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{"id":3667,"date":"2007-12-26T00:30:53","date_gmt":"2007-12-26T05:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/jesuscreed\/2007\/12\/26\/divine-embrace-14\/"},"modified":"2007-12-26T00:30:53","modified_gmt":"2007-12-26T05:30:53","slug":"divine-embrace-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2007\/12\/26\/divine-embrace-14\/","title":{"rendered":"Divine Embrace 14"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

John Piper and Robert Webber (The Divine Embrace<\/a> $\"\"$ <\/em>) have one big, central idea in common: Christian spirituality is not about the self but about God. Whereas Piper focuses on a Calvinist vision of God, Webber focuses on a liturgical vision of God. For both, genuine spirituality gets lost in God \u2014 for Webber one gets lost in the Story of God and God\u2019s Embrace.
\nThe big question that emerges from this fine book of Webber\u2019s is this: Where is our spirituality focused? Is it on the self, on our progress, on our sanctification? Or is it focused on God and the Story of God?
\nChp 10, which closes this series and we will mention what comes next at the bottom of this post, focuses on something that Webber made himself well known for: worship and life together. Spirituality is not something located in the self but in God\u2019s union with us in Christ \u2014 and we are to dwell in it.
\nThe Church nourishes the spiritual life when it is located in God\u2019s embrace. Webber holds back where on what he could say about many forms of church life today but he critiques gently the commodity form of the church.
\nThe church needs to be shaped by the divine embrace: it witnesses to God\u2019s Story. The church is a:
\nWomb
\nMother
\nCommunity
\nGenuine spirituality will have the church at its center. We do not need to \u201creinvent\u201d the church; this lets culture reshape the church.
\nWorship nourishes the spiritual life when it is located in God\u2019s embrace. Worship has been wrenched from God\u2019s Story to My Story.
\nWorship proclaims and enacts God\u2019s story.
\nScripture nourishes the spiritual life.
\nWorship as the prayer of the church nourishes the spiritual life.
\nEucharist nourishes the spiritual life.
\nHere one can find a full, orthodox, Storied vision of Christian spirituality. There is no book like this book.
\nWe will shortly begin two more studies. The first will be on why there are other religions and we\u2019ll look at Gerald McDermott\u2019s excellent study God\u2019s Rivals<\/a> $\"\"$ <\/em>. The second series will examine NT ethics from the angle of inclusivism by Anglican scholar and priest, Richard Burridge, called Imitating Jesus<\/a> $\"\"$ <\/em>. One need not own the book to follow along, but these are two books worthy of your consideration \u2014 McDermott looks at a question that few examine carefully (Why does God allow various religions?) and the second at how imitating Christ reshapes ethics.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"