A Christian spirituality of imperfection: Towards a pastoral theology of descent within the praxis of orthopathy
The endeavour towards perfectionism in a praxis pietatis is most of the time described and portrayed as the preferential “narrow way”, resulting in a kind of “theology of ascent” (the legalistic upgrading of human beings equipped with super, spiritual abilities). Rather than a spirituality of self-...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University of the Free State
2021-12-01
|
| Series: | Acta Theologica |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/5887 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1823859018778542080 |
|---|---|
| author | D.J. Louw |
| author_facet | D.J. Louw |
| author_sort | D.J. Louw |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
The endeavour towards perfectionism in a praxis pietatis is most of the time described and portrayed as the preferential “narrow way”, resulting in a kind of “theology of ascent” (the legalistic upgrading of human beings equipped with super, spiritual abilities). Rather than a spirituality of self-improvement, the article proposes a theology of descent (engaging with human suffering, weakness, brokenness, frailty, and imperfection), as well as a paradigm shift from orthodoxy to orthopathy. In a theology of descent, the following question emerges: How does the pastoral ministry address the painful realities of failure and existential imperfection as related to the limitations of suffering human beings? The author develops a Christian spirituality of imperfection, which implies the following spiritual movements of the human soul, namely from having to sharing; from possession to communion; from competition to compassion, from withdrawal to solidarity; from estrangement to engagement, and from hostility to hospitality. In this regard, Henri Nouwen’s notion of a “wounded healer”
plays a decisive role.
|
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-db3dc61257fe4b2f8a582fd45edb6874 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1015-8758 2309-9089 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | University of the Free State |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Acta Theologica |
| spelling | doaj-art-db3dc61257fe4b2f8a582fd45edb68742025-02-11T09:35:07ZengUniversity of the Free StateActa Theologica1015-87582309-90892021-12-0141210.38140/at.v41i2.5887A Christian spirituality of imperfection: Towards a pastoral theology of descent within the praxis of orthopathyD.J. Louw0University of the Free State The endeavour towards perfectionism in a praxis pietatis is most of the time described and portrayed as the preferential “narrow way”, resulting in a kind of “theology of ascent” (the legalistic upgrading of human beings equipped with super, spiritual abilities). Rather than a spirituality of self-improvement, the article proposes a theology of descent (engaging with human suffering, weakness, brokenness, frailty, and imperfection), as well as a paradigm shift from orthodoxy to orthopathy. In a theology of descent, the following question emerges: How does the pastoral ministry address the painful realities of failure and existential imperfection as related to the limitations of suffering human beings? The author develops a Christian spirituality of imperfection, which implies the following spiritual movements of the human soul, namely from having to sharing; from possession to communion; from competition to compassion, from withdrawal to solidarity; from estrangement to engagement, and from hostility to hospitality. In this regard, Henri Nouwen’s notion of a “wounded healer” plays a decisive role. https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/5887Christian spirituality of imperfectionTheology of ascentTheology of descentOrthopathy |
| spellingShingle | D.J. Louw A Christian spirituality of imperfection: Towards a pastoral theology of descent within the praxis of orthopathy Acta Theologica Christian spirituality of imperfection Theology of ascent Theology of descent Orthopathy |
| title | A Christian spirituality of imperfection: Towards a pastoral theology of descent within the praxis of orthopathy |
| title_full | A Christian spirituality of imperfection: Towards a pastoral theology of descent within the praxis of orthopathy |
| title_fullStr | A Christian spirituality of imperfection: Towards a pastoral theology of descent within the praxis of orthopathy |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Christian spirituality of imperfection: Towards a pastoral theology of descent within the praxis of orthopathy |
| title_short | A Christian spirituality of imperfection: Towards a pastoral theology of descent within the praxis of orthopathy |
| title_sort | christian spirituality of imperfection towards a pastoral theology of descent within the praxis of orthopathy |
| topic | Christian spirituality of imperfection Theology of ascent Theology of descent Orthopathy |
| url | https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/5887 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT djlouw achristianspiritualityofimperfectiontowardsapastoraltheologyofdescentwithinthepraxisoforthopathy AT djlouw christianspiritualityofimperfectiontowardsapastoraltheologyofdescentwithinthepraxisoforthopathy |