behind everything, both material and immaterial, in order to be united with God.
Through abandonment one takes "flight upward" in order to "plunge into
that darkness which is beyond intellect" (i.e., God)." Pseudo-Dionysius
further summarizes his understanding of the spiritual life in a prayer that
begins the Mystical Theology:
Trinity!! Higher than any being,
any divinity, any goodness!
Guide of Christians
in the wisdom of heaven!
Lead us up beyond unknowing and light,
up to the farthest, highest peak
of mystic scripture,
where the mysteries of God's Word
lie simple, absolute and unchangeable
in the brilliant darkness of a hidden silence.
Amid the deepest shadow
they pour overwhelming light
on what is most manifest.
Amid the wholly unsensed and unseen
they completely fill our sightless minds
with treasures beyond all beauty.'^
Pseudo-Dionysius prays that God would lead humankind beyond the
knowledge of him that comes through the written Scriptures. Instead,
Pseudo-Dionysius asks that humankind be led directly to the Word, the Son
of God himself. Thus, for Pseudo-Dionysius, mystical theology is the explication of the means of attaining union with God.
The thought of Pseudo-Dionysius spread rapidly with the assistance of
a ninth-century translation of the Dionysian corpus by John Scotus Eriugena and by the popularity of the works in the new universities of the
twelfth century.'^ Several works illustrate the significance of not only

1 Pseudo-Dionysius, "Mystical Theology 1.1," in Pseudo-Dionysius: The Complete Works, trans. Colm Luibheid (New York/Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1987),
135.
" Pseudo-Dionysius, Pseudo-Dionysius, 139.
'^ Pseudo-Dionysius, Pseudo-Dionysius, 135.
'^ Dale Coulter, "Pseudo-Dionysius in the Twelfth Century Latin West," in The
ORB Online Encyclopedia (September 7, 2010), http://www.the-orb.net/encyclop
/culture/philos/coulter.html.

Peters: On Spiritual Theology: A Primer

Pseudo-Dionysius' Mystical Theology but the genre of "mystical theology"

in general. There is extant a thirteenth-century textbook from the University of Paris that reproduces Eriugena's translation of the Mystical Theology as well as many other "sayings" {scholia) of Pseudo-Dionysius.''' This
textbook would have been used by the great Dominican theologians Albert
the Great (d. 1280), who wrote a commentary on the Mystical Theology,
and Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274), who quotes from the anonymous Syrian
regularly in his Summa Theologica.^^ Other important commentators on
Pseudo-Dionysius' Mystical Theology were the Parisian theologian Thomas
Gallus (d. 1246) and Robert Grosseteste, bishop of Lincoln, England (d.
1253)." But perhaps the greatest "mystical theologian" of the high Middle
Ages was the Franciscan theologian Bonaventure (d. 1274) who wrote a
work entitled The Triple Way. This "triple way," wrote Bonaventure, was
the way laid out by Pseudo-Dionysius to describe the spiritual life's progress, consisting of purgation, illumination, and perfection. Like the Origenistic tripartite division discussed above, this tripartite way also became influential and pervasive, proving "to be so powerful that it absorbed the
other triad (beginners, advanced, perfect). This produces a remarkable duplication: the way of purification for beginners, the way of illumination for
the advanced, and the way of union for the perfect."''' In fact, the presence
of the triple way of purgation, illumination, and perfection is a sine qua
non of mystical theologies. This schema retained its place in the writings of
the greatest Catholic Reformation spiritual authors of the sixteenth century, such as St. John of the Cross (d. 1591) and St. Teresa of Avila (d.
1582), and even continued past the era of the Catholic Reformation and
into the twentieth century. For example, the Jesuit Giovanni Scaramelli described mystical theology, in at least one place, as follows:
For the proper comprehension of Mystical Theology as a whole, it is
necessary to distinguish between that which is experimental and that
which is doctrinal. Experimental Mystical Theology is a pure knowledge of God which the soul receives in the bright darkness of some high
contemplation, together with so intimate an experience of love that it is
utterly lost to itself and united and transformed in God. It thus embraces the actual experiences of the mystic. Doctrinal Mystical Theology is, on the other hand, a science, the business of which is to examine
'* L. Michael Harrington, ed. and trans., A Thirteenth-Century Textbook of
Mystical Theology at the University of Paris (Paris/Leuven: Peeters, 2004).
'^ David Burrell and Isabelle Moulin, "Albert, Aquinas, and Dionysius," in
Sarah Coakley and Charles M. Stang, eds., Re-Thinking Dionysius the Areopagite
(Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009), 103-119.
'^ James McEvoy, ed. and trans.. Mystical Theology: The Glosses by Thomas
Gallus and the Commentary of Robert Grosseteste on De Mystica Theologia
(Paris/Leuven: Peeters, 2003).
"' Waaijman, Spirituality: Forms, Foundations, Methods, 375-376.

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Journal of Spiritual Formation & Soul Gare

the above experiences, and to draw from them what conclusions it may
with regard to their essential qualities and effects."'*

