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Undervaluation of the Old Testament in Christian Spirituality 9 and the Bible, the resulting references are in no greater extent to the Old Testament. This stands, to some degree at least, in the tradition of systematic theologians too, who employ the New Testament substantially more than the Old, and better, in considering the central tenets of the Christian faith, to which the doctrine of the Trinity belongs. 2.3 The cultural gaps between the Old Testament worlds and our worlds It takes only a brief encounter with the Old Testament for us to experience the practices and traditions we encounter there as “strange.” This holds true for readers from both primarily Western and primarily traditional African backgrounds. 29 From whichever cultural matrix one encounters the Old Testament, one could easily misunderstand matters that seem familiar and reject matters that seem outlandish. In order to aid the bridging of such divergence, the study of the greater context of the ancient Near East and its implications for our understanding of the Old Testament and the spiritualities one finds reflected there, should not be underestimated. Such study may indeed open some doors to appropriating aspects of these ancient spiritualities we encounter to spiritualities 30 in our times. 31 The cultural gaps between the Old Testament worlds and our worlds do not have to be only estranging, but may also be enriching. 29 On the former, cf. Barton, “Biblical Roots: The Old Testament,” 48–49; on the latter, cf. J. N. Kudadjie, “African Spirituality,” in Spirituality in Religions. Profiles and Perspectives (ed. C. W. du Toit; Pretoria: Research Institute for Theology and Religion, University of South Africa, 1996), 66–78. 30 The plural “spiritualities” is used advisedly—cf. e.g., Cunningham and Egan, Christian Spirituality, 15–16; McGrath, Christian Spirituality, 8–24; Du Toit, “Lewensgemeenskap met God,” 29. 31 Nel, “Spirituality and Religion: A Challenge to Near Eastern Studies,” 3–5.
10 The Old Testament and Christian Spirituality 2.4 Theological difficulties/Christian sensibilities Throughout the Christian centuries, the sensitivity of the faithful to the violence, sanctioned by God, that we encounter in the Old Testament, has often rendered this part of the Bible to the margins of active Christian literature. How could a loving God be so cruel and violent? Features such as the attribution of such acts to God by writers centuries after the recounted events would have occurred, in order to make a theological or political point, long realised by Old Testament scholars, do not make much popular impact, because they do not fit well with popular notions of scriptural inspiration. However, the humanistic legacy of Reformation figures such as Desiderius Erasmus includes that the Bible can at once be treated as wholly human literature and as holy, that is, divinely inspired Scriptures. 32 The Bible critically studied and the Bible spiritually nourishing are not two notions at odds. 33 Education of lay believers on both inspiration theory and the less direct (i.e., non-applicationary) ways in which aspects of the Old Testament world unacceptable to modern sensibilities should be seen, is a prerequisite for the Book of Life finding adequate expression in the spiritual lives of believers. 2.5 Fear of “boundary-less” interpretations Particularly the clergy and the doctores of the modern church have developed an aversion to ways of reading the Bible that are unscientific, that is, without a thoroughly scientific method—be it historical criticism, structuralist methodologies, or literary 32 J. D. Tracy, “Ad fontes: The Humanist Understanding of Scripture as Nourishment for the Soul,” in Christian Spirituality II. High Middle Ages and Reformation (ed. J. Raitt; New York: Crossroad, 1989), 255–58. 33 S. M. Schneiders, “Scripture in Spirituality,” in Christian Spirituality I. Origins to the Twelfth Century (ed. B. McGinn and J. Meyendorff; London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1989), 19.
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Page 9 and 10: viii Introduction various coloniali
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Spirituality of the Psalms 63 uncon
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Spirituality of the Psalms 65 a rep
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Spirituality of the Psalms 67 the f
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Spirituality of the Psalms 69 celeb
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Spirituality of the Psalms 71 Psalm
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Spirituality of the Psalms 73 into
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7. Conclusion Spirituality of the P
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What Is Biblical Spirituality? Pers
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Exegesis and Spirituality * ABSTRAC
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The emerging discipline of Biblical
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