Spirituality is important. It is the living out of theology – living out our religious commitment. In this book, theologian Donald Bloesch hopes to distinguish an authentic biblical and Christian spirituality from its ancient and contemporary alternatives. He warns that spirituality is not revelation but “a very human response to revelation and therefore necessarily partakes of the relative and fallible. We must not be too hasty in celebrating the supposed spiritual renaissance. It contains more peril than promise. Our task as Christians today is not to abandon spirituality but to clarify it. This mandate places us under the obligation to discriminate between different types of spirituality” (26).
Bloesch distinguishes between traditional mysticism, biblical religion, and the new spirituality. While mysticism descends within to uncover a universal experience in our common humanity, biblical spirituality looks without to a God who acts and reveals within human history, and the new spirituality looks for a God to emerge out of history into an open future. In mysticism, humanity is separated from God by its finiteness and ignorance. In biblical religion, the “breach between God and humanity is only healed by the incarnation – God becoming man in Jesus Christ. And this is an event in history, not an eternal ideal that can be uncovered through unceasing introspection (as in mysticism)” (62). The call of mysticism is to unceasing introspection. The call of biblical religion is the life of discipleship.
In biblical religion, we do not ascend into eternity through contemplative practices, but rather, eternity breaks into history in the scandal of particularity known as the incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. In grace, God comes seeking us first. Why? “God wants what is best for us. In acting to fulfill human need he gives glory to himself. His glory is other-regarding, for its ground lies in the selflessness of his love. He seeks his own glory not in order to magnify himself over humanity but in order to redeem humanity. He is not content for us to be simply his servants: he wants us as sons and daughters—active participants in a fellowship of love” (80).
Bloesch argues – and I would agree – that the church can only be renewed by a spirituality that is solidly trinitarian as opposed to one rooted in mystic monistic. We need to recover a respect for the standards of faith that have been handed down to us – standards that communicate the gospel message. Our postmodern world – which exalts the will to power and the will to life over traditional forms of authority – would seek to relativize the standards and thus stifle the story.
Bloesch attempts to maintain a commitment to biblical religion while seeking to benefit from the insights from classic mysticism and the new spirituality. But he is not so naïve as to think they can all be synthesized together without clear damage to all positions. He argues, then, for a healthy balance. He writes, “Against Biblicism we must strive to be true to the Bible without denying its real humanity. Against dogmatism we must be forthright in our defense of the faith without reducing the gospel to a theological formula. Against mysticism and spiritualism we must recognize the experiential dimension of faith without reducing faith to a mystical experience. True spirituality is based on the paradoxical unity of Word and Spirit, and this unity is conveyed to us through earthen vessels—especially the preaching of the Word in the assembly of believers” (142).
God descends to us in Christ and in the Spirit. We ascend to God in Christ and by the Spirit. This balance must be maintained. Our response is because of grace and by grace. We do not search for God, but God searches for lost humanity. We do not climb a ladder. God falls from the ladder into our human condition to lift us up by grace alone.
This is an outstanding and important book for anyone interested in distinguishing spiritualities that bear a marked resemblance to one another until you work out the nuances. Bloesch has the erudition and experience to do this with clarity and charity.
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