Contemporary Christian spirituality: a worldly embodiment

Abstract

Contemporary Christian spirituality: a worldly embodiment Contemporary renascent spirituality secures for itself a motif of materiality and physical embodiment. This embodiment pertains to renascent spirituality both as lived-life experience and particularly as contemporary academic discipline. The influential sources of an embodied spirituality are to be found in spiritua-lity's reflective self-understanding, the rich resources of the Christian tradition, the growing interest in lived Christian experience as such, and the post-Vatican II conciliatory spirit and momentum. Renascent spirituality not only accommodates and endorses embodiment and "worldly" materiality; it also realises a new wholeness and integration for Christian spirituality. While it might seem a commonplace to defend Christian spirituality's embodied, incarnational reality, it is clear that spirituality has not always been so understood, even constituting a pejorative connotation at times as something essentially detached, disembodied and inferentially dualistic. Spirituality in its revived sense holds within itself and its inherited tradition the potential to critique such disembodiment while simultaneously securing the mystery and transcendent dimension of embodied Christian living. Opsomming Hedendaagse Christelike spiritualiteit: 'n vergestalting in die wêreld Die huidige oplewing in spiritualiteit het 'n nis vir materialisme en fisiese vergestalting geskep. Hierdie beliggaming dui op 'n herlewing in spiritualiteit as 'n deurleefde ervaring en ook in die Contemporary Christian spirituality: a "worldly" embodiment 304 Koers 73(2) 2008:303-322 besonder, as 'n kontemporêre akademiese dissipline. Die in-vloedryke oorspronge van 'n beliggaamde spiritualiteit word ge-vind in spiritualiteit se refleksiewe selfbegrip, in die ryk bronne van die Christelike tradisie, die groeiende belangstelling in deurleefde Christelike ervaring en die versoeningsgees en stu-krag van Vatikaan II. Die oplewing in spiritualiteit akkommodeer en bevestig nie net vergestalting en wêreldse materialisme nie, dit bevestig ook 'n heelheid en integrasie vir Christelike spi-ritualiteit. Terwyl dit algemeen aanvaarbaar voorkom om die Christelike spiritualiteit se vergestalte, geïnkarneerde realiteit te verdedig, is dit duidelik dat Christelike spiritualiteit nie altyd só verstaan is nie. Dit het soms selfs 'n verkleinerende konnotasie gehad as iets wesenlik afsydigs, afgetrokke en gevolglik dua-listies. Die "nuwe" spiritualiteit besit op sigself en in sy oorge-lewerde tradisie, die potensiaal om so 'n ontliggaaming te kriti-seer terwyl dit terselfdertyd die mistieke en voortreflike dimensie van die vergestalte Christelike lewe verseker.