The triple way only fell out of favor in Roman Catholic circles after being
seriously questioned by the Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner (d. 1984)." Yet,
as Waaijman warns us, "the name 'mystical theology' . . . must not deceive
us. In these mystical theologies we are dealing not with a certain part of
spirituality (mysticism), but with a complete spiritual program in which the
term 'mystical' is applied to every stage of the spiritual journey."^" A good
modern example of this is Mark Mclntosh's Mystical Theology.^^
C. Ascetical Theology
The next stage in the development of spirituality was the age of "ascetical theology," a term that first appeared in Christoph Schorrer's Theologia
asctica sive doctrina spiritualis, published at Rome in 1658. The premier
example of this genre, however, is by Scaramelli, entitled Direttorio asctico and published in Italy in the 1750s. According to Schorrer, "ascetic
theology" "is the science which studies action in accordance with its ultimate goal."^^ Scaramelli writes that he intends to give spiritual "[djirectors
a true idea of Christian perfection, and, at the same time, to suggest to them
practical methods by which they may instil [sic^ this perfection into the
souls intrusted [sic^ to their keeping."^^ What is common to both of these
stated purposes is that "ascetical theology" is concerned with the means of
attaining Christian perfection. This is echoed elsewhere: "ascetical theology
teaches the means by which sanctity of life may be acquired, increased, and
perfected."^'' Thus, these treatises are not simply theological in nature, but
practical and, therefore, give attention to such practices as spiritual direction, the reading of Scripture, meditation, prayer, examination of conscience, the Eucharist, etc. Exalted topics such as "mysticism" were only
" G. B. Scaramelli, A Handbook of Mystical Theology, trans. D. H. S. Nicholson (1913; rept. Berwick, ME: Ibis Press, 2005), 15-16.
" Karl Rahner, "Reflections on the problem of the gradual ascent to Ghristian
perfection," Revue d'Asctique et de Mystique 19 (1944): 65-78. Reprinted in Karl
Rahner, Theological Investigations, Volume III: The Theology of the Spiritual Life,
trans. Karl-H. and Boniface Kruger (Baltimore/London: Helicon Press/Darton, Longman and Todd, 1967), 3-23.
^^ Waaijman, Spirituality: Forms, Foundations, Methods, 376.
" Mark A. Mclntosh, Mystical Theology: The Integrity of Spirituality and Theology (Maiden, MA/Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 1998).
" Quoted in Waaijman, Spirituality: Forms, Foundations, Methods, 378.
" John Baptist Scaramelli, The directorium asceticum; or. Guide to the Spiritual
Life (London: R & T Washbourne, 1902), 1-2.
" Arthur Devine, A Manual of Ascetical Theology (London: R &c T Washbourne, 1902), V.

Peters: On Spiritual Theology: A Primer

11

discussed occasionally and served to bring more clearly into focus the need
for ascetic practices. Again, as Waaijman writes, the "ascetic perspective is
focused on action which, sustained by a steadfast will and directed toward
the ultimate goal, employs the necessary means."-^^ This genre of spiritual
writings dominated the field of spirituality throughout the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. A recent example of the genre is Gustave
Thils' Christian Holiness: A Precis of Ascetical Theology.''-^

D. Spiritual Theology
"Spiritual theology" as a phrase was given prominence in 1926 by the
Jesuit theologian Joseph de Guibert.-^^ Yet, de Guibert was not the first author to employ "spiritual theology." The first use of the phrase likely comes
from the seventeenth century work of Felix Simplex entitled Theologia spiritualis fundamentalis, published at Oliva, Italy in 1687.^* A "spiritual theology" is characterized by a specific attention to the theological principles
of the spiritual life as opposed to an explication of the triple way (as in
"mystical theology") or a focus on one's will as it is directed towards an
end, aided by certain actions (as in "ascetical theology").^' Waaijman explains the difference well:
Asceticism and mysticism are . . . developed as the flowering of these
[spiritual] theological principles which terminate under the influence of
divine grace. In these treatises [i.e., spiritual theologies] the principles
are designated in various ways: revelation, sanctifying grace, the supernatural life, the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, participation in
" Waaijman, Spirituality: Forms, Foundations, Methods, 380.
" Gustave Thils, Christian Holiness: A Precis of Ascetical Theology (Tielt, Belgium: Lannoo Publishers, 1961).
" Joseph de Guibert, Theologia spiritualis, asctica et mystica: quaestiones selectae in praelectionum usum (Rome, 1926), trans. Paul Barrett as The Theology of
the Spiritual Life (New York: Sheed and Ward, 1953).
^' See Joseph de Guibert, Leons de thologie spirituelle (Toulouse: ditions de
la Revue d'asctique et de mystique et de l'Apostolat de la prire, 1946), 18, n. 31.
" It should be born in mind, however, that there are examples where these categories blend into one another. For example, the aforementioned Giovanni Scaramelli
defined mystical theology, in at least one place, in overt doctrinal terms: "For the
proper comprehension of Mystical Theology as a whole, it is necessary to distinguish
between that which is experimental and that which is doctrinal. Experimental Mystical Theology is a pure knowledge of God which the soul receives in the bright darkness of some high contemplation, together with so intimate an experience of love that
it is utterly lost to itself and united and transformed in God. It thus embraces the actual experiences of the mystic. Doctrinal Mystical Theology is, on the other hand, a
science, the business of which is to examine the above experiences, and to draw from
them what conclusions it may with regard to their essential qualities and effects."

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Journal of Spiritual Formation &c Soul Gare

the divine life, the Trinity, the life of grace in Jesus Christ, the spiritual
organism, and so forth. As the antecedent divine givens, these principles permeate all the spiritual themes which follow.^"

Perhaps the best examples of the genre of spiritual theology are de Guibert's
The Theology of the Spiritual Life, Adolphe Tanquerey's The Spiritual Life,
and Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange's The Three Ages of the Interior Life. De
Guibert spends quite a few pages discussing the nature of mystical and ascetical theology before turning to spiritual theology proper. Noting that
there is not necessarily much agreement on the exact meanings of mystical
and ascetical theology, de Guibert goes on to offer a definition of spiritual
theology "as the science which deduces from revealed principles what constitutes the perfection of the spiritual life and how man can advance towards and obtain it."^' Tanquerey's preface demonstrates well the shift
from mystical and ascetical theology (though Tanquerey retains these
words) to spiritual theology:
It is the writer's conviction that Dogma is the foundation of Ascetical
Theology and that an exposition of what God has done and still does
for us is the most efficacious motive of true devotion. Hence, care has
been taken to recall briefly the truths of faith on which the spiritual life
rests. This treatise then is first of all doctrinal in character and aims at
bringing out tbe fact that Christian perfection is the logical outcome of
dogma, especially the central dogma of the Incarnation. The work
however is also practical, for a vivid realization of the truths of faith is
the strongest incentive to earnest and steady efforts towards the correction of faults and the practice of virtues. Consequently in the first part
of this treatise the practical conclusions that naturally flow from revealed truths and the general means of perfection are developed. The
second part contains a more detailed exposition of the special means of
advancing along the Three Ways towards the heights of perfection.^^
In short, Tanquerey sees the task of spiritual theology as laying the theological or dogmatic foundation of the spiritual life and only then to venture
into the areas of ascetical and mystical theology. The Dominican GarrigouLagrange echoes Tanquerey when he writes that
Spiritual theology . . . ought to consider the interior life as such, and
not in a given individual in the midst of rather unfavorable given circumstances . . . Spiritual theology, while noting the exceptions that
may arise from the absence of a given condition, ought especially to es'" Waaijman, Spirituality: Forms, Foundations, Methods, 381.
^' Guibert, The Theology of the Spiritual Life, 11.
^^ Adolphe Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life: A Treatise on Ascetical and Mystical
Theology, trans. Herman Branderis (Tournai, Belgium: Descle, 1930), vii.

