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Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology

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Eugene Peterson impressed me long before his world-wide fame with "The Message." Since one of his earliest books ("Run with the Horses"), I've been drawn to his combination of poetry, prose, power, passion, and personal honesty.

In "Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places," Peterson begins his "Opus"--a proposed five-volume set on spiritual theology. Spiritual theology, a common enough term in Church history, needs defining today. Simply stated, it is a theology of the spiritual life--what the Bible teachers about how we love God and love others (Matthew 22:35-40). As Peterson puts it, "The single most important thing to understand in spiritual theology is that it is not about theology ... it is a cultivated disposition to live theology."

As the sub-title suggests, Peterson writes in his normal conversational, soulful, narrative manner, explaining and exploring the nuances of the Spirit. As always, his writing is "earthy"--real, raw, captivating, and convicting.

In a day when Christian authors tend to write from extremes (either theology or spirituality), it's refreshing to see Peterson unite (reunite) the two. Not only refreshing-it's essential. An accurate understanding of spirituality must combine community (how we relate in Christ), content (what the Bible says about our relationships), character (who we are from the inside out), and competence (how we mature relationally) all in the context of Church history (listening to the voices of our ancestors in the faith).

If you're looking for a "how to" manual, you may find yourself disappointed. That's simply not Peterson's style or intent. However, if you're hoping for a foundation upon which to build your spiritual life, then you can find none better than "Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places."

Reviewer: Dr. Robert W. Kellemen is the author of "Spiritual Friends: A Methodology of Soul Care and Spiritual Direction," "Soul Physicians: A Theology of Soul Care and Spiritual Direction," and the forthcoming "Sacred Companions: A History of Soul Care and Spiritual Direction."

I have been searching for 50 years for a cogent explanation of the spiritual life. I have found that in Eugene Peterson's magisterial book, "Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places." I hope if you make the time to read this book, you also will be edified by his remarkable insights into the proper way to live the Christian life. His observations into North American abuses of spirituality are right on target. His explanation of Deuteronomy is breathtaking. Most excitingly, this is merely the first of a planned five-book series.
I particularly appreciate his refusal to adopt the American Calvinist mentality that says all effort and all failure is our responsibility. That false understanding has infected the Roman Catholic church since the 17th century.
His appreciation of creation and our celebration of creation in wotrship, his deep understanding of history's failures and our acceptance of those failures in sacrifice are two of the most powerful sections of a book I have been rereading all winter and spring and summer.

There are way too many books on Christian spirituality that do lip service (or no service) to an informed biblical theology. I gratefully report that Peterson's work is a wonderfully composed addition to the conversation on spirituality from a soundly biblical perspective.

Peterson lays the groundwork for this first of a proposed five volume set on spiritual theology, by defining the terms he uses, setting the stage from the grounding texts from which he will work out his theology of the spiritual life, etc...

The book's sections are long (only three chapters for a 338 page text), but he takes his primary ideas of Christ in creation, history and community and formats each section against the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus. In each chapter, Peterson then deals with the main threat against each of these facets of spirituality, includes two grounding texts per chapter to elaborate on the spiritual aspect- one from the OT and one from the NT and then develops the implications of life in these realms.

Most of the books on spirituality that I have read are merely footnotes on the classics (John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Bernard of Clairveuax, Blaise Pascal, Francois Fenelon, etc...). Peterson's work is original, brilliantly developed, creative, readable, practical and (for you preachers) quotable!! This WILL BE a modern classic!!

This is the best nonfiction book I've read in 10 years. Though I have friends who tsk-tsk, I like to mark up my books. And I have underlined a phrase or sentence on nearly every page of this hefty volume.

"A conversation in spiritual theology." I didn't know what to expect from this subtitle. Here's what I got: an engaging overview of basic Christian theology presented in conversational tone and with practical application that isn't just "tacked on" but is integral to the theology itself. In his introduction, Peterson explains, " `Spiritual' keeps `theology' from degenerating into merely thinking and talking and writing about God at a distance. `Theology' keeps `spiritual' from becoming merely thinking and talking and writing about the feelings and thoughts one has about God."

What Peterson has done is quite difficult to pull off. This material seems fresh to me --- steeped in Christianity since childhood; at the same time I would heartily recommend it to any serious seeker (serious enough not to be intimidated by 350 pages) looking for a foundational book on Christianity. There's nothing complicated here; the material is straightforward and clear. In the first 35 pages, called "Clearing the Playing Field," Peterson tells some critically basic biblical stories and defines terms (spirituality, Jesus, soul, and fear-of-the-Lord) that set the stage for his three-part drama of how we live out our faith (1) in creation, (2) in history, and (3) in community.

