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definition of spirituality in general. In a sense, says Eugene Peterson – scholar, writer and acclaimed professor on contemporary Christian spirituality – it is easier to explain what spirituality is not: Spirituality is not something ‘special’, a mystical “…becoming emotionally intimate with God,” though it has an element of intimacy with God (Peterson, 2005a:19). Neither is spirituality “…a body of secret lore … has nothing to do with aptitude of temperament … is not primarily about you and me … [or] … personal power or enrichment. It is about God” (:19). Christian spirituality is the way we live with God. It entails following Jesus – precisely what Christians “…have been doing for two thousand years just by going to church and receiving the sacraments, being baptized, learning to pray and reading the Scriptures rightly” (Peterson, 2005b).

Christian spirituality could be perceived from an array of vantage points, as suggested by Anderson (2003:65), locating spirituality on a “continuum of being human,

25 New forms of spirituality with the human spirit as source are emerging on a large scale from “the void of secularism and humanism” – often promoting a form of spirituality not orientated towards a divine spirit with a name, but an extension of one’s own spirit (Kaplan in Anderson, 2003:65). At the other end of the continuum are the traditional forms of spirituality, “often based on the pietistic forms of the classic imitatio Christi model” (Anderson, 2003:63). This requires “emptying of the self” of human inclinations and being filled with “the divine impulses of a Christ-like motivation”, such as seen in the writings of Thomas à Kempis, Ignatius of Loyola and Thomas Merton (Anderson, 2003:64). There is, however, no consensus that this kind of spirituality represents ‘Christian spirituality’. According to Anderson (2003:64), Karl Barth, for example, questioned the notion of “self-emptying”, saying that there is nothing to justify that this is the way to reconciliation with God.

26 Shamanism refers to a religion of Siberian tribes involving belief in secondary gods and in power of shamans or priests to influence these (Fowler & Fowler, 1964:1168).

27 Cf. Chapter 5, section 5.3.2: Discussion of the historical ‘path’ of Christianity in South Africa, seeking to indicate how the merger of two divergent spiritualities created a very distinct backdrop for people and community development in South Africa.

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as created and determined by the God of the Judeo-Christian tradition” – acknowledging that we were created in the image of God and inspired by the Divine Spirit. This view calls for an understanding of humans as spiritual beings in the whole of their body/soul existence, or, according to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, “spiritual beings having a human experience” (in Anderson, 2003:66). Recognising that human beings have been created as

“…the dust of the earth and the vitalizing breath of God”, Christian spirituality blends the material and spiritual (cf. Richards, 1987:241; Fretheim, 2005:95). Thus Christian spirituality calls for unification of the spiritual and material worlds – both a reunion and experience with God and living a complete human life (Richards, 1987:243). Spirituality is not either or, but inclusive: it is both material and immaterial; interior and exterior; and both invisible and visible (cf. Peterson, 2005a:30).

It is this paradoxical nature of spirituality that causes Peterson (2005b) to caution against a spirituality that is seen to meet our needs. What is at play is both a sense of reverence, a certain mystery – more than just emotions and needs – a transcendental presence; and a sense of being rooted and grounded in local conditions. Therefore, being spiritual does not mean retreat from this world or to contemplate in isolation, but rather to be actively involved in every dimension of this world (Brown, 1984:399; Bosch, 2001:13).

