Reconnecting Theology and Spirituality...

Karl Rahner: Aware of the great danger, a gap between lived piety and abstract theology. Hence, his concern was to bridge this gap with the help of scripture and the church doctrines. With the help these two tools scripture and church doctrines we can illumine our experience and thus be guided in our spiritual journey. He aimed to show, how the scripture can illumine our living and the teaching of the church to guide our daily life. Thus theology as a whole can help people to build a relationship with Christ. Therefore, he even emphasized that theology should be scientific so that it could be relevant to the changing times and thus be a source of spiritual inspiration. Such a theology will answer the questions and the doubts of the changing times. Likewise it will be a rich heritage of the Christian tradition that avails the spiritual needs of the faithful.   

Rahner emphasizes how theology has a correlation task: First of all theology should show the specific Christian doctrines in a simple and lucid manner how it can illumine and guide the human living. This correlation is about how it sets up a conversation between the Christian tradition which both reveals and conceals the mystery and the particular culture. This correlation concerns the people of the times how they engage in a dialogue and search to understand the dimensions of truth. In this quest for truth the Christian tradition encounters the culture to ask important questions that rally matter to them. In this encounter the Christian tradition meets a point to understand and analyse both healthy and destructive cultural trends. After this encounter the theology ought to refocus on the tradition in order to respond accurately to the relevant questions and challenges and to interpret doctrines as a way of making them intelligible and credible to the science of the times.

Rahner as a theologian focused on how to preserve the organic unity of theology: according to him the theological task is to present the Christian faith as a comprehensive and integrated way of life. In this task we must be clear that Christianity is not a collection of abstract doctrines, strange rituals and practices; rather it is a way that responds to the deepest longings of the heart. It is not an intellectual philosophical trend but a commitment to a living person. Because Rahner says that all the mysteries of Christian faith, doctrines, creeds and ritual practices point to the gracious mystery revealed in Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is a noble task of the theology to show that all the expressions of Christian faith are organically connected in a unified symbol (Jesus Christ) that provides meaning and purpose of human adventure/living. 

Rahner’s goal was to present the core of the faith in a way that makes divine revelation credible and enables believers to make it their own. He really wanted to provide an intellectually honest vindication of Christian faith as a whole and to make it accessible to people. Therefore, his summary work, Foundations of Christian Faith, is a perfect response that serves the purpose of the above mentioned task. Besides this he gives a new concept “Transcendental reflection” by which we are invited to ponder the experiences that reveal our limitations and orientations to transcendence. This transcendental thrust is natural to everyone. That challenge according to him is not to seek the answers for the questions rather to live our life humbly accepting both joys and sufferings of daily life including the monster called death. Thus the Christians are invited to live a life of faith having Jesus at the centre of our life; that is the source of all the mysteries, doctrines and creeds emerge.

Rahner says that all theology and Christian living is nourished by prayer and worship. Therefore, the words of Hans Urs von Balthasar, “theology done ‘on one’s knees’ rather than sitting at one’s desk” are indeed true. For this way of doing theology according to Balthasar the prerequisites are an act of adoration of God, a prayerful dialogue with Christ and a receptive listening to the Holy Spirit. By the praxis of these spiritual elements, an individual is opened to the true nature and the power of the person of Jesus Christ. This way of doing is in no different from those Christian saints who were devoted to Christ listening to him on their knees. Thus we can develop a spirituality that Rahner desired for; that is to guide and criticize all Christian living so that all Christians tomorrow may become the mystics of the spirit rather than practising Christianity on annual occasions. Thus Rahner was convinced that by this he could bridge the gap between theology and spirituality.

Spirituality as an Academic Discipline

Spirituality as an academic discipline simply means to have a spiritual dialogue with theology rather than an intellectual and argumentative dialogue that would never come to any conclusion. Hence, the Biblical Scholar Sandra Schneiders tells that the academic discipline of Christian spirituality should investigate the spiritual experiences of self-transcendence in an interdisciplinary way having biblical insights as a motivating force and with the help of history, psychology and other human sciences. By this way we can gain the knowledge and the wisdom of other religions, sciences and life experiences for our holistic and integrated Christian living. Thus we are drawn to find meaning, fulfilment and happiness in the ordinary activities of daily life. Thus Schneiders draws wisely the difference between theology and spirituality. Thus she makes us clear how theology has an obligation to help spirituality to develop criteria for judging the authenticity of religious experiences and thus to strive for a balanced approach to the mysteries of Christian faith.

Bernard Lonergan (1904-1984) another Jesuit Theologian of the 20^th Century provides the basis for another approach to bridge the gap between theology and spirituality. Two books to his credit Insight and Method in Theology explain elaborately of the methodology, the patterns and the systems involved in human growth. He says that we are self-transcendent creatures with a drive for more knowledge, better values and deeper love having composed of emotional, intellectual and religious dimensions and finding meaning in our own particular context, situation and the culture heritage.

However, Lonergan gives five general principles or “transcendental precepts” to guide the process of our spiritual growth; namely; to be attentive to the human experiences, to be intelligent by cultivating an inquiring mind and thus probing experience in depth; to be reasonable by marshalling evidence and judging the validity of insights; to be responsible by acting on valid insights; and to be loving by following the example of Christ. Thus Lonergan gives a way of deeper spiritual life by following these five principles. This theological analysis of Lonergan sets up a dynamic interplay between theology and spirituality. This Lonergan analysis of spirituality stands as a perfect parallel to the Theological Reflection proposed by Robert Kinast; that is to have a conversation between experience and the Christian tradition with a view to personal conversion. Thus by this mutual critical discussion and dialogue Christian wisdom may confirm, challenge, clarify or expand our understanding of both our experience and our faith tradition. What is needed for this dialogue is a prayerful heart, an open mind and a commitment to become authentic Disciples of Christ. 

To Conclude: The Lonergan’s five principles draw us a lot of insights; Attentive, Intelligent, Reason, Responsible and Love by these five principles we can approach religion (theology) and life (experience) for better understanding of our life of faith. Thus we are not blinded by our culture and history rather upheld by them and the other disciples so that we gain new insights into our experience. Thus theology and spirituality blend together for a holistic living of the individuals into freedom and wisdom. In this mutual dialogue human experience receives guidance from the Christian tradition and influences for better understating.

It is a summary of a point on Reconnecting theology and Spirituality...Part One: Spirituality and Theology...by James J. BACIK 

God bless you and draw yourself closer to God....in your daily activities....