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 20th 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....