The outline is very well executed, with each of the three parts showing how Jesus lived out the dynamic. Then Peterson discusses a converse "threat" (Gnosticism, moralism, sectarianism) before delving into a "grounding" Old and New Testament text, and finally showing two ways Christians can and should live out their faith in this particular realm --- in creation, by keeping Sabbath rest and appreciating "wonder"; in history, by participating in the Eucharist and practicing hospitality; in community, by baptism and love.

The book is full of information: derivations and definitions of words --- "The Hebrew word shabba...simply means, `Quit...Stop...Take a break' " --- and analyses of passages: "The story of Jesus' death as told by St. Mark is a sharply etched dramatic sequence of twelve scenes" that he explicates. But the information serves a larger purpose, walking us toward inspiration and kindly exhortation.

One of Peterson's more interesting discussions regards hospitality --- not, as you might think, in the context of "community" but in the context of "history." "Given the prominence of the Supper in our worshiping lives, the prominence of meals in the Jesus work of salvation, it is surprising how little notice is given among us to the relationship between the Meal and our meals." He discusses how and why our lives and our mealtimes have been depersonalized. But historically, "a meal engages personal participation at the most base level of our lives." And hospitality draws us out of ourselves and into a sacrificial mode. "The four verbs that Jesus used at the Supper continue to put salvation into action every time we sit down to a meal," the four words being take, give, bless, break.

Peterson also has keen insights on the use and misuse of time, the purpose and role of the Ten Commandments, and the centrality of Christ. From start to finish, it's clear that, in Peterson's view, our Christian faith is not all about us. It's all about God.

--- Reviewed by Evelyn Bence

Peterson gives himself a difficult task-write a theological tome that does more than pay lip service to the spiritual life. Often Christian education, especially at the seminary level is simply an academic affair. It is up to the student to have and maintain a spiritual life and that truth be know, no one really cares if he/she has a spiritual life. Conversely, within the culture as a whole spirituality is defined as an amorphus undefined feeling of oneness with the cosmos or just something that makes you feel close to God, whoever/whatever God means to you

Both positions are unacceptable to Peterson and he seeks to engage the head and heart in the task of theology. He does this by examining how Christ reveals himself in Creation, in history and in community. In each section he examines the general issue, examines the central concern of theology and then examines the primary threat to correct use of said theology. He then applies a couple of significant biblical stories to the issue and seeks practical ways to allow God to work in the believers life.

Warning-if you want an easy read this book is not for you. If you want something that will challenge your mind and spirit and delight you with some of the most well written prose around this book will get the job done quite well. Highly recommend

When I read the first chapter all I could say was 'wow'! I found myself saying these over and over again. I couldn't put it down. This is a theology book that reads like a novel - a good novel.

Peterson style of writing is captivating. He paints a masterpiece with his words. It's not a theology textbook that is just some academic knowledge of God - though Peterson teaches you a great deal about God often things insights you may have never known. It is not a book about 'do this and then this and everything will be okay'. This is a book about the life of Christ living in us in ten thousand places and our being tranformed to live the Christ life. It is about the Spirit bringing life to us and our experiencing the glory of God among the community of believers.

He breaks down his book into three main chapters: Christ plays in Creation; Christ plays in History; and Christ plays in Community. Each main chapter focuses on two main passages; one in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament.

One thing that I have found myself mulling over and over again is Peterson's insight into how that Wind, Breath, and Spirit are all the same word [pnuema] in both Aramaic that Jesus spoke and the Greek that the NT writers wrote in. Peterson asks us to imagine how our perceptions would change if we used 'wind' and 'breath' when we thought of the word 'spirituality' or the 'Holy Spirit'. For me it has caused me to think differently about the Spirit prevading my life, my family, our church, the city I live in, the dark places of the world... the way the mighty rushing wind invading the upper room in Acts 2 or the way the breath of God invaded Adam and created life.

A splendid start to a five-book magnum opus, this book makes an eloquent case for the integration of the transcendent and the everyday in the way we consider Christian spirituality. As usual, Peterson's writing is impossible to stop reading, although the structure of his chapters takes some getting used to. The biggest concern for faithful Peterson readers is that since this is in some ways a summary/foundation of Peterson's thought, and since there are four more books on the way, this book won't have the freshness and urgency of some of his previous works. However, this first volume will be a sine qua non for anyone interested in Peterson's body of work. Our staff at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship has detailed discussions of the book each week. For notes on our talks, see http://weblogs.calvin.edu/weblogs?/worship/christ_plays_26_39.