Peters: On Spiritual Theology: A Primer

13

tablish the higher laws of the full development of the life of grace as
such, and the proximate disposition to receive the beatific vision immediately in a fully purified soul . . . In the following pages we insist far
more on the principles generally accepted in theology, by showing their
value and their radiation, than on the variety of opinions on one particular point or another proposed by often quite secondary authors . . .
We propose another aim, and that is why we quote mostly from the
greatest masters. Constant recourse to the foundations of their doctrine seems to us what is most necessary for the formation of the mind,
which is more important than erudition.^^
For Garrigou-Lagrange the "greatest masters" are Thomas Aquinas, St.
John of the Cross, and Francis de Sales; and it is these authors, he believes,
that have established most firmly and most acceptably the necessary doctrinal foundation upon which spiritual theology can construct its edifice. This
understanding of "spiritual theology" appears consistent throughout the
genre's history and across the vast array of treatises dedicated to the subject.
Before the Second Vatican Council, there were a number of published
treatises from Roman Catholic authors on the spiritual life that commented
in some way on the distinctions between mystical, ascetical, and spiritual
theology. For example, Pierre Pourrat says that "[s]pirituality is that part of
theology which deals with Christian perfection and the ways that lead to it.
Dogmatic Theology teaches what we should believe. Moral Theology what
we should do or not do to avoid sin, mortal or venial, and above them both,
though based upon them both, comes Spirituality or Spiritual Theology.
This, again, is divided into Ascetic Theology and Mystical Theology."^''
Gabriele di Santa Maria Maddalena, a Discalced Carmelite, wrote that
"[s]piritual theology is the theological study of the evolution of the supernatural life in the human subject that leads to perfection."^^ Likewise the
Dominican Antonio Royo Marn defined spiritual theology as that "part of
sacred theology that was set up on the principles of divine revelation and
the experience of the saints, it studies the organism of the supernatural life,
explains the laws of its progress and its development, and describes the process that follows the soul since the beginning of the Christian life until the
climax of perfection."^^ Finally, Alexius Benigar, a Franciscan writing soon
after Marn, says that "[s]piritual theology is that part of theology that
" R. Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of the Interior Life: Prelude of Eternal Life, trans. M. Timothea Doyle (St. Louis/London: B. Herder Book Co., 1947),
x-xi.
'"' Pierre Pourrat, Christian Spirituality: From the Time of our Lord tili the
Dawn of the Middle Ages, trans. W. H. Mitchell and S. P. Jacques (London: Burns,
Oates and Washbourne, 1922), v.
' ' Gabriele di S. M. Maddalena, "ndole psicolgica dlia teologia spirituale,"
Rivista di filosofia neoscolastica 32 (1940): 42.
^' Antonio Royo Marn, Teologa de la perfeccin cristiana, 6th ed. (Madrid:
BAC, 1954, 1988), 35.

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Journal of Spiritual Formation &c Soul Care

deals with the kindness and gentleness of God's perfection with all the
members of the mystic body of Christ until he takes them to the state of the
perfect man, to the maturity of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13) its
head;"^^ and Amato Dagnino writes, "Spiritual theology is the term that
looks to us most appropriate and scientific, in the sense of integrating the
ascetical-mystical into 'sacred doctrine' as part of everything, suggesting
the idea of the unity of the spiritual life and excluding all separation between ascetical and mystical, but unifying and organizing one with the
other only with a unique purpose of one to another: progressive union with
God and the continual growing of mercy (positive aspect) and the progressive elimination of the obstacles that block its growth (negative aspect)."^*
Notice, in particular, the emphasis on "spiritual theology" as an overt theological category as opposed to a descriptive or prescriptive category.
Following the Second Vatican Council, manuals of spirituality^' would
change, with the emphasis being on clarification and a re-centering of the
discipline. As Salvador Ros Garca comments, "These are the years [i.e.,
1960-1980] of fervent theological renovation, very sensitive to all council
events, and in one moment they feel the urgent necessity to clarify the concept of spirituality, and to inclusively impugn the multiplication of spiritualities and highlight the centrality of the Gospel (Bouyer, Vandenbroucke,
Balthasar), to make way for all the manuals that came to represent it as a
unitary science (in a formal unity with dogmatic and moral theology) and
with the phenomenon of experience as the key element of its epistemological
status."'"' Representative post-conciliar definitions of spiritual theology often simply refer to the discipline as "spirituality" and often clearly challenge
the older, pre-conciliar understandings of spiritual theology/spirituality.'"
^' Alexius Benigar, Compendium theologiae spiritualis (Roma: Secretaria Missionum OFM, 1957), 2.
^* Amato Dagnino, La vita interiore secondo la Rivelazione, studiata dalla
Teologia e insegnata dalla Chiesa (Milan: Ed. Paoline, 1960), 16-17.
^' Scholars are still divided as to the differences between "spiritual theology"
and "spirituality." See Philip Sheldrake, A Brief History of Spirituality (Maiden, MA:
Blackwell Publishing, 2007), 1-11 and relevant articles in Kenneth Collins, ed. Exploring Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Reader (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2000).
'"' Salvador Ross Garcia, "Definiciones de la teologa espiritual en el siglo XX,"
Teresianum 51 (2001): 308.
" Charles Andr Bernard explains the replacement of the phrase "spiritual theology" with "spirituality:" "Numerous authors . . . made . . . the distinction between
ordinary ascetical prayer and extraordinary mystical prayer. After lengthy disputes,
it was decided to adopt a terminology that did not imply an exclusive opposition between the ascetical and the mystical stages of the spiritual life. Ultimately the French
word, spiritualit, was deem the most suitable to designate the spiritual life in all its
phases. Similarly, the term 'spiritual theology,' became the title of the systematic
study of Christian perfection and the spiritual life." See Charles Andr Bernard, "The
Nature of Spiritual Theology," in Exploring Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical
Reader, ed. Kenneth Collins (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2000), 230.

