Abilene Christian University
Graduate School of Theology
BIBH 633.01
Readings in Christian Spirituality
Dr. Jeff W. Childers
Spring 2010
Monday 8:00 - 10:50
BSB 103
I. Personal stuff
office: BI 293
3797
childersj@acu.edu
office phone: (325) 674-
Office Hours
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
or by appointment
1:00 - 3:00
9:30 - 11:00
9:00 - 11:00
1:00 - 3:00
1:00 - 2:00
II. GST Mission
CBS seeks to fulfill ACU’s mission to educate students for Christian service and
leadership throughout the world by providing leadership preparation and resources
for effective worldwide ministry in the cause of Christ. The purpose of the GST in
particular is to equip men and women for effective missional leadership for ministry
in all its forms, and to provide strong academic foundations for theological inquiry.
III. Class description
Aimed at Graduate students in any Graduate program, this class surveys broadly the
historical development of Christian spiritual reflection as expressed by select
recognized spiritual masters in their classic writings. As such, it focuses on primary
texts taken from the mainstream of Christian spirituality. Coursework will consist of
reading, lecture, discussion, presentations of author introductions, and reflective
critical writing. The course is reading intensive, with a heavy emphasis on class
discussion. Prerequisites: BIBH 651 and BIBH 652 recommended.
IV. Course objectives and competencies
The class builds on basic comprehension of and exposure to primary sources in the
field, to equip students for analysis of Christian spiritual expressions and for synthesis
of the material for the ends of Christian growth and ministry:
a) To evaluate critically the role and impact of key writers in the field of
Christian spirituality.
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b) To equip students for the analytical contextualization of Christian spiritual
expressions.
c) To analyze and comparatively evaluate select classic primary texts.
d) To synthesize the messages of classic spiritual texts and critically integrate
their insights for spiritual formation and ministerial leadership.
V. Required Texts
Ancient Spirituality
S.P. Brock. The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life. Kalamazoo: Cistercian
Publications, 1988.
Gregory of Nyssa. The Life of Moses. Translated by A. Malherbe and E. Ferguson. New
York: Paulist Press, 1979.
Medieval Spirituality
Oliver Davies. Celtic Spirituality. New York: Paulist, 1999.
Ewert Cousins. Bonaventure: The Soul's Journey into God, the Tree of Life, the Life
of St. Francis. New York: Paulist, 1978.
Mechthild of Magdeburg. The Flowing Light of the Godhead. Translated by Frank
Tobin. New York: Paulist, 1997.
Julian of Norwich. Showings. Translated by Edmund Colledge and James Walsh.
Mahwah, NJ: Paulist, 1978.
Margery Kempe. The Book of Margery Kempe. Modernized by B.A. Windeatt. Revised
reprint. New York: Penguin, 2004.
Reformed & Modern Spirituality
The Essential St. John of the Cross. Ascent of Mount Carmel, Dark Night of the Soul,
A Spiritual Canticle, Twenty Poems. Wilder, 2008.
Daniel Liechty. Early Anabaptist Spirituality. Selected Writings. New York: Paulist,
1994.
The Brother Lawrence Collection. Practice and Presence of God, Spiritual Maxims,
The Life of Brother Lawrence. Wilder, 2008.
Phillips P. Moulton, ed. Journal and Major Essays of John Woolman. Friends United
Press, 2007.
Phoebe Palmer. The Way of Holiness. Scholarly Publishing, 2006.
Contemporary Spirituality
Thomas R. Kelly. A Testament of Devotion. San Francisco: Harper, 1996.
Brian Kolodiejchuk, ed. Mother Teresa. Come be my Light. The Private Writings of
the Saint of Calcutta. Doubleday, 2007.
Kathleen Norris. Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer’s Life. Riverhead,
2008.
Annie Dillard. For the Time Being. New York: Vintage Books, 2000.
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VI. Grading
Assignments will be given scores of 0–100 and weighted as follows:
In-Class Participation
20%
Blog posts
20%
Author Introduction
20%
Reflective Critical Essay 40%
At the end of the semester, weighted totals will be tabulated and grades
assigned according to the following scale:
92–100
A
excellent
83–91
B
good
74–82
C
decent
65–73
D
poor
< 65
F
failing
VII. Attendance policy
Students are required and expected to attend all class meetings. In the event of
emergency causing you to be away, you are responsible for material covered in class.
More than one (1) unexcused absence may result in a reduction of your final grade.
More than three (3) absences of any sort will result in your being dropped from the
class. Excused absences are those caused by a University-sponsored activity, medical
emergency, or family tragedy. The student should provide suitable excuse in advance
(except in the case of documented medical or family emergency), which must be
approved by the instructor.
VIII. Assignments and Tests
1. Reading. Familiarity with the reading material will provide essential background
for class discussions. Students are expected to read material prior to the class
meeting for which it is due. As they read, students should interrogate the text with
such questions as:
 How does the author’s historical location shape what he or she writes?
 How do the presumed audience, genre, and apparent purpose of the text shape it?
 What does the author presume is the aim of the spiritual life? What images
(biblical and otherwise) does the author use to convey it?
 What does the author presume are the means by which one achieves the aim of
the spiritual life? What images does the author use to express these means?
 What role or significance does the author seem to assign for such things as: 1)
human initiative, 2) divine initiative, 3) personal experience, 4) reason, 5) biblical
text, 6) ethics, and 7) community.
 What do you find in the text to be helpful? Thought-provoking? Strange or
unhelpful?
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2. In-Class Participation. The student should make an obvious effort to participate
in class discussions. Participation will be assessed according to the student’s
familiarity with assigned reading material and the quality of contributions to class
discussions.