Eugene Peterson has set out to write the initial volume of what he calls a `Spiritual Theology' and after reading it I'm still not sure I can tell you what a spiritual theology is. I would be more likely to call this text a poetic approach to systematic categories. The book has a three part structure, which, at points, seems motivated by both Trinitarian and Chisological (birth, death, & resurrection) considerations, investigating how Christ `plays' in creation, history and community. These are cleverly named treatments the doctrines of creation, anthropology/soteriology and ecclesiology. Around each of these topics Peterson examines two biblical narratives, a challenge (Gnosticism, moralism, and sectarianism respectively) and a `sing post' practice that allows us to participate in the doctrines (Sabbath, Communion and Baptism).

It is a lovely, devotional and poetic text that I have quoted nearly every time I have written or spoken since I began reading the book (Peterson seems to compose sentences as if he were writing a poem or song). His treatment of communion, discussion of the communal nature of human existence (`You are not yourself by yourself') and exposition of 1John are each alone worth the price. However, these highlights demonstrate the weakness of the text. It does not seem to hold together as a cohesive work of theology, but rather a set of topical theological investigations and textual commentaries, organized somewhat arbitrarily. I found the piecemeal approach of systematic, biblical and practical theology to be fragmented and sometimes hard to follow. Fundamentally, though, I applaud the attempt to re-cast fully orthodox theology in new, helpful language and categories and find Peterson's prose to be an insightful, quieting and devotional way to end the day.

It's been 7 months since I picked up this book for the first time and it has literally taken me this long to digest the riches that Peterson has presented in His foundational book on Spiritual Theology. It is easy to read, but difficult to take in all at once because of the extremely profound content.

His book starts with an introduction to "clear the playing field;" a commentary designed to keep readers on the same page (as it were) when pondering the terms and passages and ideas that Peterson is addressing. So often, we have our own history which defines a word and makes it difficult to connect with a conversation in which someone uses that term differently. Peterson does a marvelous job of capturing his vocabulary and directing the reader towards a similar context. The context is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and the playing field is Creation, Salvation, and Community, with each member of the Godhead leading us into daily practices that keep us centered on God.

Reading this book too quickly may be the worst offense one could practice. Peterson's words flow easily, but the content is difficult. Do yourself the service of reading this one page by page and prayerfully considering each and every word of this amazing piece of work.

Eugene Peterson has been a pastor, a professor, and an author. He is well known for his titles in pastoral theology, and for some years was James Houston professor of spiritual theology at Regent College in Vancouver. This latest title is the first in a five volume series on spiritual theology. His self-appointed task in the series is to overcome the centuries old separation between what we think about God and the way we live before Him. (p 4)

Peterson's approach is not systematic. Rather, his theological exploration of the three spheres of God's work--creation, history and community--weaves in, around, and through God and life more like a melody or a sonnet. The rhythms are those of life, the sound when read aloud evokes not just concrete images but color and texture. Perhaps the better image is a dance.. where rhythms recur and become familiar even as the territory changes. We become partners in the dance as Peterson spins us through the OT and NT, through the great themes of salvation history.

I had originally intended to read the book over two weeks. Instead, I read it in a day. The experience was not unlike a retreat. I lived with Eugene and with Jesus and in the presence of a great cloud of witnesses for a single day as I reflected on my life, the God life, the life with Christ in community and the mighty acts of God in history. It was a rich day because Peterson's own life with God has been rich, and because he has been gifted as an articulate spokesman of Christian experience, at once literary, theological, learned, poetic, and prophetic.

The Book

The book consists of four chapters, though the formal structure lists only three. The first section is titled "Clearing the Playing Field." Here Peterson sets out his goals and the definitions and limits within which he intends to work.

I was intrigued that Peterson described this work as a "conversation" (4). This is something of a buzz word in emerging church circles, but it's a good word. It's a word that evokes community, participation, process, dialog and invitation. (Writers like Raschke -The Next Reformation- make much of the idea of dia-logia; that it is the essence of the divine drama and even the essence of Scripture. We are always invited to participate in the larger story of redemption.)

Peterson then sets up the discussion by relating two stories from early in the Gospel of John. The first story is that of Nicodemus: the religious bureacrat. Nicodemus was a Pharisee, respected in the community of Israel. He is a teacher and keeper of the law and the sacred traditions. He is male, educated, probably wealthy, and has status and power.

