Christian Spirituality
Introduction
This first Section is a fairly simple introduction.
I usually share my testimony in the first class. Because in a Christian context it is typical for me to share some
things that the students have never heard. Most of the readings in this class were written by monks - most of my
students are Protestant Evangelicals and are not keen to read Catholics. My first reading in this vein of thought
was...Brother Lawrence, and I was turned off by reading a Catholic monk, BUT I read it...three times before I grasped
what God was trying to tell me.
Class Outline/Assignments
Welcome: Welcome Notes - Student TestimoniesSection 1: Introduction to Christian Spirituality
Section 2: Biblical and Historical Background
Section 3: Hints of Spirituality thru the 5th Century
Section 4: Mystical and "Negative" Theology
Section 5: Augustine and Gregory the Great
Section 6: Francis de Sales - Spiritual Dryness
Section 7: John of the Cross - The Dark Night of the Soul
Section 8: The Silence of the Universe
Section 9: Silence as a Discipline
Section 10: To be Announced...
Section 11: To be Announced...
Section 12: To be Announced...
This Section is a basic and practical introduction.
In Section 2 we will cover a more academic view of How/Why this discipline became so important in the early Church.
We will cover the biblical tradition and the historical Christian background. This will explain and illustrate how this
very important aspect of "spirituality" to hold for the first 400 years of the Christian History.
The remainder of the class will a combination of practical AND academic.
SECTION 1
Introduction to Christian Spirituality
For most Christians, if you hear my testimony you will know my personal faith. That will make it easier if/when you
hear me say things that you have never heard. On the right you can find a link to a podcast where I shared my
testimony. (#1)
In this first lecture I am sharing how I came into this mode of prayer. Again, if you read how it happened in my
life it might help you grasp the concept. I practiced a different mode of prayer, knowing nothing about
contemplative prayer. God used Brother Lawrence to open my heart to the grace of God.
When I landed in St Andrews to begin Ph.D. work my supervisor began asking me what my interests were so I
could find a topic for my research. Dr. Alexander suggested that I read Clement of Alexandria. I pushed through
Clement's trilogy (Exhortation to the Greeks, The Educator and Miscellanies) and when I hit his passages on
prayer I decided that "yes," this was something I wanted to pursue.
Over the next three years I read more than 10 of the great spiritual writers in early Christianity - and those will
be among the Readings in this class.
Do not hesitate to find my email address below and send me your comments and questions.
2.
The podcast with my testimony is two hours. You might want to skip parts and play it at 1.25 or 1.5 speed - that would lessen my southern accent! LOL.
3.
The Practice of the Presence of God is a profound little book (making a difficult/complex topic simple).
This is the essence of the class. You can also read brief biography of Brother Lawrence's life. This is a classic book for Christian Spirituality.
This class is highly informed by this book. Almost every class includes spending 5-15 minutes in silent prayer, followed by 15 minutes of writing in a spiritual journal about the experience. Did you struggle to sit in silence? Did you think about a biblical text? What were your thoughts? Did you sense the presence of the Lord? This practicum is "practicing" God's presence.
Class Assignments:
1. Read the Lecture.
2. Purchase the Brother Lawrence book. You can get it used on Amazon for $3 or less!
I would suggest that you read one chapter of this book each day as a devotional.
"Be still and know that I am God." Ps.46:10
Being still and silent. Learning how to get your mind to be still is not easy. I am NOT telling you to "get a blank
mind," but to learn to sit in silence and listen for God to speak. Think of it like you are walking on the beach late
one afternoon with your spouse or romantic other...and you see an amazing sunset. That is NOT the time to talk.
It is a moment of silence...just soak in the glory of God's creation together...without talking.
Another way to think about it is to consider how easy it is when you are having a discussion with someone and while
they are talking you are thinking of what you are going to say next. At this point, you are not truly listening.
That is what we all do in prayer. It's all us talking to God, but not being quiet enough to listen.
Task: Find a place where you can be in relative silence. Set a timer on your phone for 5 minutes. Sit in silence and do your best to NOT think about anything. Just sit. I would recommend using a breathing technique while you sit.
It is common knowledge that if you breathe in deeply, hold your breath for 5 seconds, then slowly exhale...then
repeat this 3-5 times your heart rate will decrease and your blood pressure will go down.
This is a technique used by monks to still their mind and calm their soul. They would breathe in and as they exhaled
they would whisper, "Jesus help me." This became known as the "Hesychastic" (breathing) prayer.
Some of my students shared that this breathing was helpful to calm their soul for silence.
Finally, please feel free to send me your questions and comments.
Questions, Comments or Criticisms:
You can send an email to directly to me Al Baker, CH101.
CH101 retains the right to edit and post comments/questions unless you specifically ask that your comments NOT be posted. Comments that are personal or private are never posted...only questions about Church History, the Bible, etc.