Rather than “fleeing from the city”,²⁸ spirituality entails “being sent by God to the heart of the city and its turmoil” (Bosch 2001:13). The list of factors contributing to this turmoil that needs to be confronted on a spiritual level is, in itself, scary – more so for communities in Africa and especially for women (cf. Haddad, 1998:11; Phiri, 1997:11–13; Brighenti, 2008:514–518). Ndungane (2003:36) identifies globalisation as one of the key contributing forces. He argues that the incumbent inequality is imposed not by lack of resources, but as direct result of people’s decisions, therewith leading to a reality where

“there are so many destitute people amidst plenty”. Miroslav Volf (1996:18) identifies human rights, economic justice, ecological well-being and identity and otherness as the key issues to be redressed.²⁹ The down to earth reality (of spirituality) is that we as a

28 Bosch refers to Jonah 1:1–3.

29 In a sense the first three are ‘misleading’ issues – almost like symptoms – where-as the true issue lies deeper: identity and otherness need to be included and all four ‘issues’ should be viewed in relationship to on another. Identity and otherness, Volf says, leads to the so called ‘hot wars’: violence between rivalling ethnic, religious and language groups sharing the same territory. Therefore, identity and otherness should be placed – alongside with rights, justice and ecological well-being – at the centre of theological reflection on social realities (Volf, 1996:15–18). And the understanding of conceptualisation of identity and otherness is only possible in the spirituality of the cross (see section 4.3.2). Indeed, says Volf, “a genuinely Christian

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community of men, women and children – created in the image of God – are called to, amidst all the turmoil, enter into a communal life of love:

…an empathically personal life where [we] experience [our]selves in personal terms of love and forgiveness, of hope and desire. Under the image of the Trinity we discover that we do not know God by defining him, but by being loved by him and loving in return … [and by discovering] … that another does not know me, nor do I know another, by defining or explaining, by categorizing of by psychologizing, but only relationally, by accepting and loving, by giving and receiving (Peterson, 2005a:7).

Indeed, Christian spirituality, being the opposite of ‘me wanting to get more out of life and the other and from God’, is about loving and accepting the other, about giving and receiving, about accepting and being valued, and a sense of sacrifice. Above all, it is about following Jesus to the cross: involving death and the giving up our lives, and accepting that our destination is “a life lived to the glory of God” (Peterson, 2005a:1;

Peterson, 2005b). Referring to the Gospel of Mark as directive for living Christian spirituality, Peterson states that in Mark we are first directed on how to live life, and then (in the second half of Mark’s Gospel) we are directed how to die. We are shown how, in particular, says Peterson, this process of ‘living learning to die’ we loose all our illusions, and slowly become capable of true intimacy and love. Strangely, this life involves a kind of passivity as it is not about ends or benefits or things, but about how you live in reality:

“[O]ur primary mode of relationship [then] is receiving, submitting, instead of giving and getting and doing” Peterson (2005b).

According to South African theologian Celia Kourie (2000:12), as “the lived experience of Christian belief,” Christian spirituality is distinguished from secular spirituality by a number of characteristics: First, it acknowledges the relationship with God as Creator – as basis for all human relationships. Second, a life lived in relationship (defined by the human-Creator relationship) with other human beings and the rest of the creation, since “[t]o see the image of the Creator in each created human being is to have a perspective from which we live among other human beings” (Richards, 1987:13). Third, Christian spirituality is steeped in Holy Scripture: it is connected to God’s revelation of

reflection on social issues must be rooted in the self-giving love of the Trinity as manifested on the cross of Christ”, similar to Paul’s proclamation, “to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2) (Volf, 1996:25).

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himself and his work in Holy Scripture;³⁰ and to the rich understandings and practices of our ancestors. Indeed, Christian spirituality insists that ordinary men and women are capable of living these revelations in their homes and workplaces (Peterson, 2005a:5).

Fourth, Christian spirituality is Christ-centered, informed by Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection (cf. Brown, 1984:399; Chapter 1, section 1.8.1). Finally, Christian spirituality refers to practicing spirituality the way Jesus did – always personal and relational (Peterson, 2005b).

Jesus’ spirituality is centered on the cross, the cross being “…at once, for Christians, the ultimate statement of humankind’s movement away from God and of God’s gracious movement towards fallen humankind” (Hall, 2006:4). It symbolises God’s abiding love for the world and all its creatures, as will be illustrated in the discussion on the spirituality of the cross.