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Go Back   Spiritual Forums > Spirituality & Beliefs > Spiritual Development

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  #1  
Old 28-10-2010, 08:43 PM
earthprowler
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When Spirituality is To Spiritual

"There is no good trying to be more spiritual than God. God never meant for man (i.e. Humans, B.V.) to be a purely spiritual creature. That is why He uses material things like bread and wine to put new life into us. We may think this rather crude and unspiritual. God does not: He invented eating. He likes matter. He invented it." (C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p. 65)

C. S. Lewis points to a biblical truth embraced by historic Christianity and yet one that is often misunderstood by many Western Christians today. Spirituality is a something we all desperately desire and yet often fundamentally misunderstand. The great American author, Emily ****inson, captures what many imagine spirituality to be. ****inson lived across the street from her "church" but refused to attend. She would lower cookies from her window to the children on the street below to show her kindness towards them. She gave gifts but only from a distance yet the fellowship across the street was meaningless to her. She considered herself very spiritual however. She testifies "I do not care for the body. I love the timid soul, the blushing, shrinking soul." She goes on to say "the mind alone without corporeal form" was what was really important. Her's is a classic interior and disembodied spirituality. Spirituality is seen to be an inner journey cut off from community and from the world. She typifies the understanding of so many as she thinks "spirituality" is simply flight from the contamination of creation ... from matter ... from the flesh. But Lewis says such a view is not what Christians believe ... or at least should not believe.

C. S. Lewis is correct! When we embrace a world denying "spirituality" we have, ironically, become too spiritual. Lewis' views reflect the worldview of biblical and historic Christianity while ****inson's comes dangerously close to gnosticism. But the physical and material body is important to God. He made it, as Lewis says. Paul says we eagerly await the "redemption of our bodies" (Rom 8.23). It is in the body that we worship and serve God (Rom 12.1-2).

One of the consequences of embracing a biblical worldview is that spirituality is taken out of the extraordinary and placed back into the realm of ordinary. Sitting in silence for days is not necessarily spirituality. It can, however, be a spiritual discipline. Rather biblical spirituality is embodied just as much in serving the poor as in cloister. Paul prays that true spirituality will manifest itself through the recognition of genuine community within an ethnically polarized "church" (Eph 1.18). Spirituality is communal not individualistic. Spirituality, in its biblical expression, is "earthy" in nature. However, we often understand that word (due to our history) with post-Enlightenment eyes and it is redefined as immaterial, interior and private. We must be on guard against this distortion of our faith.
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  #2  
Old 29-10-2010, 12:57 AM
earthprowler
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bumping this up. curious to see what anyone thinks.
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  #3  
Old 29-10-2010, 06:53 AM
3dnow
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Referring to God as "him" is childish in my opinion.

3dnow
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  #4  
Old 29-10-2010, 07:12 AM
glenos
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Spirituality is what Spiritual does.
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  #5  
Old 29-10-2010, 07:50 AM
Greenslade
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We're supposed to be Spirit on a human Journey. Doesn't that mean we're supposed to be finding out what it is to be human, and if we're trying hard to be something we're not, does that constitute bad karma because we're not doing what we came here for? We'll get all the Spirituality we need when we get to the 'other side' because we'll be one.
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  #6  
Old 29-10-2010, 08:09 AM
psychoslice psychoslice is offline
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I'm just here for the ride lol.
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A belief system is nothing but poison to your capacity to understand. Good words are used to hide ugly things. – Osho
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  #7  
Old 29-10-2010, 09:58 AM
shepherd
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anything out of balance tends to be a message to do something else. "too spiritual" can lead to loneliness as people disconnect from the people around them due to their beliefs. Anxiety and depression are common from spiritual people trying to live a life where the pressure to appear spiritual to others and not "human" is way too much, the fear of falling from the illusionary pedestal they have been raised too is creates stress.

They often forget to live with fun and play in their lives.

They also talk like quotes from self help and inspirational books as if its their wisdom they are are promoting. This makes them hard to have a converstation with as they sound like Yoda.

The above tends to come from peoples unrealistic beliefs and ideas of what a spiritual person should be acting and thinking, not what may be the the bigger picture to spirituality.

The bible and other religious books are full of hypocrisy, contradictory and unrealistic information which is why there are so many versions of each religion. All too confusing and damaging. Would be good to drop the whole lot together and start again.
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  #8  
Old 29-10-2010, 12:05 PM
hybrid hybrid is offline
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if the spiritual ideals are outside of you and you're trying to attain them is like putting the cart before the horse.

.
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  #9  
Old 29-10-2010, 01:06 PM
Saladkiller
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I think most people are simply doing whatever they feel will give them what they want.
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  #10  
Old 29-10-2010, 04:04 PM
pre-dawn
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There is a lot of pseudo-spirituality around. It aims at making us feel good and not at uncovering the Truth.
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