The second story is that of the Samaritan woman. She is uneducated, poor, female and not even a Jew. The contrast between these two stories is the contrast between privilege and power, wealth and poverty, and almost between being and non-being. The more striking contrast is between one who understands and receives the Gospel (the woman) and the one who does not.

One of the messages here.. whatever spirituality is, it has nothing to do with the way we humans measure things. Whatever spirituality is, it seems genuinely clearer and easier for those who have little to lose. The good news of the Kingdom seems tailor made for the poor (see also Luke 4)

That is a worrisome assessment, because for the most part the western church believes itself to be rich and in need of nothing. We have many fine buildings. We employ well educated and well spoken clergy. We drive fine automobiles. We are well versed in the religious, sociological and psychological discourse that drive our efforts at kingdom building. Could it be that we have become addicted to the rewards of this world, while neglecting the things that truly matter? Could it be that we have become.. well.. spiritual technologists?

But surely we are busy working for God. Look at how much we do! Peterson comments,

"The Christian community is interested in spirituality because it is interested in living. We give careful attention to spirituality because we know, from long experience, how easy it is to get interested in ideas of God and projects for God and gradually lose interest in God alive, deadening our lives with the ideas and projects. This happens a lot. Because the ideas and projects have the name of God attached to them, it is easy to assume that we are involved with God. It is the devil's work to get us worked up thinking and acting for God and then subtly detach us from a relational obedience and adoration of God, substituting our selves, our godlike egos, in the place originally occupied by God." (31)

Peterson is clearly concerned that much of what we do is really for ourselves, and much of what we do is dependent on our own abilities. One of the recurring themes, though the term itself does not always appear, is idolatry.

Peterson works with four terms in chapter one, in order to provide a vocabulary for exploring the dynamics of the Christian life. Those terms are: Spirituality, Jesus, Soul, and Fear-of-the-Lord. He cheats by adding a final phrase to close the chapter.. "and a dance." This latter term is a tip of his hat to the Trinitarian framework that guides his thinking. He writes,

"The dance is perichoresis. Karl Barth asserts that the divine modes of existence condition and permeate each other mutually with such perfection, that one is as invariably in the other two as the other two are in the one.... Trinity is the most comprehensive and integrative framework that we have for understanding and participating in the Christian life."

Incidentally, Peterson's familiarity with and approval of Barth is evident throughout the volume. It appears in his constant and repeated insistence that salvation is entirely the work of God, and that humans contribute nothing to that work. Instead, the Scriptures attest again and again to the failures of humankind, and the faithfulness of God. It appears more specifically where he attests to Barth's theological work, and in the section on history and salvation when he notes that salvation as revealed in Jesus "requires appropriate and discerning employment of both words, the yes and the no." (195)

Peterson's non-systematic but highly structured exploration of spiritual theology proceeds in a methodical manner. While the sections are formally titled "creation," "history," and "community," they could as well be titled "creation," "redemption," and "the work of the Spirit." For each section Peterson chooses an anchoring text, one each from the Old Testament and New Testament, sometimes a chapter and sometimes an entire book.

With "Christ Plays in Creation" the texts are Genesis and John 1. With "Christ Plays in History" the texts are Exodus and the Gospel of Mark. With "Christ Plays in Community" the texts are Deuteronomy and Luke/Acts. In this manner Peterson not only takes us on an intense journey of theological reflection, he takes us on a tour of salvation history. For some this will be a vivid journey of discovery of the relevance and relatedness of the two testaments, a sweeping epic that contrasts the glory and failure of humankind, and the glory and faithfulness of God. As the story plays out again and again, one can only marvel at the patience and compassion of our God.

If a sweeping agenda could be discerned, it would be the agenda to escape from the Gnostic and dualistic framework of Christendom. To Peterson spirituality is not about intimacy, but about following Jesus. He stands against the triumphalism prevalent in western churches with the reminder that for Jesus to be glorified meant to embrace the cross. Most of us don't think of glory in terms of suffering for Christ. Peterson reminds us that there is a personal, bloody sacrifice at the heart of redemption.

