PIRITUALITY HAS BEEN in vogue the past decade.

The term is popular in media and secular culture as well as in religious circles. People are fascinated by angels, near-death experiences, and Shirley MacLaine-type New Age philosophy. New Agers proclaim that we are all gods. Others suggest we can claim the prerogatives of the divine through such experiences as channeling, transcendental meditation, martial arts, yoga, drugs, hypnosis, contact with the deceased, and higher consciousness. Recently Native American and Eastern religions have also enthralled many with their pantheistic overtones, promising human fulfillment and the attainment of godhood and eternal bliss.

So how does Christian spirituality fit into a postmodern world that emphasizes openness, relativism, and skepticism about truth, norms, meaning, knowledge, and reason? What is the place of spirituality in our shrinking global village, where relationships and belonging count? What�s its place in postmodernity, where there is a concern for the �marginalized other� as well as consumer capitalism? In this so-called post-Christian world, isn�t there a tendency to use terms without thinking too much about what they mean? Terms such as religious pluralism, multiculturalism, evolutionary, mysterious.

What Is Spirituality?
Defining spirituality can be easy and difficult. The easy definition says that spirituality relates to anything and everything derived from the spirit, suggesting in most cases a deep relationship with a spirit deity.

Biblical Passages to Guide in Personal Spirituality Matthew 4:1, 2: �Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted� �fasting forty days and forty nights.�* Galatians 1:15-17: �But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him . . . I went immediately into Arabia.� Exodus 2:15: �Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian.� Matthew 19:21: �Jesus answered, �If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor.�� Luke 9:23: �If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself.� See also Mark 9:29 (fasting); Matthew 19:12 (celibacy); Mark 8:34 (self-renunciation, taking up the cross); Matthew 7:13-27 and 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (narrow gate, self-discipline, and sacrifice); Matthew 24:42 (vigilance); Ephesians 4:22, Colossians 3:5 and Galatians 5 (crucifixion of the carnal self and sinful nature and walk by the Spirit). *Scripture references are from the New International Version.

The difficulty comes when one realizes that there are as many kinds of spirituality as there are religions and concepts of the Divine. One can embark on the quest for spirituality or possess it even without believing in a personal God or gods. Within Christendom, there are different concepts about the nature of God. Yet how we relate to God and understand what is expected of Him largely determines the type and expression of our spirituality.

Differences are also evident in the other major religions of the world. The noble truths in Buddhism, for example, state that all life is suffering, and this suffering originates from our human cravings and desires. Release from suffering is possible by extinguishing these cravings and through the Noble Eightfold Path to nirvana (a state of eternal bliss, free from the cycle of reincarnations). The Noble Eightfold Path expresses Buddhist �spirituality� through right speech, right action, right living, right mindfulness, right views, right thought, right endeavor, and right concentration.

Confucianists manifest spirituality in self-cultivation of ren (compassion, benevolence, humanity), yi (righteousness, justice), li (propriety, discretion), xin (faith, trust), zhi (wisdom, insight), zhong (faithfulness, loyalty), shu (forgiveness, leniency), wen (culture, artistic pursuits), and hsiao (filial piety, devotion).

Muslims follow the Five Pillars of Islam: repetition of the creed, prayer, alms to the poor, fasting, and pilgrimage to Mecca.

Christian spirituality, in my view, consists of the following:

1. Experiencing a deep and authentic relationship with God on the heart level.
2. Opening up to a deeper understanding of God and His created order.
3. Seeking fulfillment through a transformed life patterned after Christ.
4. Being involved in all aspects of the Christian faith as expressed in daily life, public worship, and private devotions; in study, work, play, social and family relations, and service to others.

Can Be Confusing
God created each human being as a whole person with spirit/soul, mind, and body. With this understanding, spirituality becomes an expression of our whole being. Anything that affects our being, whether spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, or social, also affects our spirituality. These include our gene pool, our environment, our upbringing, as well as such factors as gender, race, culture, education, experience, history, geography, art, music, architectural preferences, hunger, thirst, ambient temperature, pain, health status�and the list goes on.

Since each human is unique, one can argue that there are as many forms of spirituality as there are people. What one believes (doctrines, credos, faith statements, church and Christian community traditions) impact the way one expresses their spirituality.

It follows then that there would be as many kinds of spirituality as there are denominations. We can cite, of course, certain basic spiritual elements common to most Christian religious bodies, such as prayer, Scripture reading, the Lord�s Supper, and baptism. Yet differences abound. Catholics, for example, recognize seven sacraments, whereas Protestants accept only two. But these two�the Lord�s Supper and baptism�are also subject to various interpretations.

Christian Spirituality
The word translated �spiritual� in our Bibles goes back to the Hebrew root ruach, meaning breath, wind, spirit; and is linked with what might be called the life force. The Greek equivalent is pneuma. Sometimes we confuse spirituality with mysticism (in the sense of esoteric teaching, secret knowledge, exotic experiences, and parapsychological awareness).

Other times we confuse it with monasticism (the Christian movement that calls its followers to an austere life of solitude, renunciation of the world, and purification�through fasting, vigils, poverty, chastity, and obedience).

Spirituality is usually differentiated from theology. Depending on definition, theology (for the mind) could incorporate spirituality (for the heart). (Other closely related terms include piety, godliness, holiness, discipleship, walking with God, imitation of Christ, the presence of God, and holy living.) Academically, Christian theology is an objective, systematic study of Christian beliefs, the nature of God, and His relations with the created order. It focuses on theories, concepts, and argumentation, challenging one�s intellectual dimension. Before the Enlightenment in the eighteenth century, theology and spirituality were closely linked. Afterward, Enlighten-ment scholars made theology an academic discipline, independent of one�s religious commitment and Christian living.

