Spirituality According To Paul

Rodney Reeves contrasts easy spiritualities of serenity and retreat with the apostle Paul's vision: a cross-shaped spirituality for fools making their way through life's trials. Responding to Paul's invitation "follow me as I follow Christ," Reeves discovers an ancient spiritual path in the letters of Paul.

The traditional venues for making sense of the complicated apostle Paul are history and theology. Indeed, one cannot understand him apart from either. However, something is still missing from our portrait of Paul. Rather than thinking of Paul as a theologian and an apostle, Leslie Hardin argues there is great benefit in approaching him as a disciple, a Spirit-filled man who wanted to pass vibrant spirituality on to those he encountered. In The Spirituality of Paul, Hardin uncovers the things Paul practiced in his own life, and those he taught his followers, in order to attempt to live an authentic, Spirit-filled Christian life. Hardin points out that in order to foster the power of the Spirit, Paul, like each of us, had to dedicate himself to everyday routines and practices. What were those spiritual disciplines? How did they help him? And how might they be applied in our modern lives to bring us closer to Christ? Whether a general reader or mature believer, the reader of this book will find Paul to be a true brother, a fellow sinner receiving grace.

Spirituality often evokes images of quiet centeredness, meditative serenity and freedom from life's pressures. It s become a chic commodity, with its benefits evoked by images of sunrises and secluded retreats. Contrast the apostle Paul, who promotes a cross-shaped spirituality for fools making their way though life's trials. Paul realized that images of crucifixion, burial and resurrection would never be popular images of the spiritual life. So he encourages his fellow travelers, who are spiritually united with Christ, to "follow me as I follow Christ." As he explores this ancient spiritual path, Rodney Reeves probes our understanding of what Christian spirituality should be. And to illuminate its transformative power, he gives us living illustrations of what it means to follow Paul as he followed Christ. Here is a book that joins a deep understanding of Paul with a pastoral and spiritual wisdom born of experience.

"An exciting vision of the future" --Michael Eric Dyson Everything Is Spiritual is an unexpected and compelling invitation to see your life in a whole new way. We have the great moments of our lives, the highs, those times when we soar, when it all makes sense, when it feels like it all has purpose and meaning. And then there are all those other moments—the lows and aches and failures and struggles and experiences that leave us wondering what the point of it all is. Are our lives ultimately bits and pieces and fragments—you try to find a little peace and hope and then it’s over? Or is there more going on here? In our increasingly polarized and disoriented world, Everything Is Spiritual gives us a radical new take on how it all fits together, how it works, how it’s all connected. Part memoir, part extended riff on the quantum nature of reality, part history of the universe, Rob Bell takes us back through the twists and turns and struggles of his story in order to help us see the larger story so that we can reconnect with our story.

Recognizing that we can’t actually imitate Christ, St. Paul calls us to use him as a model and imitate him in his conformity to the paschal mystery.

Spirituality is a hot topic in today's culture. Spirituality is essentially how one's beliefs and experiences influence the way one lives their life. Such influences for living are of critical importance to one's faith within the Christian community. What role does the Bible play in developing an expressed spirituality among the Christian community? How do one's religious traditions, cultural influences, and personal preferences influence the way Christian spirituality is perceived and expressed? All too often, and at times unintentionally, the foundational truths of the Bible are subordinated to tradition, culture, and personal preference. This book provides a context for understanding Paul's foundational components for Christian spirituality within the book of Galatians while showing how an accurate understanding of these components can and should serve as a corrective lens to various aspects of Christian spirituality as expressed and experienced today.

Paul’s spiritual journey is driven by a transforming encounter with the risen Lord. In A Window into the Spirituality of Paul, Patrick J. Hartin focuses on the spiritual vision that emerges in Paul’s own personal response to Christ, found within his letters in the New Testament. Not only were early followers shaped by Paul’s example, but throughout history many saints and sinners have given flesh to this rich spiritual tradition. Their witness is an integral part of how Hartin helps us explore key aspects of Paul’s spirituality.

Spirituality is a hot topic in today's culture. Spirituality is essentially how one's beliefs and experiences influence the way one lives their life. Such influences for living are of critical importance to one's faith within the Christian community. What role does the Bible play in developing an expressed spirituality among the Christian community? How do one's religious traditions, cultural influences, and personal preferences influence the way Christian spirituality is perceived and expressed? All too often, and at times unintentionally, the foundational truths of the Bible are subordinated to tradition, culture, and personal preference. This book provides a context for understanding Paul's foundational components for Christian spirituality within the book of Galatians while showing how an accurate understanding of these components can and should serve as a corrective lens to various aspects of Christian spirituality as expressed and experienced today.