If a single weakness could be discerned, it would be Peterson's reluctance to "name names." One reviewer writes,

"Readers would benefit if he were more explicit about the social implications of his longing for fully enfleshed and engaged Christian faithfulness. He is disappointingly coy about taking on prevailing American idolatries, such as the identification of Christian faith and priorities with the business and security interests of American empire. This ought to be at the heart of his work because, in his words, "a major concern in spiritual theology" is "the critical passage involved in the transition from one sovereignty to another." (A. Boers, professor of pastoral theology at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, Christian Century, Aug.9, 2005)

Alas, that task must be left for the moment to other works, such as "Colossians Remixed" by the Canadian couple Brian Walsh and Sylvia Keesmaat.

I appreciated Peterson's discussion of "place." It would be difficult to pursue a holistic and messianic (non-Hellenistic, in the words of Frost and Hirsch) spirituality apart from that emphasis. A truly incarnational and materialist (in the best sense) religion must emphasize both place and particularity. We must continue to hold divine immanence and transcendence in tension. Recently Mark Scandrette of ReIMAGINE! in San Francisco wrote that,

"Our assessment was that our culture tends to polarize between transcendent and immanent awareness. We saw many irreligious people concerned about social justice, earth keeping and aesthetics, and personal spirituality, while many devout Christians seemed consumed only with personal piety and the afterlife. We asked ourselves, "What kind of person was Jesus?" (Emerging Churches, Bolger and Gibbs, Baker Academic, 2005, 306)

Peterson sets his task at dismantling any such superficial theological system, and upholding a truly incarnational theology, with a Chalcedonian legacy: fully human and fully divine, united in one flesh, never intermixing the two.

I also appreciated Peterson's discussion of "sabbath." Truly, we are an activist people. We are particularly tempted to constant activity as leaders. By definition, leaders influence others to cause movement, and to bring change. That requires activity. Surely we have never been more desperate for leadership than we are in these days!

But while once the essence of leadership may have been activity, our times require a different kind of leader, one who leads from both head and heart and one whose very essence can be described as spiritual. Too much activity, particularly that on the part of leaders, has been shaped because there was a drive to succeed.. a need to be successful.. a hunger to be seen as effective, to feed the ego. But the biggest egos are usually fed at the expense of others. In the new world that kind of oppression is seen for what it is.. self-serving, manipulative, oppressive. As we clearly see that kind of activity as the antithesis of Christ's kingdom, we are waiting for a new kind of leadership.. one that is essentially spiritual.

Tonight I watched as my usually busy wife sat down on the couch. Within minutes of her resting her body there, one of our cats came and curled up on her lap. There is something irresistibly hospitable about a warm and restful person.

When I intentionally seek quiet and restful space, I encounter the Spirit of God. When we separate ourselves from busyness and distraction, He comes to brood over us. In that place of shared rest we have nothing to prove, no one to influence, no way to "succeed" except to be loved. Restful people become a welcoming place for the Spirit of God, and in turn can offer peace and rest to others.

The only way forward to a new kind of church is to become people of restfulness and contemplation. So long as we are driven to bring change, driven to be effective, we will only recreate the driven, oppressive, addictive and compulsive systems we have always known.

The greatest hope of influencing change is not our compulsive activity to shape a world different than the one we know, but to become the change we seek. I am gradually learning that this is a completely impossible task. But for God..

I think Peterson would agree. In the epilogue he writes that two things are basic to the Christian life, and are absolutely counter to all things North American. Christian spirituality is not a life-project for becoming a better person. We are not the subject, nor are we the action. God with us, God for us, Christ in me.. the prepositions that join us to God invite us to participate in what God is doing. (p 335) Furthermore, ways and means must be appropriate to the ends they serve.. the ways and means of God alone lead to His kingdom.

Conclusion

This book, like most of Peterson's life, is a wonderful gift to the Body of Christ. Peterson has sharpened my own vision of God's tender and compassionate sovereignty. His love and intentionality is always particular and personal. I am comforted in hearing once more that salvation is God's work alone. It is always His faithfulness, and His activity, that is the foundational fact.

That is important for me, because my context is very fluid and unpredictable. Increasingly things that I thought were certain are unclear. Even my vocational direction is less clear than I would like it to be. In such a fluid and insecure environment, one needs a sure anchor, one that holds within the veil. Christ is that anchor for me. Guides like Peterson remind me of the sure foundation, and the certain mercy and grace of God in Christ. He encourages me on the most essential journey.. toward Christ.

As I continue to reflect on the theme of "presence" as a paradigm for ekklesia, and as I reflect on formation as God's work in creating a new community of His loving presence in the world, Peterson's volume assists me in placing God's work in the larger sweep of history. Truly, Jesus is Lord! The confession of that reality is a reminder of my need to worship Him.