Preface
Preface
THIS BOOK IS ABOUT THE MANY WAYS individuals and societies have become alive to God. Often these spiritual awakenings have created an inner longing for God’s habitual presence that never ends. Thirty years ago this awakening occurred in me.
I was a freshman at George Fox College in Newberg, Oregon. Richard Foster was teaching at the college, pastoring the local Friends church and writing Celebration of Discipline. It was during a class led by Richard that I first read Celebration in mimeographed form. I had been in Christian circles all my life and yet I had never read nor experienced such a thorough ordering of how we could understand and make progress in our life with God. As you can imagine, it was a thrilling time. The discoveries I made during this critical period have guided me ever since and continue to this day.
After college I attended Princeton Theological Seminary, where I came under the remarkable influence of Dr. Diogenes Allen. At the time Dr. Allen was deep into his career as Stuart Professor of Philosophy. When I arrived at Princeton in the early 1980s, Dr. Allen was integrating philosophy, theology and church history in the most compelling synthesis I had ever seen. Here was an order and pattern that unveiled the depths of our life with God while providing the most robust evidence of the intellectual credibility of Christianity.
Together, these two have played an indispensable role in my own spiritual journey. Everything I now understand to be true about life with God was initially stimulated by their personal and intellectual influence. Because both men draw so deeply from the great saints of the church, it is important to follow their guiding insights as we seek to make progress in our own spiritual life.
Years ago, at the start of my spiritual journey, I began to read my Bible every day, practice rudimentary spiritual disciplines, and grow in my knowledge and understanding of this life. But I was challenged by my close friends who did not share my convictions. Their general spirit of indifference and occasional expression of hostility eventually triggered a five-year quest to determine the intellectual integrity of Christianity. I wanted to know for myself whether the faith could hold up in the marketplace of ideas. I was still haunted by the question, is it true? Is this life with God a charade or is it the very ground and substance of the universe?
To my joy, my quest was fulfilled. Knowing that our life with God was not only meaningful, but also true, satisfied a deep longing, and as I continued to read the literature introduced to me by Richard Foster and Diogenes Allen, my confidence in the Christian life strengthened. While in seminary, I realized it was the very essence of the Christian life to ask and pursue answers to the great questions that plague every honest seeker: What is the meaning of life? How can a loving God allow suffering? Why would a good God permit so much evil? Is there proof for the existence of God? Is Jesus the only way to God? If so, what is the role of other religions?
In 1992, Richard and I were reunited and began teaching a class together at a university in Southern California. During this time we developed a course titled “The History and Practice of Christian Spirituality.” It is the interaction around the ideas and sessions from this course that form the foundation of this book.
Shortly after Christmas 2005, I was driving with my family when Richard called on my cell phone. He was watching (of all things) a football game while recovering from surgery. Eventually our conversation drifted to the topic of this book and we agreed to think further about it and pray. The next morning Richard called back to say he thought we should do it, and we immediately went to work.
It has taken us three years to complete our task. In the book we attempt to blend an understanding of the core texts with an interactive style that will help you use them in your own spiritual journey. As we have worked back and forth, I have found Richard’s “Reflecting and Responding” sections especially meaningful. More than anything, we share a hope that this book will bring you closer to the heart of God.
Gayle Beebe