Penance, Contemplation and Service

Seeking to uncover a no frills approach to Christianity, this book asks readers to step back from prayer and examine what happens when we pray. All Christian spirituality can be organized around three pivotal experiences: repentance (the desert), contemplation (the heavenly court) and service (the cross). An adequate spirituality must eventually encompass all three moments. The book also explores the interface between spirituality and contemporary theories of psychological growth (notably Kohlberg). It uses this as an opportunity to study the rise of the Enlightenment mentality and the reasons for its disparagement of Christian contemplation as schwamerei (fanaticism). It identifies dialectical questioning of our most basic convictions - undertaking a quest for understanding - as the necessary step toward reconciliation between the two rival ideologies that continue to divide our world.