Peters: On Spiritual Theology: A Primer

15

Representative of many of these authors is Louis Bouyer, an Oratorian priest

and past professor of "spiritual theology" at the Institut Catholique in Paris.
He begins his multivolume history of Christian spirituality with an attempt
to define spirituality, "What is spirituality in general and Christian spirituality in particular?"''^ He continues by challenging Pourrat's understanding
as quoted above. After quoting the relevant section from Pourrat he writes
that "[t]hese distinctions, it must be admitted, are not very satisfactory."''^
Bouyer then continues by establishing his own description/definition of
spirituality:
Christian spirituality . . . is distinguished from dogma by the fact that,
instead of studying or describing the objects of belief as it were in the
abstract, it studies the reactions which those objects arouse in the religious consciousness . . . Dogmatic theology, therefore, must always be
presupposed as the basis of spiritual theology, even though the latter
concerns itself with the data of the former only under the relationship
that they entertain with the religious consciousness . . . Our history of
Christian spirituality, then, cannot be a history of different spiritualities, imagined as each self-contained . . . It will be the history of the
problem always newly posed in a dynamic humanity and changing civilizationthe problem of how to apply as integrally as possible to the
life of the soul . . . the Gospel of Jesus Christ.''''
Notice how Bouyer's understanding aligns well with Garcia's description of
post-Vatican II definitions: 1) Bouyer impugns the multiplication of spiritualities; 2) highlights the Gospel; and 3) highlights religious experience as a
key element. Extremely similar to Bouyer's understanding is that of the liberation theologian Gustavo Gutirrez: "[S]pirituality is a concrete manner,
inspired by the Spirit, of living the Gospel . . . It arises from an intense spiritual experience, which is later explicated and witnessed to . . . A spirituality means a reordering of the great axes of the Christian life in terms of this
contemporary experience."''^ Again we see the aspects of the Gospel and religious experience emphasized. Another similar understanding was expressed by the Jesuit Charles Andr Bernard who wrote that "[s]piritual
theology is the theological discipline that, established in the beginning of
Revelation, studies the Christian spiritual experience, describing its
progress and development and lets us know its structure and laws."''* Not
only do Gutierrez and Bernard agree with Bouyer, but perhaps the most
*^ Louis Bouyer, The Spirituality of the New Testament and the Fathers, History
of Ghristian Spirituality I (New York: Seabury Press, 1963), vii.
"^ Ibid., vii.
"" Ibid., viii.
*^ Gustavo Gutirrez, A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics, and Salvation
(Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1988), 117.
''^ Gharles A. Bernard, Compendio di Teologia Spirituale (Roma: Universit
Gregoriana Editrice, 1976), 37.

16

Journal of Spiritual Formation &c Soul Care

well-known spiritual theologian of the twentieth century, the Dominican

Jordan Aumann, also defines spiritual theology in a similar manner:
"[Sjpiritual theology is that part of theology that, proceeding from the
truths of divine revelation and the religious experience of individual persons, defines the nature of the supernatural life, formulates directives for its
growth and development, and explains the process by which souls advance
from the beginning of the spiritual life to its full perfection. "''^ Again, notice the emphasis on spiritual theology's rootedness in the Gospel (encompassed under Aumann's "divine revelation") and religious experience. Having overviewed definitions of "spiritual theology" it is necessary to turn to
the proper nature of spiritual theology.

II. THE PROPER NATURE OF SPIRITUAL THEOLOGY: SOURCES

OF SPIRITUAL THEOLOGY

In his Spiritual Theology: A Systematic Study of the Christian Life,

evangelical theologian Simon Chan describes the nature of spiritual theology: "Spirituality is the lived reality, whereas spiritual theology is the systematic reflection and formalization of that reality . . . it refers to a distinct
branch of theological studies concerned with the principles and practices of
the Christian life."''* According to Chan, the very nature of spiritual theology is a distinct theological task though as de Guibert writes, "[I]t will have
to be not only strictly theological, positive, and deductive, but also inductive, resting upon observation and experience."'" It is because of this very
experiential aspect that spiritual theology is distinguished from moral and
dogmatic theology. Yet, not just any experience is important in spiritual
theology but only those experiences that are the result of God's work in our
life, that is, only overt theological experiences (i.e., those where one's life
and God's work intersect): it is "a participation in the mystery of Christ
through the interior life of grace, actuated by faith, charity, and the other
Christian virtues."^" This occurs most surely, though not exclusively,
through the church of Jesus Christ, especially by way of the sacraments of
baptism and Eucharist. Further, there are the principal sacramentis of the
preaching of God's Word as well as corporate and private prayer." Thus, in
our personal experiences of receiving God's grace by way of the sacraments
" Jordan Aumann, Spiritual Theology (London: Sheed and Ward, 1980), 22.
'"' Simon Chan, Spiritual Theology: A Systematic Study of the Christian Life
(Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 16.
'" Guibert, The Theology of the Spiritual Life, 16.
'" Aumann, Spiritual Theology, 18.
" "Sacramentis" are similar to the sacraments in that they dispose people to
the reception of God's grace and make occasions in the Christian life holy occasions.
If the sacraments confer the grace of the Holy Spirit, then sacramentis prepare the

