Customer Reviews

Longing for God: Seven Paths of Christian Devotion

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Richard Foster has opened up the field of the diverse approaches to spiritual growth, historically considered, for a wide public. This volume, co-authored with Westmont College President Gayle Beebe, introduces seven approaches ("Spiritual Life as a Journey," "Action and Contemplation," etc.). Each one is accompanied by three or four examples from Christian history, from Augustine and Benedict to Thomas Merton. Each example may be read in a single sitting. Without dumbing down the thought and practice of these great figures, the authors communicate effectively to a general audience. The book will make many readers want to go deeper - which is no doubt the authors' intent. An excellent volume.

When it comes to growing in-depth in one's spiritual life, Richard Foster is one of the first authors to whom you should turn. Founder of Renovare in Denver, Colorado and author of many books --- including the classic CELEBRATION OF DISCIPLINE: The Path to Spiritual Growth --- he has long been known for challenging followers of Jesus to reflect more of God in every area of their life.

In his latest book, Foster teams up with Gayle D. Beebe, president of Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, on a project that has taken three years to develop and write. LONGING FOR GOD: Seven Paths of Christian Devotion, is well worth the wait. The book is based on the idea that throughout history, both individuals and societies have taken different paths to become alive to God. Once these spiritual awakenings occur, a hunger for God's habitual presence often lingers. So how do we encounter God's love in a way that stirs up the spiritual longings inside of us? Foster and Beebe believe there is no cookie cutter answer. Rather, our own capacity to receive and respond to God's love needs to be cultivated. We must be intentional about Christian spiritual formation.

They observe: "Today there is a growing awareness, reflected in an important body of literature, that we have destroyed the main centers of meaning and value to such an extent that we are left with few resources to cultivate and sustain our common life. At the same time a significant chorus of writers is seeking to recover the rich spiritual resources that once guided us morally, sustained us spiritually and satisfied our deep longing for God."

LONGING FOR GOD explores the seven primary paths to God that have developed throughout Christian history: right ordering of our love for God, journeying with God, recovering knowledge of God lost in the Fall, intimacy with Jesus, right ordering of our experiences with God, action and contemplation, as well as divine ascent. Each of the seven sections highlights three or four spiritual writers who illuminate this path of the Christian life. For example, in right ordering of our love for God, the lives and teachings of Origen of Alexandria, Augustine of Hippo, Bernard of Clairvaux, and Blaise Pascal are all explored. While the authors uncover the principles of each person's journey and teachings, they do it in a quick but thoughtful way. As a result, the material throughout the book is not only accessible but also enjoyable.

Along the way readers will come across Christian classics that they may not have heard about, or aspects of writers and thinkers of which they were unaware. Some of the familiar names, including Francis of Assisi, John Wesley and Teresa of Avila, are still given a fresh look and provide rich insights. As a result, the book is part devotional, part lesson in church history, and part challenge for deeper spiritual growth. Reading the pages is a rich reminder that we are not alone in our journeys of spiritual formation --- God is with us, and many have gone before us.

--- Reviewed by Margaret Oines

This book reminds me of the approach taken by Richard Foster (2001) in his book, Streams of Living Water. While in Streams, Foster divided the Christian traditions, here they try to divide the spiritual life as seven paths of Christian devotion. These paths are
(1) The right ordering of our love for God
(2) The spiritual life as journey
(3) The recovery of knowledge of God lost in the Fall
(4) Intimacy with Jesus
(5) The right ordering of our experiences with God
(6) Action and contemplation
(7) Divine ascent

The authors have selected a few Christian spiritual saints from the past to support each one of these path. For example in the path of action and contemplation, John Cassian, Benedict of Nursia and Gregory the Great were chosen as examples and a small sample of their wrings were quoted.

As a student of Christian spirituality, I welcome the revival of interest in the leaders of the spirituality tradition. The Desert Fathers and Mothers, Christian mystics, spiritual directors and spiritual writers are enjoying a revival of sorts. Their works are being taken down from dusty shelves and their writings are being reprinted. These saints are very complex people and they lived in a time and space very remote to our time and space. Therefore I fear when they and their works are used to support certain views of spiritualities without reference to the context in which their works were produced. Oops. Sorry about the rant.

This is a well written book by two scholars of Christian spirituality. The seven paths mentioned are well defined but somehow felt too 'neat.' I hope now that Christian devotion is categorized, it will not be systematized and formulatized. In his book, Streams, Foster identifies six dimensions of the Christian life. After the publication the the book, Renovare organises spiritual formation groups which meet regularly. During each group meeting, they make sure they study or conduct activities that touches upon these six dimensions. While this sounds like a balanced Christian life, somehow it is too artificial and again, neat. Christian life is more complex than that. It is not a formula but a way of life.

