christian spirituality essay

Christian spirituality - What is it?

christian spirituality essay

Cover image of Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality

Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality

Glen G. Scorgie, Bethel University

Journal Details

Manuscripts should follow the endnote system specified in the latest edition of the  Chicago Manual of Style . All text must be double-spaced in a clear, easy-to-read twelve-point typeface on 8 1/2 x 11 inch pages. Text should be left justified with all margins at least one inch. Submissions should use endnotes. You may cite your own work, but do not use wording that identifies you as the author. Essays are generally not to exceed 7,500 words, including endnotes and other printed matter.  Spiritus  will acknowledge receipt of your manuscript, but will not return it after review. Prospective contributors are encouraged to correspond with the editors prior to submitting manuscripts.

Submit manuscripts electronically to:

Glen G. Scorgie, PhD  Professor Emeritus of Theology, Bethel Seminary of Bethel University  email:  [email protected]

Inquiries concerning book reviews should be made to:

Amanda Avila Kaminski, PhD  Texas Lutheran University  email:  [email protected]

For poetry submissions: submit up to five previously unpublished poems, together with a brief author's bio (in a single .doc/.docx document) to:  Mark Burrows, PhD   University of Applied Sciences, Bochum (Germany)  email:  [email protected]

Please supply an abstract of 100 or fewer words with your paper.

Information for Authors

Spiritus  will consider for publication essays written on topics that pertain to the discipline of Christian spirituality. The journal is committed to creative engagement with Christian tradition and to critical reflection on the relationship of Christian spirituality with non-Christian religious traditions. We encourage interdisciplinary inquiry into the subject of spirituality that includes literature and the arts, philosophy, science and politics. We encourage authors to submit essays that focus on the contemporary situation and speak to current issues and debates.

On these pages you will find instructions for submitting and formatting an article or poem, a style sheet for articles, and special guidelines for book reviews.

All essays submitted to  Spiritus  are subjected to a blind, peer-review process. Therefore please omit any information that would identify you as author.

Style Sheet for Essays

References to the Bible may be included within the text of the article, in parentheses, before the final punctuation of the sentence. Use the abbreviations of biblical books in the  Chicago Manual . Separate chapter from verse with a colon. The version you are quoting should be mentioned in the first citation only.

(a)  General rule for endnotes

The general rule is simple. Your first citation of a published work should give all the relevant information. Every reference thereafter should use only the original author's last name and a short title for the book or article, followed by a page number.

This general rule has two negative corollaries, both noted above.  Spiritus  does not use  ibid . or  loc. cit . or  op. cit. , and we do not use bibliographies or lists of works consulted. Bibliographical information for any work consulted will appear in the first endnote that refers to that work.

(b)  First endnote - books

In the first endnote for a book, give the author's name, the title, and (in parentheses) the place of publication, publisher, and date; the page number follows, as in this example. 1

1 Cristina Mazzoni,  The Women in God's Kitchen: Cooking, Eating, and Spiritual Writing  (New York: Continuum, 2005), 33-37.

(c)  First endnote - articles

For an article, the order is: author's name, title of the article, name of the journal, volume number, year (in parentheses), and after a colon and a space, the page number. It is helpful, though not absolutely necessary, to provide the range of pages for the whole article, as well as the page or pages you are referring to, as in the example. 2

2 Belden C. Lane, "Merton's Hermitage: Bachelard, Domestic Space, and Spiritual Transformation,"  Spiritus  4 (2004): 123-150, at 128.

(d)  First endnote - chapters in an edited book

The form for a chapter in an edited book combines (b) and (c), like this. 3

3 Constance FitzGerald, "Impasse and the Dark Night," in Joann Wolski Conn, ed.,  Women's Spirituality: Resources for Christian Development , 2nd ed. (New York: Paulist Press, 1996), 410-450.

(e)  Subsequent endnotes

Once complete information has been given, use a short title (which you should determine) in each subsequent endnote, whether of a book 4  or an article or chapter. 5

