Tuesday, July 1, 2008

the spirituality of the spiritual

For the sake of the post, let us assume that the following is true:

There are four "Quadrants" of spirituality. The landscape is in a circle. The top right of the circle represents the Kataphatic Mind. Below that is the Kataphatic Heart. The top left is the Apaphatic Mind above the Apaphatic Heart. For the sake of space I will not go into the precise definition of these terms. But a simple description will help:

Kataphatic Mind: This person's spirituality is based off of intellect. This one likes to read and says, "If it is not in the Text then it has no foundation." This person believes that God has revealed himself in many different ways and it is up to us to discover what these ways are.
Kataphatic Heart: This person's spirituality is very much centered around emotion. This person feels closest to God when worshipping with lifted hands and closed eyes. This one says, "I want to feel God."
Apaphatic Mind: This person is into the mission. This person says, "What's the point of all the worshipping when we are not loving our neighbors by going out and working with them?" This person wants to be out and about in ministry. This person feels closest to God when out in the slums with the people whom society has forgotten and serving them.
Apaphatic Heart: This person is a mystic. For those of you who know him, this is where I would put Randy Harris. This person says, "Does God even exist? If he does, what is he up to in this world?" This person asks many questions without a hope of some clear answers.

So, now that we have some simple definitions, where do you fit? Myself, I am a kataphatic mind without a doubt. You will discover that the different groups have certain levels of tolerance for one another. For instance, the apaphatic mind people have a hard time associating with people of the kataphatic heart people. It may seem like there should be one that is the best right? One could ask, "Which one was Jesus?" If Jesus fit into any of these categories it would be the best one right? Maybe not.
I was able to take a class with Dr. Jeff Childers this last semester on Spirituality. We were able to look through an anthology of spiritual writers from right after Christ all the way to today. Strangely, they all had different methods and all thought that their's was the only way to go! But, they were all led to God in the end. It is an interesting question as to what makes someone spiritual. Some would say that it means lifting your hands in worship and really "feeling" it. Others would argue differently. I think that God has a multifaceted personality that has sparked diversity into the world he has created. Thus, God responds to many different forms of spirituality. For, if one desires God and loves him with all his or her heart, soul, and veriness, and loves his or her neighbor as his or herself, then I believe that God will respond and reveal himself to that individual. Is that not the goal of spirituality?

2 comments:

Wade Huggins said...

dude! definitely a mix of the kataphatic mind and heart. While worshiping, my heart takes over, while studying or discussing, my mind takes over. Good post. where did you hear about that?

Jake said...

it was from Jeff Childers' class. I'm not sure where he got it from...