Peters: On Spiritual Theology: A Primer

17

and sacramentis, our experience of life with and in God becomes, alongside of discursive theology, the "stuff" of spiritual theology.
Tied up with one's experiences, of course, are the subjective aspects of
one's self, such as gender, education, family, and race. Though these aspects
should not be overlooked, they need to be utilized in spiritual theology
carefully since one's subjective self must never replace God's revealed truth
in the Scriptures or God's theological work in one's life. Human-centered
"P'-ism must not hold a higher place than a God-centered "Thou"-ism spiritual theology.^^ Though they help define who a person is, which then gives
shape to one's consciousness, the spiritual theologian must bear in mind
that God does work in the particular lives of individuals and it is this intersection between the person and God that is of greatest concern to the spiritual theologian. As Charles Bernard writes, "The study of personality and
social structure in relation to spiritual theology is very complex; in fact, it
requires an interdisciplinary study in order to delineate with precision the
components of authentic spiritual experience."^^

A. Scripture
Apart from experience, spiritual theology also rests upon a solid theological foundation, "positive, and deductive" according to Guibert. The
sources for such a theology have traditionally been understood to be the Sacred Scriptures, systematic theology (encompassing both dogmatic and
moral theology), and church history. It must be taken for granted by all
spiritual theologians that the foundational theological text of the Christian
faith is the divinely inspired Scriptures, interpreted throughout history by
the People of God. Though referring perhaps only to Jewish writings, Paul
says to the Romans that "whatever was written in former days was written
for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" (Rom. 15:4). Tbe same is true
of tbe Bible in totoit gives us hope "that we are very members incorporate in the mystical body of [the] Son, the blessed company of all faithful
people; and are also heirs, through hope, of [God's] everlasting kingdom."^''
The Scriptures, on the one hand, reveal to believers God's plan of salvation,
encompassing persons from all the nations of the world; while on the other
believer to receive grace and to cooperate with it. See Anscar J. Ghupungco, ed..
Handbook for Liturgical Studies IV: Sacraments and Sacramentis (Gollegeville:
Liturgical Press, 2000), xxiv-xxvii.
" For a historical presentation of this tension, favored heavily by Martin Luther
and other Reformers, see The Theologia Germnica of Martin Luther, trans. Bengt
Hoffman (New York: Paulist Press, 1980).
'^ Gharles Andr Bernard, "The Nature of Spiritual Theology," in Exploring
Ghristian Spirituality, 231.
" The Book of Gommon Prayer, According to the Use of the Episcopal Ghurch
(New York: Seabury Press, 1979), 339.

18

Journal of Spiritual Formation c Soul Care

hand they give the practical prescriptions that regulate the life of God's people. Thus, the Holy Scriptures are at once both doctrinal and practical. Regarding God's plan of salvation, the Scriptures tell us that the church is
God's chosen people and that he desires to see her become holy and spotless
and to grow up into complete maturity (Eph. 1:4, Heb. 6:1). The content
and description of this holiness is revealed throughout the New Testament
by way of example and exhortation. However, the spiritual theologian must
bear in mind that Word without Spirit will likely lead to a rationalism or
mysticism that kills as opposed to giving life. Evangelical theologian Donald Bloesch writes, "Evangelical spirituality upholds the complementarity
of Word and Spirit . . . In biblical faith the knowledge of God has its roots
in the paradoxical unity of Word and Spirit. Against rationalism we do not
appeal to the Bible in and of itself but to the Bible illumined by the [Holy]
Spirit. Against mysticism and spiritualism we insist that the Spirit acts in
conjunction with the revealed Word of God."'^ Thus, the Sacred Scriptures
are a primary source of spiritual theology, but only as illumined by the Holy
Spirit.

B. Systematic Theology
The second source of spiritual theology is a systematic theology, for as
Philip Sheldrake writes, "Attempts to speak about our understanding of
God (theology) and our efforts to live in the light of that understanding
(spirituality) cannot be separated."^* If a clear systematic theology does not
undergird the spiritual theology project then theology appears to encompass only personal opinion with a resulting privatization of spirituality.
Such an individualist focus misses the fact that one's personal story, that is,
one's personal spiritual journey, is intimately connected to the larger story
of God's salvific work in history and that the believer's story is a continuation of and in conversation with the story of Jesus Christ. Moreover, as
Sheldrake says, "Any version of Christian spirituality that is individualistic
in tone fails to reflect the communion of equal relationships that is God-inTrinity."'^ God is a unity of three persons, therefore there is no room for individualism in God nor should there be in the spiritual life of his followers.
As Mark Mclntosh says, "[P]ersonal experience is not in itself the goal of
spirituality. Individuals are not so much seeking to discover their own feelings as to live into the knowledge and love of God through the hard work of
being members one with another of the Body of Christ."^* Finally, the qual" Donald Bloesch, Spirituality Old and New: Recovering Authentic Spiritual
Life (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2007), 85
'* Philip Sheldrake, Spirituality and Theology: Christian Living and the Doctrine of God (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1998), 3.
"Ibid., 16.
'* Mclntosh, Mystical Theology, 7.

Peters: On Spiritual Theology: A Primer

19

ity of a spiritual theology is only as good as the theology that serves as its
foundation. For bad theology leads to bad spiritual practices.
C. Church History
The final source for spiritual theology is church history and it is here
that I want to say more than what has been said about the Scriptures and
systematic theology. When one studies church history or theology for that
matter, it is important to keep in mind that one is studying the movement of
God the Holy Spirit in history and in the lives of the people of God. Because
God is sovereign and providential over all of his creation, there is no area of
human or creaturely activity that is beyond his control or oversight.
Though creation cries out and awaits its own redemption (Rom. 8:19-23)
due to humankind's sin and fallenness, it is still God's good creation and he
continues to act in it. Thus, God's action is history is a necessary source for
spiritual theology. The theologians of the Second Vatican Council summed
it up well in Dei Verbum, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation,
the apostolic preaching, which is expressed in a special way in the inspired books, was to be preserved by an unending succession of preachers until the end of time. Therefore the Apostles, handing on what they
themselves had received, warn the faithful to hold fast to the traditions
which they have learned either by word of mouth or by letter (see 2
Thess. 2:15), and to fight in defense of the faith handed on once and
for all (see Jude 1:3). Now what was handed on by the Apostles includes everything which contributes toward the holiness of life and increase in faith of the peoples of God; and so the Church, in her teaching, life and worship, perpetuates and hands on to all generations all
that she herself is, all that she believes. This tradition which comes
from the Apostles develops in the Church with the help of the Holy
Spirit. For there is a growth in the understanding of the realities and
the words which have been handed down. This happens through the
contemplation and study made by believers, who treasure these things
in their hearts (see Luke, 2:19, 51) through a penetrating understanding of the spiritual realities which they experience, and through the
preaching of those who have received . . . the sure gift of truth. For as
the centuries succeed one another, the Church constantly moves forward toward the fullness of divine truth until the words of God reach
their complete fulfillment in her.^'