4 Mazzoni,  The Women in God's Kitchen , 131.

5 FitzGerald, "Impasse and Dark Night," 415.

(f)  Some additional instructions

  • Use one-inch margins on all four sides of the page.
  • Use a 12-point font (Times New Roman is preferred), with 24-point (double line) spacing for all text, including endnotes.
  • Number the pages, but do not include any other information in headers or footers.
  • Do not include a bibliography. For instructions about citation, see point 6 on endnotes below. Endnotes should also have a first-line indent at the beginning of every endnote, including the number.
  • Unless this style sheet has different instructions, follow  The Chicago Manual of Style  on general editing questions.
  • Use U.S. spellings.
  • Use the final "series comma" in lists of three or more items.
  • Use  italics  for emphasis, book and journal titles, and foreign words. Do not use underlining or bolding at all.
  • Do not use page, section, or endnote numbers that refer, within your article, to the article itself.
  • When there is any question as to capitalization, do  not  capitalize words.
  • As stated in the  Chicago Manual , omit hyphens wherever possible.
  • Greek and Hebrew words, which should be used sparingly, must be transliterated and italicized.
  • Use only one space to separate sentences.
  • Biblical citations
  • Abbreviations
  • Spiritus  does not use any Latin abbreviations. Use English phrases instead of  i.e., etc. , and  e.g . Instructions for avoiding  cf., ibid. , and  op. cit . in endnotes are in point 6 below.
  • Spiritus  is read not only by scholars, but also by an educated but general audience. When technical or specialized terminology is necessary, explain it.
  • Wherever possible, use gender-inclusive language.
  • Write in the active, not the passive voice. Avoid the "editorial  we ." First-person singular pronouns are quite acceptable.
  • In longer articles, include headings and, if necessary, subheadings. In general, these should not be numbered.
  • References to classical works that have been published in many editions and translations should be numbered according to the original scheme. 6  It is for the author to decide whether to include, as well, information about the modern edition consulted. If you do include this, it should follow the usual format for books as outlined above.

6 Thomas Aquinas,  Summa Theologiae  III q. 2 a. 1 reply; see also Augustine,  De Trinitate  VIII 4 (6).

  • The ban on Latin abbreviations includes cf. Write "see" or "see also" or "compare" or "consult," depending on what you mean.
  • Longer, explanatory endnotes that include bibliographical information should include it in the format prescribed here. 7  For example, the endnote may itself include a quotation.

7 According to Sedgwick, "Of these articles, only Rachel Hosmer provides a view of the field" (Sedgwick, "Accounting," 177).

The Hopkins Press Journals Ethics and Malpractice Statement can be found at the ethics-and-malpractice  page.

Peer Review Policy

Submission Policy 

Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality (SCS)  accepts solicited and unsolicited manuscripts. They must be:

  • Original work
  • Non-simultaneous submission
  • Translations accepted with permissions from author or author estate, unless translation in public domain
  • Photos and other images are chosen by editorial staff and permissions procured by editorial staff with aid of artist or artist’s estate if needed, unless in public domain
  • Reprints generally not permitted

Preliminary Review

  • Is conducted by the Editor, Managing Editor, and/or Assistant Editor for weak or unsuitable submissions

Peer Review

  • SCS  does  double blind  reviewing for all papers not rejected in preliminary review.

Criteria for Review

What is main aim of the paper? Does the paper succeed in its aim? Do you think it is a worthwhile project? Do you recommend (please pick one):

Review Results and Revisions Required

a) Unconditional acceptance b) Acceptance subject to small revisions c) Acceptance subject to substantial revisions d) Rejection but a positive encouragement to revise and resubmit e) Rejection but a non-committal invitation to resubmit a substantially revised edition f) Rejection     If you recommend f) Is this due to      a) The poor quality of the paper?      b) The paper being inappropriate for the journal?

4-6 weeks for review process

From submission to publication great variation: 4 to 10 (on occasion, 12) months

Informal Pieces 

Occasional “Perspectives” essays; determined as “Perspectives” by Editor, same review (double blind) process.

Interim Editor

Book review editor.

Amanda Avila Kaminski,  Texas Lutheran University

Poetry Editor

Mark Burrows,  The University of Applied Sciences, Bochum, Germany

Managing Editor

Mary Beth Bowen,  Oblate School of Theology

Editorial Assistant

Melody Escobar,  Oblate School of Theology

Editorial Board

J. Matthew Ashley,  University of Notre Dame   Michael Battle,  PeaceBattle Institute   Lisa E. Dahill,  California Lutheran University   Pieter G.R. de Villiers,  University of the Free State   Rebecca G. Giselbrecht,  University of Zurich, Theological Faculty   Bo Karen Lee,  Princeton Theological Seminary   John McGuckin,  Union Theological Seminary/Columbia University   Kristy Nabhan-Warren,  University of Iowa   Pan Yi Jung,  China Graduate School of Theology   Michael O’Sullivan, SJ,  Spirituality Institute for Research and Education, Dublin   Annemarie Paulin-Campbell,  The Jesuit Institute of South Africa   Philip Sheldrake,  Cambridge Theological Federation   Claire E. Wolfteich,  Boston University School of Theology   Wendy M. Wright,  Creighton University   Simeon Zahl,  University of Oxford

Advisory Editors

John Chryssavgis,  Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America   Sarah Coakley,  Cambridge University   Joann Wolski Conn,  Neumann College   Georgia Frank,  Colgate University   Amy Hollywood,  Harvard Divinity School   Kwok Pui-lan,  Episcopal Divinity School   Belden C. Lane,  St. Louis University   Bernard McGinn,  University of Chicago Divinity School   Barbara Newman,  Northwestern University   Hugh Page,  University of Notre Dame   William Reiser, SJ,  College of Holy Cross   Janet K. Ruffing, RSM,  Yale Divinity School   Don E. Saliers,  Candler School of Theology, Emory University   Sandra M. Schneiders,  Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University   Columba Stewart, OSB,  Saint John’s University   Rowan Williams,  Magdalene College, Cambridge University   Philip Zaleski,  Smith College

Send books for review to:

Amanda Avila Kaminski, PhD Assistant Professor of Theology Texas Lutheran University 1000 West Court Street Seguin, Texas 78155 email:  [email protected]

Please send book review copies to the contact above. Review copies received by the Johns Hopkins University Press office will be discarded.

