CS 501 Introduction to
Christian Spirituality
The Journey of the Christian Life
Deadly Thoughts and Godly Virtues
Gluttony
Temperance
Anger
Mildness
Greed
Generosity
Envy
Happiness
Pride
Humility
Lust
Chastity
Indifference
Diligence
Melancholy or depression
Wisdom
Gluttony overcome by Temperance
Gluttony – the
insatiable desire
to take things,
in, to consume
and to attempt
to satisfy desire
through gorging
Temperance –
recognizes that
there will
always be more
to come and
that God will
provide due to
trust in God
Anger overcome by Mildness
Anger – arises
from a sense of
violation of self, of
agreements, of
principles and from
a feeling of threat
to social status or
the desire to
control others
Mildness – the
capacity for selfrestraint due to
confidence in God
Greed overcome by Generosity
Greed –
boundless in its
grasping for
money or fame
and its need to fill
others’ minds
with ourselves
Generosity –
recognizes that
the greatest good
is found in sharing
with others in
community due to
recognizing the
sufficiency of
God’s provision
Envy overcome by Happiness
Envy – awakens
when feelings of
inadequacy about
one’s gifts and
abilities lead to
resentment of
the gifts and
abilities of others
Happiness –
recognizes one’s
own
competencies
and celebrates
the skills and
abilities of others
Pride overcome by Humility
Pride – results
from a
disproportionate
sense of one’s own
contribution,
manifested in an
inordinate belief in
one’s own
importance
Humility –
recognizes that
one’s own gifts and
abilities need to be
developed further
without feeling
threatened by the
achievements of
others
Lust overcome by Chastity
Lust – results
from egocentrism
and the belief
that the person
after whom we
lust exists only to
satisfy one’s
unbridled desires
Chastity – works
to properly
balance love with
capacity to be
loved by
honoring and
caring for those
we love
Indifference overcome by Diligence
Indifference –
reflects a belief
that what one is
doing has no
outcome worthy
of respect due to
a loss of
confidence that
one’s life matters
Diligence –
reflects the
perseverance that
helps one through
tough times,
believing that the
ultimate purpose
of life rests in the
hands of God
Melancholy overcome by Wisdom
Melancholy and
depression –
concludes that the
priorities by which
one has structured
his or her life will
have no lingering
effect after he or
she is gone
Wisdom –
recognizes the role
one’s life plays in
the greater affairs
of the world,
finding
contentment in
one’s contribution
to it
THE SPIRITUAL
DISCIPLINES
The Corporate Disciplines
Celebration
Guidance
• Augustine said that the Christian should be an
alleluia from head to foot or, as Anthony
Campolo said, the Christian should be a party
waiting to happen!
• Psalm 98
• Psalm 150
• Disciples are those who intentionally discern the
direction and leadership of the Holy Spirit
corporately.
• John 16:13-15
• Galatians 5:24-26
The Corporate Disciplines
Confession
• The Discipline of Confession brings an end to
pretense. God is calling into being a Church that can
openly confess its frail humanity and know the
forgiving and empowering graces of Christ. Honesty
leads to confession, and confession leads to change.
May God give grace to the Church once again to
recover the Discipline of Confession (Richard Foster).
• Psalm 51:6-7
• James 5:13-16
The Outward Disciplines
Submission
and
Service
Solitude
• This is what worship looks like to the world.
• Romans 12:1, 2
• 1 Peter 4:7-10
• We must seek out the recreating stillness of solitude if we want to be
with others meaningfully. We must seek the fellowship and
accountability of others if we want to be alone safely. We must cultivate
both if we are to live in obedience (Richard Foster).
• Psalm 46:10-11
The Outward Disciplines
Simplicity
• To live life in the courage,
the wisdom, and the
strength to hold the
kingdom of God as the
number-one priority of our
lives is to live in simplicity
(Richard Foster).
• Matthew 6:19-21, 33-34
The Inward Disciplines
• In study there are two “books”—verbal and nonverbal.
Books and lectures are one part, the world of nature and
the careful observation of events and actions are the
primary nonverbal fields of study. The principal task of
study is a perception into the reality of a given situation,
encounter, book, etc. We can go through a major crisis,
Study for example, without any perception of the real nature of
the tragic situation. But if we carefully observe and reflect
upon what occurred, we can learn a great deal. Study is
well worth our most serious effort.
• 2 Timothy 2:15
• Isaiah 55:8-9
The Inward Disciplines
Fasting
• Some have exalted religious fasting
beyond all Scripture and reason; and
others have utterly disregarded it (John
Wesley).
• Isaiah 58:6-9
Meditation
• Christian meditation, simply, is the
ability to hear God’s voice and obey
his word
• Psalm 1:1-3
• Hebrews 12:25-29
The Inward Disciplines
Prayer
• Of all the spiritual disciplines, prayer is the most
central because it ushers us into perpetual
communion with the Father. Meditation introduces
us to the inner life, fasting is an accompanying
means, study transforms the mind, but it is the
Discipline of Prayer that brings us into the deepest
and highest work of the human spirit. To pray is to
change and to see things from God’s point of view.
Listening to God is the necessary prelude to
intercession. We must hear, know, and obey the will
of God before we pray it into the lives of others.
• Romans 8:26
• Ephesians 6:18
The Inward Disciplines
• Worship is an
ordered way of acting
and living that sets us
Worship before God so he can
transform us.
• John 4:23-24
A PRAYER FOR THE
INCORPORATION OF THE
SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES
RESPOND
Journal your answers to these questions
What did you hear from God during the reading and reflection
on the disciplines?
How will you respond to what you heard from God?
Which of the disciplines are disciplines for you?
Which of the disciplines are not disciplines for you?
THE ULTIMATE GOAL
Evagrius
• The state in which every thought,
desire, and action is properly ordered.
Apatheia • In this state, the passions of the soul
are overcome by love of God and
neighbor, and the passions of the flesh
are overcome by self-discipline.
THE ULTIMATE GOAL
Evagrius
• “The proof of apatheia is had when the
spirit begins to see its own light, when
it remains in a state of tranquility in the
Apatheia
presence of images it has during sleep
and when it maintains its calm as it
beholds the affairs of life.”
THE ULTIMATE GOAL
Evagrius
• “To achieve apatheia is to achieve a full
and harmonious integration of the
emotional and spiritual life under the
Apatheia direct influence of God’s divine love. It
creates a state of deep calm based on
obedience to the commandments of
God and the practice of virtue.”
THE JOURNEY OF
SUFFERING
Definitions – 1 Peter 2-4
Physical suffering
• Abuse
• Poverty
• Disease
• Persecution
Consequences of
wrongdoing - 1
Pt 2:19-20
Willingly giving
up one’s rights in
obedience to
Christ
Desert and Wilderness
Desert
Wilderness
• The choice to separate oneself for discipline,
instruction, solitude, preparation
• Examples
• Jesus
• Paul
• A time of sending by God to learn from God through
discipline; may include consequences of sinful behavior
• Examples
• Children of Israel – Heb 3-4
• Jesus – Mt 4