^' Dei Verbum, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, 8, (accessed

September 22, 2010), http://www.Vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council
/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.html

20

Journal of Spiritual Formation & Soul Gare

For evangelical spiritual theologians, however, over against Roman

Catholic spiritual theologians, it is important to note that church history, or
the Christian "tradition," is not on par with the Scriptures nor is church
history as authoritative as the Scriptures.^" However, it is essential that the
history of the Christian church be used in the formulation of a spiritual theology since it is a record of God's works and actions in the world. This, of
course, does not mean that every event in the history of the Christian
church merits the same weight or accord as others. For example, the neoThomistic spiritual theologians (such as Garrigou-Lagrange and Aumann)
give pride of place to the theology of Thomas Aquinas and St. John of the
Cross, among others. Evangelical spiritual theologians would not give such
pride of place to these particular historical persons and theological systems.
Until recently, in fact, the evangelical church did not give much attention at
all to Christian history. No doubt classes in the church's history were required in seminaries but that did not necessitate that there was more than
one faculty member on staff and more often than not, I would guess, that
faculty member's specialty was in Reformation, modern European or American Christian history. This is now changing with the retrieval of the Christian tradition amongst evangelical scholars and pastors, evidenced in such
publications as InterVarsity Press' Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture series and Baker Academic's Evangelical Ressourcement: Ancient
Sources for the Church's Future series. Although more work in other periods and areas of Christian history still awaits attention from evangelical
scholars (for example, the medieval era), there is an increasing sense that
the history of the Christian church must be taken seriously.
Two arguments put forward by evangelical theologian Stephen Holmes
argue for the place of Christian history in theology in general.*' First, we
are historically located persons who, like it or not, have received a tradition
of theological witness and divine movement. These doctrines and movements have been handed down from the apostles and teachers to specific
historical churches and then handed down from one generation to another
until it reached us. For example, the church received the Apostle's and
Nicene Creeds in this manner and even the Bible since it came by way of
persons and is not inspired anew in the heart and mind of each Christian.
Second, there are (more or less) two ways to view Christian history, associated with Origen and Irenaeus of Lyons (d. ca. 202). Origen saw history as
a part of human fallenness. Though humankind was created perfect, by
virtue of the Fall any movement in time is away from this perfection and
therefore towards destruction. Irenaeus, on the other hand, gave an "account whereby it is a part of God's good ordering of creation for there to be
'" Jordan Aumann's position is representative of Roman Gatholic views of tradition: "Tradition is therefore a source of spiritual theology at the same level as Scripture." See Aumann, Spiritual Theology, 28.
" Stephen R. Holmes, Listening to the Past: The Place of Tradition in Theology
(Garlisle/Grand Rapids: Paternoster Press/Baker Books, 2002).

Peters: On Spiritual Theology: A Primer

movement towards perfection, and so history." Irenaeus sees movement
and growth in positive terms. Therefore, if Irenaeus is correct "then historical locatedness is clearly good and proper to human life, and so the mediation of apostolic truth through the tradition is something to he accepted
and celebrated."'"^ If Irenaeus is correct, and Holmes gives good arguments
in his favor, then it would be imperative for theologians to take Christian
tradition seriously.
Holmes' second argument involves a theology of the communion of
saints. Theology (including biblical studies, church history, etc.) is done in
service of the church so much so that "it is not possible to practise theology
without heing somehow involved in the life of the Church." This in turn
means that every Christian needs to relate to Christians of previous eras because "it is not just the differing historical locations that are important, but
the shared ecclesial location too. If . . . it is the case . . . [then] there is good
reason to suppose that membership of the Church establishes some form of
connectedness between people that is not undermined by historical separation."*^ Just as all Christians are "in Christ" and just as living believers are
"brothers and sisters in Christ" despite geographical separation, is it possible that chronological separation and distance is not a barrier to communion with other believers? Holmes begins to answer this question hy accepting a concept of sainthood, that is, that there are people from the church's
history who were "exemplary practitioners of the Christian life." Therefore, the saints "are those whom the Church commends to us as people who
have successfully 'imitated' Christ in their particular situations, thus giving
us an expanded and enriched view of what it might mean to be Christlike."*'' Such a concept must not create an environment or attitude that says
the saints add to the story or work of Christ, hut rather that these individuals serve as particular examples to the Christian community. Within this
category of "saints," then, would be certain theologians or doctors of the
church who
are recognized as outstanding examples of how to think through the
way in which God's all-sufficient gift of his Son is sufficient to meet the
needs of a particular age or circumstance. They thus become examples
to he lived with and studied, whose writings amplify without adding to
the teachings of Scripture in just the same way as the lives of the Saints
[sic] amplify without adding to the example of Christ.*^
Added to this is the realization that these individuals, though dead, are
"present with the Lord" (2 Cor. 5:8; cf. Rev. 6:9-11). That is, they are fully

Ibid., 9.
"Ibid., 21.
" Ibid., 27.
" Ibid., 28-29.