Abstracting & Indexing Databases

  • Arts & Humanities Citation Index
  • Web of Science
  • Dietrich's Index Philosophicus
  • IBZ - Internationale Bibliographie der Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaftlichen Zeitschriftenliteratur
  • Internationale Bibliographie der Rezensionen Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaftlicher Literatur
  • Academic Search Complete
  • ATLA Religion Database (American Theological Library Association), 2001-2016
  • Christian Periodical Index, 2006-2012
  • MLA International Bibliography (Modern Language Association)
  • RILM Abstracts of Music Literature (Repertoire International de Litterature Musicale)
  • Scopus, 2009-
  • Guide to Social Work, Social Science and Religion in Periodical Literature (Online)
  • ArticleFirst, vol.1, no.1, 2001-vol.10, no.2, 2010
  • Electronic Collections Online, vol.1, no.1, 2001-vol.10, no.2, 2010
  • ProQuest 5000
  • ProQuest Central, 04/01/2017-
  • Religion Database, 04/01/2017-

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Interdisciplinary Handbook of the Person-Centered Approach pp 369–380 Cite as

Christian Spirituality and the Person-Centered Approach

  • Robert Fruehwirth 4  
  • First Online: 01 January 2013

5609 Accesses

1 Citations

In this chapter, I open a conversation between the spiritual experience of Christian contemplation, or wordless and agenda-free prayer, and the person-centered therapist’s experience in the offering of the core conditions. I follow Cambridge theologian Sarah Coakley in her understanding of contemplation in terms of a Greek Christian term kenosis, meaning self-emptying. This kenotic understanding of contemplation is helpful because it simultaneously roots wordless contemplation at the heart of the Christian tradition and opens an experiential bridge to the therapeutic offering of the core conditions. Two traditions, spiritual and secular, religious and therapeutic, can thus be held in a sustained mutual openness at the core levels of their experience and identities. I conclude with a personal reflection on possible gains arising from this openness, for Christianity in the practice of love and for the person-centered approach in the articulation of therapist process.

  • Spirituality
  • Contemplation

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Barrett Lennard, G. (1998). Carl Rogers’ helping system: Journey and substance . London: Sage.

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The Norwich Centre for Personal and Professional Development, 7 Earlham Road, Norwich, Norfolk, NR2 3RA, UK

Robert Fruehwirth

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Fruehwirth, R. (2013). Christian Spirituality and the Person-Centered Approach. In: Cornelius-White, J., Motschnig-Pitrik, R., Lux, M. (eds) Interdisciplinary Handbook of the Person-Centered Approach. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7141-7_25

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Essay: ‘Like a word still ripening in the silences’ Rainer Maria Rilke and the transformations of poetry, by Mark S. Burrows

In this essay,  Mark Burrows , Poetry Editor of the  SSCS  journal  Spiritus , explores Rilke’s focus on the role of the imagination in our inner transformation. Our fragmentary lives can be made whole through the power of the kind of archetypal imagery one can find in poetry. Here’s a portion of Burrow’s introductory paragraph:

Poetic language . . . is dynamic. One might even say that it is determinativeof change, of the kind of interior change that alters the way we inhabit our lives and our world. But how does one ‘find’ such images for this journey of growth? Where do they come from? Rilke turns to such questions in a poem written a few years later, in 1902, describing poets as artists who are ‘enclosed in themselves’, and thereby ‘gather images both murmuring and deep’: ‘They go out and ripen through metaphor’, as he suggests, ‘and remain alone their whole life’ (Die Gedichte 243 ). The poet, in Rilke’s mind at least, must accept a life of solitude, the experience of Einsamkeit that sug­- gests both ‘aloneness’ and a sense of loneliness at once. The poet’s capacity to attend to this phenomenon has something of the eremitic about it, and indeed this conviction seems to shape the collection of poems Rilke wrote after returning from Russia in the fall of 1899 – The Prayers, later published as The Book of Monastic Life.

Citation: Burrows, Mark S. “‘Like a word still ripening in the silences’: Rainer Maria Rilke and the Transformations of Poetry.” In  Poetic Revelations: Word Made Flesh Made Word , edited by Mark S. Burrows, Jean Ward, Małgorzata Grzegorzewska, 107-116. New York: Routledge, 2017.

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Home / Essay Samples / Religion / Spirituality / The History And Concepts Of Christian Spirituality

The History And Concepts Of Christian Spirituality

  • Category: Religion
  • Topic: Christian Worldview , Spirituality

Pages: 4 (1776 words)

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The history of Christian Spirituality

Spirituality and relationship with god, spirituality and justice, spirituality and catholic education.

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