3. Blog Posts. The student will post five (5) substantial posts to the class blog—i.e. at
least one post during each three-week period. Students must also Comment on other
students’ posts and engage in conversation throughout the semester.
http://blogs.acu.edu/1020_BIBH63301/
Post Requirements:
 at least 300 words (word count appear below post editor window)
 clear connection to particular course readings
 clearly stated thesis statement, providing focus and creating interest; the thesis
should connect readings to contemporary theological, pastoral, or cultural topics
 paragraphs supporting thesis with specific facts and illustrations drawn from the
reading, development, discussion, and defense of thesis, etc.
 clearly indicate sources of quotes, paraphrases, and supporting contexts
 you may include links to other sites, media, etc. so long as it is pertinent.
Comment Requirements:
 respect and charitable tone
 on topic
 elaboration and response advancing the discussion, not just simple agreement
(e.g. not “I agree. Good idea.” but “I agree. That reminds me of…”; or, “I think I
understand what you’re saying, but I do not agree because…”)
4. Author Introduction. In consultation with the instructor, the student will select
one of the assigned authors to research in advance in order to prepare an
introduction for oral presentation in class on the day the author’s text is assigned.
Presentations will be about 15 minutes long, and will provide information about the
author’s life, and any information about his or her historical, cultural, and
geographical background that would be advantageous for interpreting their work
generally, and the assigned classic in particular. Students will provide the instructor
with a written outline of their presentation at the beginning of the day for which
their presentation is assigned. Authors will be assigned on a first-come, first-served
basis. Members of student teams introducing Celtic and Anabaptist spirituality will
each have 10–12 minutes to introduce an author (or alleged author) associated with
the respective tradition.
5. Reflective Critical Essay. Each student will write a 12–15-page essay critically
treating three (3) of the classic texts they have read for the course. Each text must
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each be from a different period, as defined in the reading list above. The paper
should: 1) present analyses of the major themes of each work, exhibiting skillful use
of the tools and perspectives acquired during the course, 2) compare and contrast the
three works, and 3) present the student’s evaluations of the works’ messages and
their relative merit (e.g. What helped you? What themes or emphases would you like
to see revived? etc.). The paper should be typed, double-spaced, 12-point type. It
should be sent as a Word document attached to an e-mail message sent to the
instructor. Reflective Critical Essays due by Monday 3 May.
6. Academic Integrity. Violations of academic integrity and other forms of cheating,
as defined in ACU’s Academic Integrity Policy, involve the intention to deceive or
mislead or misrepresent, and therefore are a form of lying and represent actions
contrary to the behavioral norms that flow from the nature of God. Violations will be
addressed as described in the Policy. While the university enforces the Policy, the
most powerful motive for integrity and truthfulness comes from one’s desire to
imitate God’s nature in our lives. Every member of the faculty, staff and student
body is responsible for protecting the integrity of learning, scholarship and research.
The full Policy is available for review at the Provost’s office web site
(http://www.acu.edu/campusoffices/provost) and the following offices: provost,
college deans, dean of campus life, director of student judicial affairs, director of
residential life education and academic departments.
IX. Competencies & Measurements
Competencies
a) equip students with analytical tools
b) familiarize students with select key writers
c) equip students to engage classic texts critically
d) integrating classic texts
Measurements
Class discussions,
Class discussions,
Class discussions,
Class discussions,
X. Class Schedule
1)
Monday 11 January
Introduction to Class
Ancient Christian Spirituality
Brock, Syriac Fathers, chaps. 1, 3.1, 4, 6, 10, 12, 15
Author Intros: Jeff Childers
Monday 18 January (MLK)
2)
3)
Monday 25 January
Gregory of Nyssa, Life of Moses
Author Intro: B. Pierce
Monday 1 February
Medieval Spirituality
Critical Essay
Author Intro
Critical Essay
Critical Essay
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Davies, Celtic Spirituality, 67–83, 118–20, 122–90, 227–56, 259–76, 292–
301, 311–13, 316–17, 366–70, 379–410, 433–55
Author Intros: Hegi, S. Pierce
4)
Monday 8 February
Bonaventure, Soul’s Journey into God, Life of St. Francis
Author Intro: Pittman
5)
Monday 15 February
Mechthild of Magdeburg, Flowing Light of the Godhead, I.1–8, 12–25, 28,
22, 34, 37–44;II.1, 5, 6, 11–18; III. 1–12, 21, 23; IV.2, 6–15; V.4, 6, 12–13,
16, 27, 29, 34; VI.3–6, 12–134, 20, 23–25, 29–30, 35; VII.3–4, 7–9, 11, 13,
15, 18, 20–21, 28, 32–36, 39, 46–47, 49, 61–65
Author Intro: Davis
6)
Monday 22 February
Julian of Norwich, Showings, 175–343 (Long Text)
Author Intro: Condra
7)
Monday 1 March
Book of Margery Kempe
Author Intro: Philpott
8)
Monday 8 March
John of the Cross, sections TBA
Author Intro: Hollifield
Monday 15 March (Spring Break)
9)
Monday 22 March
Liechty, Early Anabaptist Spirituality, 17–40, 53–60, 63–81, 95–97, 99–110, 111–
34, 247–72, 275–79
Author Intros: Stein, Tatum
10)
Monday 29 March
Bro. Lawrence
Author Intro: Blake
11)
Monday 5 April
John Woolman, Journal, A Plea for the Poor
Author Intro: Baker
12)
Monday 12 April
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Palmer, Way of Holiness with Notes by the Way
Author Intro: Dingman
13)
Monday 19 April
Kelly, Testament of Devotion
Author Intro: Callarman
Mother Teresa, Come Be My Light
Author Intro: Fike
14)
Monday 26 April
Dillard, For the Time Being
Author Intro: Covington
15)
Monday 3 May
Reflective Critical Essays due
Norris, Acedia & Me
Author Intro: Brown