The secular world today focuses on religious neutrality and noninterference with personal belief. There is, however, a recent trend to again relate theology to spirituality. But some liberal theologians still consider spirituality as bordering on fanaticism and emotionalism, affecting those who are psychologically unstable.

Protestant Spirituality
There is a long list of major personalities and writings in the history of Christian spirituality. The Protestant variety began with the Reformation. Martin Luther (1483-1546) shunned Christian mysticism and believed that spiritual life could be maintained and enhanced by living out the Ten Commandments, the Lord�s Prayer, and the Apostles� Creed. John Calvin (1509-1564) wrote on the biblical themes of justification, sanctification, and glorification as the model for personal piety. Calvin taught the authority and centrality of the Bible as the Word of God, the proclamation of the Word, and the preparation of people�s hearts for its reception. Later this emphasis was embodied in Puritan spirituality.

For the Anglican Church in England, the Book of Common Prayer, communal liturgy, and piety formed the bedrock of spiritual life. The New England Puritans preached the sinners� need of God and their accountability to Him. To them, spirituality meant the conflict encountered on this earth and the heavenly hope beyond.

Four powerful convictions colored Puritan spirituality: personal salvation comes from God alone; the Bible is the indispensable guide to life (with emphasis on the Sabbath, family worship, and acts of mercy); the church should reflect the express teaching of Scripture, and Christians do only what the Bible commands); society was one united whole, an idea that led to intolerance of other Christian groups.

John Wesley (1703-1791) and his brother Charles led out in Methodist spirituality and the Holiness movement and promulgated hymnody as an instrument of spirituality. He included in his preaching Christian perfection and a prescribed method of studying the Bible. Methodists considered Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience as bases of Christian growth and development.

Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield exemplified in the first Great Awakening (1735-1743) a Calvinist-oriented spirituality. Later most Methodist, Baptist, and Congregational ministers and laypersons, as well as such leaders as Timothy Dwight (president of Yale University), Nathaniel Taylor, Lyman Beecher, and Charles Finney, adopted the more Arminian approach in the Second Great Awakening, 1795-1830.

The Keswick Convention called attention to victorious Christian living; Watchman Nee stressed the normal Christian life under the impact of the Holy Spirit. German Pietism practiced by Philip Spencer (1635-1705) and Johann Arndt linked spirituality to faith as an act of thinking as well as feeling, while the spirituality of August Francke, Nikolaus Zinzendorf, and the

Moravian Brethren was fueled and determined by their concept of humanity�s role on earth.

Pentecostal and charismatic spirituality stresses the illumination and direct impact by the Holy Spirit. Its expression is more visual, vocal, dramatic, extraordinary, uninhibited, spontaneous, and unpredictable, generally speaking. Recently we have had the Toronto holy laughter, the Chinese wailing sect, and the contemporary Internet spiritual fellowship.

Adventist Spirituality
Since Adventists are no longer a monolithic group, their spirituality is also affected by factors already discussed. One central cohesive force in expressing Adventist believers� spirituality, however, is the Sabbath, with all its ramifications. As Christians, Adventists strongly express their spirituality through their understanding of theology, commandment keeping and the law, with the recent emphasis on grace, Ellen G. White�s writings, health, wholeness, and Global Mission.

FOR FURTHER READING: Chan, S. Spiritual Theology. Downers Grove, Ill.: Inter Varsity Press, 1998. Collins, K. J., ed. Exploring Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Reader. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000. Cunningham, L., and K. Egan. Christian Spirituality: Themes From the Tradition. New York: Paulist, 1996. Holt, B. Thirsty for God: A Brief History of Christian Spirituality. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1993. Lovelace, R. Dynamics of Spiritual Life. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1979. McGrath, A. Christian Spirituality: An Introduction. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 1999. Rolheiser, R. The Holy Longing: The Search for a Christian Spirituality. New York: Doubleday, 1999. Willard, D. The Divine Conspiracy. San Francisco: Harper, 1998.

In my view, the ideal Christian spirituality will include the following elements, among others:

1. It is theocentric and Christo-centric�not egocentric.
2. It involves our whole being�spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, and social.
3. It�s an authentic experience on the heart level�a natural outflow of our sincere desire to seek after God. In humility we acknowledge our gratitude that He also seeks us, and that our efforts to seek Him please Him and will not be in vain.
4. It links us to God the Father, through His Son, by the Holy Spirit. This process begins now with joy and love, and in faith and hope extends into eternity.
5. It presupposes diversity and spontaneity in expression beyond the basic disciplines of prayer, Scripture reading and study, church attendance, fellowship, and introspection. Few attempts are flawless in this life; failure and disappointment also stalk the sincere in heart in our spiritual quest.
6. It becomes works righteousness if not based on acceptance of God�s grace and awareness of our inability to do anything spiritually significant without His help.
7. It�s a process of being remade in the image of God here on earth, which calls forth faith and action, trust and effort.
8. It changes as our concept of God, of ourselves, and of the world deepens and widens, and as science and Scripture (both instrumentalities of God) open new vistas in our understanding of the universe and of what God has in store for us.
9. It validates our desire and concrete action to serve others. Anything less is merely a self-centered rehearsal of our attempted acceptance by God.
10. It�s an experience, finally, with a purpose: to glorify God by being what He intends us to be, and by doing what He expects of us, namely, to be involved in His created order�His people, their salvation, their service and needs.

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John B. Wong, a vascular surgeon, holds a Ph.D. in theology and ethics, and is a member of the adjunct faculty of religion at Loma Linda University.