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Journal of Spiritual Formation & Soul Gare

conscious souls awaiting the resurrection and are therefore in communion

with us, the living. Holmes thus concludes,
we are able, in the communion of saints, to transcend the particularities of our own timesbut this transcendence has a complementary immanence. We remain the particular, located creatures that God has
been pleased to make us, even whilst, in the Spirit, we are able to learn
from those who have gone before. History is not done away with by the
Spirit, but its vicious aspects are transformed so that they are no longer
barriers but gifts, so that the glorious diversity of God's human creation does not separate us from other Christians but rather enriches
our communion.**
From this, therefore, we can conclude that the study of Christian history is
proper and necessary to the task of spiritual theology. Of course. Holmes'
arguments are not without detractors, but, nevertbeless, they are strong arguments for a serious study of Christian history including theologians and
theological formulations from the past two thousand years. How one
chooses which "saints" to study is open to debate and is a question of
boundaries.
Across Christian history much time has been spent studying, evaluating, and creating boundaries. For example, the creedal statements of the
early church are often viewed as boundaries for correct faith while heresy
could be defined as a belief that lies outside tbe boundary of acceptable
thought and confession. The division of Christian history into distinct time
periods is another form of boundary makingthe "early" church ends in
the sixth or seventh century while the "medieval" church continues into the
second decade of the sixteenth century (at least in western Europe). Boundaries have also been established in reference to different manifestations of
the Christian church throughout history, often corresponding to its liturgical language. Thus, we talk of the Latin-speaking church of western Europe
and the Greek-speaking church of Greece and elsewhere. To this could be
added the Coptic-speaking Egyptian church, the Syriac-speaking Nestorian
church and in a later period the Slavonic-speaking church of medieval Russia. Additional boundaries have been conceived in more modern Cbristian
history to explain the phenomena of denominationalism and, as understood
by the nineteenth-century Russian Orthodox theologian Aleksei Khomiakov, geographical churches.*^ Consequently, we speak denominationally
of such "churches" as the Southern Baptist Convention, the United Church
of Christ, and the Assemblies of God; and we speak geographically of the
Church of England, the Ukrainian Catholic Church, and the Bulgarian Or" Ibid., 31.
" See Aleksei Khomiakov, "The Ghurch is One," in W. J. Birkbeck, Russia and
the English Ghurch during the Last Fifty Years, vol. 1 (London: Livington, Percival
& Co., 1895).

Peters: On Spiritual Theology: A Primer

thodox Church, though each of these now exist beyond the confines of their
original geographical location. Lastly, we acknowledge the boundaries established in the theological disciplines. We live at times with the uneasy division of theological studies into the sub-fields of systematic theology, dogmatic theology, liturgical theology, biblical theology, etc. We also largely
accept without consideration the division of theological studies into the
academic departments of Biblical Studies, Church History, Christian Education, Christian Missions, etc. Moreover, as most will acknowledge, these
examples could be multiplied many times over. In short, boundary-making
is a common business, which is sometimes helpful and other times restrictive. It seem reasonable, however, to conclude that the totality (all writings,
peoples, histories, etc.) of the church's tradition forms the canon, if you
will, of authority for an evangelical spiritual theology; or, to state it another
way, the primary dialogue partners for evangelical spiritual theology is "unlimited" with regard to the utilization of all aspects (writings, peoples, histories, etc.) of the church's tradition. As one example, this present essay
demonstrates that there is much discussion in evangelical circles centered
on spiritual theology.** Yet, many of these works spend little or no time discussing and establishing what aspects of the church's tradition or which individual representatives of this tradition form the canon (i.e., boundary) of
authority in this area of theological inquiry. It would seem, based in part on
a theology of the communion of saints like that articulated by Holmes, that
such a boundary is unlimited, that all authors, theologians and saints of the
Christian tradition can serve as resources for an evangelical spiritual theology, including those authors and theologians who are explicitly evangelical
from the outset (such as D. L. Moody or Charles Spurgeon).
There appear to be only two ways to go about determining if there are
any scriptural limitations to a canon of spiritual texts: first, to look for explicit references in the Scripture that may limit the canon; and second, to
determine how biblical authors utilized non-biblical texts to discern
whether they established a model to emulate. A reading of the New Testament reveals no explicit references limiting a canon of authority for evangelical spiritual theology. Those passages that may appear to limit the
canon are found in 1 Timothy 1:3-4 and 4:7, 2 Timothy 2:14, 16 and 23
and Titus 1:14 and 3:9. In the first epistle to Timothy he is exhorted to ". . .
remain at Ephesus so that [he] may charge certain persons not to teach any
different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies" (1:3-4) and to "[h]ave nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths"
(4:7). In 2 Timothy the young pastor is instructed to "charge them before
God not to quarrel about words," to "avoid irreverent babble" (2:14, 16)
and to "[hjave nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies" (2:23).
Likewise Titus is told to not to devote himself "to Jewish myths and commands of people who turn away from the truth" (1:14) and to "avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law"
Another good example is Chan's Spiritual Theology mentioned above.

23

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Journal of Spiritual Formation & Soul Care

(3:9). However, none of these passages say that these different doctrines,
myths, endless geneaologies, irreverant babblings, foolish controversies, or
dissensions and quarrels are associated with written sources and it is written sources that serve to form canons of authority in the evangelical church,
for example, the canon of sacred Scriptures (literally the "holy writings" of
Rom. 1:2). Instead, these exhortations and commandments are most likely
speaking about oral traditions and beliefs that were circulating among the
churches in Ephesus and Crete. Thus, Scripture itself does not appear to
limit the canon of authority in spiritual theology.
How biblical authors utilized non-biblical texts, particularly classical
Greek works, has been the topic of an excellent article by Robert Renehan." Renehan begins by differentiating between "general allusions of a
proverbial nature and specific quotations."^" Under the category of general
allusions he says that 1 Timothy 6:10a "is in fact a familiar Greek TOJto"
and that the "evidence is fairly clear that this kind of statement is a proverbial commonplace which had long been current in the classical world."^'
He shows that in Acts 5:39, 9:5, 19:35, and 26:14 there is "apparent familiarity with Euripides."^-^ 1 Corinthians 8:2 and Galatians 6:3 reveal clear
echoes of Plato's Apology and "we can safely trace Paul's inspiration here,
one way or another, ultimately back to Plato."^' Similarly, Romans 7:15
and following seems to have an "intellectual archetype" in several passages
of Euripides as well as Plato, Xenophon, Ovid and Horace.''' Thus, Renehan concludes that "in this passage of Romans we can still detect, clothed
in a new dress, traces of a motif which, so far as is now known, first appeared in Athens in the fifth century before Christ."'^ 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
has a "structural correspondence" to "the early elegiac poet Tyrtaeus" and
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 parallels passages in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey.
Next Renehan turns his attention to exact quotations and identifies the
following direct uses of classical Greek texts. First, 1 Corinthians 15:33 is a
quotation from Meander who most likely borrowed it from Euripides. Second, Clement of Alexandria, in Stromata 1.14.59, says that Titus 1:12 is a
quotation from Epimenides the Cretan, described by Renehan as a "shad-