After saying all that, this is a good book to read about Christian spirituality.

Among some Christians, there is little, if any, attention paid to church history or those who have gone before. In some cases, the writings and thoughts of past luminaries may be disregarded or frowned-on because of their religious tradition, or because some of their teachings are considered controversial or unorthodox. Our tendency to write people off that we disagree with is tragic. We end up losing out on whatever we might have learned from them and may diminish their significance in the eyes of others. I'm not suggesting that we embrace false doctrine. When we encounter teaching that may not be correct, one noted Bible teacher of the past likened it to eating fish: "eat the flesh and spit out the bones." This is an approach that I favor, one that requires us to become mature, able to distinguish between right and wrong.

This is the broadminded way that Richard Foster and Gayle Beebe take in Longing for God: Seven Paths of Christian Devotion. They serve-up the best from twenty-six different historical figures who in some way have contributed to our understanding of experiencing God.

The book is divided into seven major sections. These consist of the seven primary paths to God that have been recognized throughout Christian history. The authors summarize them as:

The spiritual life as the right ordering of our love for God
The spiritual life as journey
The spiritual life as the recovery of knowledge of God lost in the Fall
The spiritual life as intimacy with Jesus Christ
The spiritual life as the right ordering of our experiences of God
The spiritual life as action and contemplation
The spiritual life as divine ascent

The three or four individuals selected for each section were chosen "because of the way their witness to Christ has endured over time and guided people through the ages."

The mature perspective, the ability to place individuals and events in their historical context, the expert synthesis of each individual's thought and major writings, plus the simple but profound practical applications at the end of each chapter, combine to make this an outstanding resource. One slight drawback might be that you don't get much of each person's own words, but it would be hard to adequately represent their teachings through quotations in such short chapters. Some of these original writings can also be difficult to read. But if that's what you want, each chapter gives you the titles of major writings. The book serves as a fine introduction to many of the brightest lights in church history.

This is easy to read and the chapters are short enough that you can read one a day as a devotional. The content is deep enough to provide much to think about. Richard Foster, who writes the "Reflecting and Responding" sections in each chapter, wisely chooses to keep his applications simple. Some of the thought is complex and as helpful as it may be, it's important not to get overwhelmed or to try and copy the experience of someone else. We never want to lose the simplicity of personal devotion to Christ. Fortunately, the authors are of a similar mind in that they keep Christ at the center. One way to approach the book is to be like the Bible character Ruth in the fields of Boaz. Anyone can glean from the wealth of material presented.

Though I've read about a number of individuals covered in this book, I count it a joy when I can learn about people that are not as familiar. One such person for me was George Hebert, an English poet and pastor. His appreciation for beauty and language are endearing and an uncommon reminder of the role that they can play in our life with God.

Is humility something we can work at? Wouldn't that generate pride in our ability to achieve it? If you are tempted to think that there is nothing that can be done to foster humility, you may want to read Benedict of Nursia. He "leads us through twelve degrees of humility that usher us into the presence of God." One of the most interesting is "to speak gently, using reasonable words and humane tones. This emphasizes the way human speech can lift up or tear down."

If you have ever read much of A. W. Tozer, regarded by some as an evangelical mystic, you may have come across repeated references to a book that was influential in his life and the lives of many others. The Cloud of Unknowing by an anonymous author is completely summarized here, so that I now know what it's all about. The "cloud of unknowing" represents all that we don't know about God. Our mind can make us aware of our lack, but this classic emphasizes that it's only though our love for God that we begin to penetrate that cloud.

Don't be tempted to think that this book might be too mystical, or one that advocates more of an ascetic lifestyle. I was pleasantly surprised throughout by the authors' practical emphasis. They and their subjects continually remind us of our need for community and combining devotion with action. Love for God and service to others is a theme echoed frequently.

Some of us may have started out in the Christian life thinking that we are on our own when it comes to spiritual growth. This books shows that many others have traversed that path, and there are helpful things we can learn from their experience.

This book is an excellent overview of spiritual formation over the centuries. Certainly one of the best books I have read on this subject. Both deep and devotional, each chapter takes one deeper into the reality of spiritual formation as seen through the eyes of different famous Christians and their writings and practices.

Foster and Beebe identify seven paths in the Christian life--seven stages in the Christian's spiritual journey. For each path they explore the life and writings of three to four great spiritual writers to define and explore the path of growth. Beebe explores the facts of each writer's life and thought and Foster follows with his own take on the importance and how the thought of the author informs our life today and a concludes with a prayer.

