Christian Spirituality Semester I, 2022
Malaysia Bible Seminary
Instructor: Rev Dr Tony Lim
Course Description
Evangelical Christians in Malaysia have very little knowledge of Christian traditions and spiritualities outside their own traditions and denominations. This course seeks to help us rediscover that the Holy Spirit has been at work within and outside our respective church traditions.
In our classes together therefore, we will seek to have a pastoral, historical and theological reflection on our life of faith in Christ as lived out by the disciples of Christ through the ages.
We will be exploring (albeit selectively) some of the great movements of the Holy Spirit since Pentecost. We will be looking at:
- Early Christian Spirituality – Irenaeus, Origen, Antony
- Monastic and Medieval Spirituality (Anselm, Bernard of Clairvaux)
- The Reformers (Calvin and Luther)
- Teresa of Avila and St John of the Cross (The Spanish Mystics)
- The Puritans
- The Pietist Movement (Jacob Spener)
- Jean-Pierre De Caussade – The Sacrament of the Present Moment
- Amy Carmichael – The Spirituality of Missions
- Donald Gee – Pentecostal Spirituality
- The Evangelicals (Bebington’s Four Distinctives)
- Contemporary understanding of the Faith
Course Objectives
At the end of the course, students will learn from the collective wisdom of the Church of Christ over two millennia and from godly church fathers and theologians how to “live” out our life of faith. This is in accordance with the Pauline emphasis that that the gospel has the power to transform men and women to become “mature in Christ” (Col 1.28)
We will also have a better understanding of the following:
- Life of prayer
- Spiritual disciplines
- Rule of life
- Various biblical and practical approaches to spiritual formation and
- discipleship
- What makes our lives go as they do?
- What could make them go as they ought?
Assignments
- A book review on Alister McGrath’s Christian Spirituality (20%)
- A major paper on a spiritual tradition. (Puritans, John Owen Sin and Temptation, Reformation, Calvin, The Christian Institute, Spanish Mystics, Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle, Monastic Spirituality Anthony) (70%)
- Spiritual, Reflective Journal on the course (10%)
Bibliography
- Alexander, Donald L. (Ed.). Christian Spirituality: Five views of Sanctification. Downers Grove: IL, Inter Varsity Press, 1988.
- Bouyer, Louis. A History of Christian Spirituality. Vol I. The Spirituality of the New Testament and the Fathers. Great Britain, Burns & Oates, 1986.
- Chan, Simon. Spiritual Theology: A Systematic Study of the Christian Life. Downers Grove, IL, Inter Varsity Press, 1998.
- Cox, Michael. Handbook of Christian Spirituality. New York, Harper & Row Publishers, 1985.
- Greenman, Jeffrey P. and Kalantzis, George (Ed.) Life in the Spirit: Spiritual Formation in Theological Perspective. Downers Grove: IL, InterVarsity Press, 2010.
- Jones, D. M. Lloyd. The Puritans: Their Origins and Successors. USA, The Banner of Truth Trust, 1987.
- Kirk, Kenneth E. The Vision of God. England, James Clarke & Co. Ltd., 1977.
- Leclercq, Jean, Vandenbroucke, Francois, and Bouyer, Louis. A History of Christian Spirituality. Vol II. The Spirituality of the Middle Ages. Great Britain, Burns & Oates, 1986.
- Magill, Frank N. and McGreal, Ian P. (Ed.) Christian Spirituality: The Essential Guide to The Most Influential Spiritual Writings of the Christian Tradition. New York, Harper & Row Publishers, 1988.
- McGinn, Bernard, Meyendorff, John and Leclercq, Jean (Ed.). Christian Spirituality: Origins to the Twelfth Century. New York, Crossroad Publishing Company,1988.
- McGrath Alister E., Christian Spirituality. UK, Blackwell Publishers Ltd., 1999.
- McGrath, Alister E. Spirituality in an Age of Change: Rediscovering the Spirit of the Reformers. Grand Rapids: Michigan, Zondervan Publishing House, 1994.
- Packer, J. I. Among God’s Giants. Great Britain. Kingsway Publications Ltd., 1991.
- Peace, Richard. Contemplative Bible Reading: Experiencing God Through Scripture. Colorado, NAVPress Publishing Group, 1996.
- Peace, Richard. Spiritual Journaling: Recording Your Journey Toward God. Colorado, NAVPress Publishing Group, 1995.
- Peterson, Eugene H. Christ Plays In Ten Thousand Places. Grand Rapid: Michigan. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2005.
- Peterson, Eugene H. Eat This Book. Grand Rapids: Michigan. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007.
- Peterson, Eugene H. Living The Resurrection. NAV Press, 2006.
- Peterson, Eugene H. Practice Resurrection. Grand Rapid: Michigan. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010.
- Peterson, Eugene H. The Jesus Way. Grand Rapids: Michigan. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007.
- Rack, Henry. 20th Century Spirituality. London, Epworth Press, 1969.
- Raitt, Jill, McGinn, Bernard, and Meyendorff, John (Ed.). Christian Spirituality: High Middle Ages and Reformation. New York, Crossroad Publishing Company, 1989.
- Ryken, Leland. Worldly Saints: The Puritans as They Really Were. Grand Rapids: Michigan, Zondervan Publishing House, 1986.
- Schmidt, Richard H. God Seekers. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008