" Robert Renehan, "Classical Greek Quotations in the New Testament," in

David Neiman and Margaret Schatkin, eds.. The Heritage of the Early Church: Essays in Honor of the Very Reverend Georges Vasilievich Florovsky (Rome, 1973):
17-46. See also Alphons Marth, "Die Zitate des hl. Paulus aus der Profanliteratur,"
Zeitschrift fur katholische Theologie 37 (1913): 889-895; and Roman Garrison, The
Graeco-Roman Context of Early Christian Literature (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic
Press, 1997).
Ibid., 18.
" Ibid.
" Ibid., 23.
" Ibid., 24.
'* Ibid., 24-25.
" Ibid., 26.

Peters: On Spiritual Theology: A Primer

25

owy, half-legendary figure" of the seventh to fifth centuries before Christ.'*

Clement's attestation has been proven correct by Renehan and others.
Third, Acts 17:28b is a quotation from the Cilician poet Aratus' poem Fainovmena written in the third century before Christ and bears a strong similarity to verse four of Cleanthes' Hymn to Zeus. From this we see that New
Testament authors, at times, used material from non-biblical sources. It can
be shown therefore that since the New Testament contains general allusions
to and quotes directly from classical Greek literature there was a kind of
open, or unlimited, canon of authority for the New Testament authors. This
canon included material from the Old Testament as well as non-biblical
sources, especially classical Greek literature. One additional observation
supports such a conclusion. In Acts 17:23 Luke records these words of
Paul, "For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your
worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, 'To an Unknown God.'
What therefore you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you." Putting
aside the continuous debates concerning the interpretation of this text, here
again is another instance of a quotation from the classical Greek world,
though this quotation is taken directly from an object of worship. Yet it
should be emphasized that this was a written text and Paul quotes it as a
jumping off point for his speech to the Athenians.
In addition to classical Greek allusions and quotations in the New Testament there are also words borrowed from Greek philosophy because of
their specific meanings. Since this essay is concerned with spiritual theology, I will use as an example a rich word in the history of Greek Christian
spiritual texts: 7ti6\)|ia and its verbal form itt6\)|j.).''' These terms "denote the direct impulse towards food, sexual satisfaction, etc., and also desire in general" and "[f]rom the time of Plato, and [especially] the Stoics,
the term acquires a distinctive sense in [Greek] philosophy." As well, "[i]n
Stoicism . . . 7tt9v)(iia is listed along with f|5ovii (pleasure), (j)ooc (fear) and
X\)Kr\ (grief) as one of the four chief passions."'* In short, Biichsel concludes
that "[i]n Greek philosophy 7tt9u|ia is the waywardness of man in conflict
with his rationality."" In the New Testament there are fifty-three occurrences of the word niGu^ia or one of its derivatives*" and "[m]ostly . . .
they indicate evil desire in accordance with the Greek . . . development considered [above]."*' Thus, this brief study of the New Testament usage of the
' ' Ibid., 35.
" This section relies on Frriedrich Biichsel's discussion oi .KiQ\i\u.a, 7tieu|i) in
Gerhard Kittel, ed.. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. 3 (Grand
Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdman's Publishing Gompany, 1965), pp. 168-171.
'Ibid., 168.
" Ibid., 169.
'" Concordance to the Novum Testamentum Graece, 3rd edition. Ed. by the Institute for New Testament Textual Research and the Gomputer Genter of Mnster
University, with the collaboration of H. Bachmann and W.A. Slaby (Berlin/New
York: Walter de Gruyter, 1987).
" Kittel, ed.. Theological Dictionary ofthe New Testament, vol. 3, 170.

26

Journal of Spiritual Formation & Soul Care

Greek word jtt9\)|xa further reveals that the New Testament authors utilized a wide variety of classical Greek materials and further supports the
claim that there was an unlimited canon of authority for the New Testament authors.
It is clear that Paul used classical Greek sources. However, this does
not have to imply that because New Testament authors used non-scriptural
sources that this allows us the same freedom nor does it necessarily validate
an unlimited canon of sources in the area of spiritual theology. The purpose
of the ahove survey was not to justify the use of all writers when discussing
spiritual theology but to suggest that a canon must be open and not limited.
Rather, the purpose of the exercise was to remind us that, in fact, non-scriptural sources have heen used from the earliest beginnings of the history of
the church. This allows us, I believe, the freedom to pursue the option of using a plethora of sources of the Christian tradition in the development of a
spiritual theology. With this option available to us, we can begin to examine all the non-evangelical sources from history that can contribute positively to an evangelical spiritual theology. This would necessitate the development of a "hermeneutic of spiritual theology," if you will, that would
provide the framework within which each spiritual text is judged for its
usefulness and appropriate utilization hy the evangelical church.*^ A viable
"hermeneutic of spiritual theology" will make each author of the Christian
tradition a possible resource that can be appropriated hy evangelical spiritual theologians. The subjective nature of the current canon of spiritual
texts will give way to a totality (all writings, peoples, histories, etc.) of the
church's tradition, making evangelical spiritual theology a discipline without boundaries, or at least a discipline with appropriate boundaries.

*^ Space limitations make it impossible to develop this hermeneutic here though

I hope to do so in the near future.
Author: Greg Peters. Title: Assistant Professor of Medieval and Spiritual Theology. Affiliation: Torrey Honors Institute, Biola University (La Mirada, CA). Highest
Degree: Ph.D., University of St. Michael's College, Toronto. Areas of interest/specialization: early and medieval Christian history and spirituality, spiritual theology,
and monasticism.

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