In this book I articulate, explore, and respond to the problem of spiritual alienation, which is the state of being estranged from the place of our spiritual fulfillment. I contend that it is the fundamental problem that needs to be addressed in the spiritual life, and I also seek to show how it is integrally connected with our spiritual yearnings in giving rise to them.
In the first part I discuss how spiritual alienation is a perennial feature of the human condition, starting with a philosophical reflection on the biblical story of the Garden of Eden, which I argue reveals how spiritual alienation is connected with our emergence into ethical and spiritual self-consciousness. I discuss how this spiritual alienation takes three main forms: self-alienation (or lack of integration with the good); alienation from others (including God, on a theistic view); and alienation from the world. I also show how spiritual alienation has been exacerbated within the conditions of modernity, such as the condition of secularity.
In the second part I chart a path for overcoming spiritual alienation. First, I provide a general account of the sort of spiritual formation that is needed for the task. Next, I discuss the role of human effort and receptivity to grace—i.e., given unmerited good—in overcoming spiritual alienation. Here the idea of “grace” is understood phenomenologically as something we experience as coming to us from without, a given unmerited good to which we need to be properly responsive. In this sense, there can be non-theistic understandings of grace, and I explore a number of such understandings and their relevance for overcoming spiritual alienation. However, I also explore the importance of a specifically theistic understanding of grace, as a gift from God, for overcoming spiritual alienation. Although theism stands accused of causing alienation from self (it is charged with undermining our autonomy), from others (it is charged with causing social conflict), and from the world (it is charged with being too otherworldly), I argue that theism in fact offers important resources for overcoming each form of alienation, that is, for achieving integration with the good, being reconciled with others, and becoming at home in the world.
In the third part I address key challenges to theism, namely, the problem of theodicy and the problem of divine hiddenness. In the fourth and final part, I show how spiritual alienation motivates and shapes the quest for God in two senses: (1) the philosophical quest to explore God’s existence and nature; and (2) the desiderative quest to be at one with God. I contend that what is at stake in the quest for God so understood is the extent to which we can overcome spiritual alienation and become spiritually at home in the world.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Part I: Spiritual Alienation
Chapter 1: Perennial Sources of Spiritual Alienation
Chapter 2: Modern Sources of Spiritual Alienation
Part II: Overcoming Spiritual Alienation
Chapter 3: Spiritual Formation
Chapter 4: Work and Grace in Overcoming Self-Alienation
Chapter 5: Work and Grace in Overcoming Alienation from Others
Chapter 6: Work and Grace in Overcoming Alienation from the World
Part III: Responding to Challenges to Theism
Chapter 7: The Problem of Theodicy
Chapter 8: The Problem of Divine Hiddenness
Part IV: The Quest for God
Chapter 9: The Philosophical Quest for God
Chapter 10: The Desiderative Quest for God
In the first part I discuss how spiritual alienation is a perennial feature of the human condition, starting with a philosophical reflection on the biblical story of the Garden of Eden, which I argue reveals how spiritual alienation is connected with our emergence into ethical and spiritual self-consciousness. I discuss how this spiritual alienation takes three main forms: self-alienation (or lack of integration with the good); alienation from others (including God, on a theistic view); and alienation from the world. I also show how spiritual alienation has been exacerbated within the conditions of modernity, such as the condition of secularity.
In the second part I chart a path for overcoming spiritual alienation. First, I provide a general account of the sort of spiritual formation that is needed for the task. Next, I discuss the role of human effort and receptivity to grace—i.e., given unmerited good—in overcoming spiritual alienation. Here the idea of “grace” is understood phenomenologically as something we experience as coming to us from without, a given unmerited good to which we need to be properly responsive. In this sense, there can be non-theistic understandings of grace, and I explore a number of such understandings and their relevance for overcoming spiritual alienation. However, I also explore the importance of a specifically theistic understanding of grace, as a gift from God, for overcoming spiritual alienation. Although theism stands accused of causing alienation from self (it is charged with undermining our autonomy), from others (it is charged with causing social conflict), and from the world (it is charged with being too otherworldly), I argue that theism in fact offers important resources for overcoming each form of alienation, that is, for achieving integration with the good, being reconciled with others, and becoming at home in the world.
In the third part I address key challenges to theism, namely, the problem of theodicy and the problem of divine hiddenness. In the fourth and final part, I show how spiritual alienation motivates and shapes the quest for God in two senses: (1) the philosophical quest to explore God’s existence and nature; and (2) the desiderative quest to be at one with God. I contend that what is at stake in the quest for God so understood is the extent to which we can overcome spiritual alienation and become spiritually at home in the world.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Part I: Spiritual Alienation
Chapter 1: Perennial Sources of Spiritual Alienation
Chapter 2: Modern Sources of Spiritual Alienation
Part II: Overcoming Spiritual Alienation
Chapter 3: Spiritual Formation
Chapter 4: Work and Grace in Overcoming Self-Alienation
Chapter 5: Work and Grace in Overcoming Alienation from Others
Chapter 6: Work and Grace in Overcoming Alienation from the World
Part III: Responding to Challenges to Theism
Chapter 7: The Problem of Theodicy
Chapter 8: The Problem of Divine Hiddenness
Part IV: The Quest for God
Chapter 9: The Philosophical Quest for God
Chapter 10: The Desiderative Quest for God