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Extreme Pilgrim Series – Hmmm Interesting

The BBC is now airing a new series by the Anglican Vicar Pete Owen Jones – I’ve enjoyed his earlier series and looked forward to seeing this one. Extreme Pilgrim is a three part exploration of the disjunction between lived spirituality and the life we lead in modern Western society. What is more he makes a valid point (from his own Anglican point of view – but I think equally relevant across the Christian spectrum) that Christianity as expressed now, has become too abstract and intellectual.

G and I talked about this a bit yesterday at lunch and he pointed out – and I think I agree with him – that this process was really set into motion with the Reformation. Once your sole point of reference is the Bible and the customs and traditions of lived spirituality are expunged – there is little left but to read, and rationalise.

The first part of Owen Jones’ series was on the other day – he starts to reconnect body & spirit by first visiting a Shoulin monastary. You can watch the whole episode for the next few days by clicking here. Next week he visits Hindu renounciants and in the last episode Coptic hermits. I’ll be sure to post info on the other two when they are available.

06/01/2008 | Filed under Announcements, Prayer, Recommendations.

  • Chris T.

    I doubt we can lay all the blame on the Reformation. After all, Aquinas is about as intellectualized as you can get, and he preceded the Reformation by several centuries.

    Rather, I would suggest it’s one pole in a necessary dichotomy that we’re tempted to swing to. When we start to try to put the puzzle pieces of doctrine together, we find conflicts and use our intellects to formulate solutions. We can easily make this all of our faith (and I’m sure many theologians fell prey to that temptation even before the Reformation).

    On the other hand, many folks nowadays seem constitutionally incapable of taking doctrine seriously, which is also dangerous. Their religious practice becomes fragile and disconnected from Christian tradition because it’s not oriented toward a God the pray-er really understands. Christians have swung too far in this direction many times during our history, too.

    Anyhow, the Reformation might have exacerbated the tendency to swing toward intellectualism, but so did the Second Vatican Council and especially the cultural movement that accompanied it, by simplifying the liturgy and minimizing many physical aspects of Catholic prayer (bowing, incense, kneeling, etc.). These things seem to come in cycles.

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