I think this material would be very heavy for the average reader. However, if one has interest and background in the great spiritual writers, this book is a very useful way of looking at how the lives and thought of our spiritual forebears is important for our lives today. I would have appreciated the inclusion of more than two women out of the 26 historical figures studied. However, Appendix Two: "Christian Women and Spirituality" and Appendix Three: "The Contribution of the Eastern Orthodox Church", were an excellent addition.

I loved both Spiritual Classics and Devotional Classics (Foster & Smith), so this offering was a pleasant journey back to many of those authors, but with the added benefit of helping me draw closer to God . . . to continue the renovation of heart work begun with the help of Foster, Willard and others previously. To be sure, there are authors with whom my heart rings truer than others, (Pascal and Teresa of Avila to name just a couple), but "it's all good" as popular youth vernacular would say. I have suggested the book to our Spiritual Formation Team at church for future classes and for individuals seeking the "higher" communion with God (our mysterious Trinitarian Savior). I am about to read it all over again, this time more slowly and with pen and highlighter in hand. Much in this book will no doubt trouble and perturb church leaders and the church, as it should. Christ followers, of which this book gives the stories of many, have been troubling and perturbing the church and its leaders since He ascended and sent the Spirit to reveal all things. Hopefully, the challenges and conviction contained within this book will prompt the "work" of spiritual renewal/formation . . . renovation of the heart (to take from Willard)? Hopefully, one day, the church . . . Christians and Christianity . . . will reflect Christ more visibly in this world. Make me more like you Lord, make me more like you.

Maybe it's because I don't get it the first couple of times. I think Longing for God might become one of those favorite books that I enjoy re-reading, like James Broomhall's biography of J. Hudson Taylor, the two-volume life of him by Taylor's son and daughter-in-law, and Carl Henry's God, Revelation, & Authority. It certainly calls for repeated, prayerful readings. Why?

First, it speaks to my situation, which I am guessing is not unique. Amidst a busy life, with much activity, I increasingly feel the need to slow down and get to know God better. I mean, really know him, not just know about him. Longing for God tells me how I might do that, by presenting "seven paths of Christian devotion" that have been employed by spiritual giants in times past. Foster and Beebe guide the reader through a rich variety of ways in which people have tried to draw close to God and stay there, even when they have a lot to do.

Second, it is meaty. Not a lot of cute, feel-good stories here, but real substance. Each chapter first summarizes the principal teachings of a writer on the spiritual life (by Gayle Beebe), and then makes it more practical in a section called "Reflecting and Responding," by Richard Foster. You get enough from Beebe's clear exposition to know what the spiritual guide has to offer, and then Foster provides hints about how to apply these teachings to our daily life. The two authors, who co-taught the material several times, make a good team.

Third, the saints (in the broad sense of the term) whom they introduce to us knew what they were talking about. They not only described a life of devotion to God; they lived it. Their writings are classics, in the sense that they have stood the test of time, having been commended by people far more advanced in knowledge and experience than I am. You have probably heard of many of them, but some were new to me, and others were merely names. Now I know enough to pursue further what they have to teach us.

So, what are the seven paths"? And who are these spiritual guides?

The paths are: 1. The Right ordering of our love for God. 2. The spiritual life as journey. 3. The recovery of knowledge of God lost in the Fall. 4. Intimacy with Jesus Christ. 5. The right ordering of our experiences of God. 6. Action and contemplation. 7. Divine ascent.

The authors present the thoughts of twenty-six writers in all, including early church fathers and saints; medieval theologians and mystics; Reformers; Counter-Reformation Roman Catholics; and Protestants and Romans Catholics of the past three hundred years.

As a Protestant, I found some of the Roman Catholic material a bit hard to access, but not as difficult as I had imagined. There is some great stuff there, and I am willing to go over it again to learn more. I admit that my favorites were Augustine, Luther, Calvin, George Herbert, John Bunyan, and Thomas a Kempis. But I was surprised at how much benefit I gained from others, like St. Bonaventure, Ignatius of Loyola, Benedict of Nursia, and even Evagrius of Ponticus (not exactly a household name).

Of course, the "paths" overlap and intersect with each other, and the authors studied have built upon, and been in dialogue with, the thoughts of others. After all, the longing for God haunts all of us; the human soul's complexity defies neat analysis; our life with God constantly progresses (or declines); God himself cannot be fully understood by anyone, not even the most "advanced" believer. It all adds up to an almost bewildering array of ideas, images, and feelings.

That is where this volume plays a remarkable role: Foster and Beebe somehow make sense of it all, without claiming to have distilled the "secret" of the Christian life into a simple formula.

Not that anyone is going to agree with everything that is recorded here. Even Beebe and Foster feel free to express their questions and even occasional disagreement. Their great contribution, however, is to have given us the meat while, by and large, dispensing with the bones.


G. Wright Doyle