Westerhoff, John H. Spiritual Life: Term Paper

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I just wanted to be silent with you." Yet after that simple moment of stillness, silence, and mutual understanding, the young man and his spiritual mentor had a new bond of understanding and oneness in Christ, because of their mutual acknowledgement of need and fulfillment. This shows how the presence of God through the presence of another human being, or the stillness cultivated in one's own soul can be an effective form of self-teaching and teaching others, as effective as a more open and obvious discussion of doctrine. Westerhoff does not discount more conventional communal religious practice, but he regards such moments of silence that take place as essential in getting the maximum benefits from spiritual worship during a ceremony. In short, one cannot be a 'once a week' or 'once a year' Christian, the simplest, apparently secular acts of life must have a sense of connection to a larger being and essence.

The teaching of others must similarly foster such a sense of mediation within students. Students must be encouraged to seek out informed engagement with the world and the classroom should be a place of spiritual refreshment in the hearts of students, rather than a place to stress the memorization of doctrine. The students must feel that something new has been created between themselves and their spiritual leader during the process of worship and education. Faith, strictly speaking, is not something that is taught like a lecture; rather it is something that is fostered in the active practice of worship and prayer. The tailoring of spirituality to individual needs is also reflected in the author's stress upon the need for multiple images of God, including the presence of the feminine within God's essence. "Recall, for example, how Julian of Norwich referred to Jesus as her sister." God may sometimes be a friend, a mentor, a brother, a sister, or a child.

Although everyday life contains the potential for spiritual reflection, many of the values of secular society are anathema to that of spirituality -- but not those of supposed 'secular humanism' as some conservatives might allege, but the denial of our collective humanity.

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"One of the major problems for preachers and teachers is that they have been schooled in a way of knowing that treats people and the world as objects for their study and manipulation." Instead, an individual who sees teaching as a vocation will see him or herself as a learner as well as an educator observing the world, and will cultivate mindful self-improvement and reflection as well as try to successfully stimulate such improvement within others.

The need to learn is childlike, and the need to include children in the presence of worship, Westerhoff believes, is necessary not simply for the children to become adherents to the faith, but also so that children can teach others by example. In one meeting of Protestants and Catholics, he recalls a girl who was frightened to touch a Roman Catholic priest, because she had been brought up in an environment where she was instructed to view Catholics as aliens, not fellow Christians, citizens, and human beings. When "nothing happened," in contrast to what she was taught at home by her father she was both shocked and pleased. She feared, however, what her father would say, and as heartening as the story is to read about the ability of connection, immediacy, and intimacy to create communities, it is also a reminder that sometimes the literal and proverbial 'little child' is wiser in the ways of God's Spirit than angry adults. Westerhoff's book is filled with such quietly inspiring and ecumenical examples of how faith can create bridges between individuals rather than create divisions, and shows how starting with individual spiritual practice, a greater world community of all faiths can be created in a way that promotes and fosters our common humanity.

John H. Westerhoff, Spiritual Life: The Foundation for Preaching and Teaching, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994), p.30.

Westerhoff, p.65.

Westerhoff, p.1.

Westerhoff, pp.1-2.

Westerhoff, p.50.

Westerhoff, p.5.

Westerhoff, p.49.

Westerhoff,….....

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