Against Popular Spirituality
We live in an age of increasing pseudo-spirituality. As atheism leads eventually to nihilism, many in the postmodern West have opted to cling to a sort of spirituality. However, this pop spirituality is not biblical spirituality. Following is a brief compare and contrast of pop spirituality and biblical spirituality.
First, spirituality itself must be defined. According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, spirituality is “the quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things.” In other words, spirituality is that part of a person’s life that describes the activity of the person’s spirit, soul, or otherwise non-physical thing.
If a Christian worldview is assumed, spirituality is not a quality that someone may lack. It is an essential quality of being human. One may deny the existence of the soul or spirit, opting for some sort of naturalism, but one may not live a spirit-less life. This is analogous to a man, who while going on his daily walk, denies the existence and necessity of his legs.
Pop spirituality and Christian spirituality are both concerned with the non-physical aspect of man. However, they are concerned with the spirit for different ends. Additionally, the orthodox Christian and the “Spiritual but not Religious” person have differing conceptions of what it means to be spiritual.
The Christian’s primary concerns regarding spirituality are the things of God. Sanctification, holiness, knowledge of God, reliance on God, and union with Christ. However, the popular spiritualist has concerns focused on man, not on God. As such, popular spirituality is man-centered humanism plus a vague concern for the non-physical. Such spirituality has goals such as self-actualization, inner peace, meeting life goals, and coping with life’s challenges. Furthermore, the pop-spiritualist has conflated the existential and the spiritual. The existential is concerned with meaning and significance, often in a subjective sense.
Indeed, the existential is part of but not all of spirituality. However, this development makes sense. The pop spirituality of today is a reaction against the dry, empirical, naturalism that leads to meaninglessness and nihilism. This existential freedom and inner peace that many seek for is thought to found within oneself, or perhaps in certain meaningful relationships.
For pop-spirituality, to be spiritual is to have a sense of meaning, to seek peace, and to be generally concerned with the human spirit. However, for the Christian, to be spiritual is to be connected with the source of meaning and the human spirit, namely the Holy Spirit, who is God.
Paul asks the Galatians:
“Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith…?” (Galatians 3:2–5).
The Holy Spirit is given on the condition of faith. Since He is given on the condition of faith, the fleshly works of a man cannot increase union with the Spirit. The pop-spiritual person (especially the non-Christian) will seek to do certain things in order to be “spiritual.” However, the Christian who knows to rely on God will seek to put off the old self and allow God to work through and in the person. While both modes of spirituality may look similar, one mode works in order to be spiritual. The other works because he is spiritual and has a constant, life-giving relationship with the Holy Spirit.
A couple of final notes. First, it should be admitted that Christians may very easily fall into a state of bewitchment similar to that of the Galatians. The battle of the spiritual life for the Christian is to cooperate (i.e., get out of the way) of the Holy Spirit as He sanctifies and renews the inner man. Second, the goals of pop spirituality are not inherently bad. Inner peace, fellowship, and meaningfulness are all good things. However, the order is out of place whenever God is not the chief end of a man.
Many people may have zeal for the spiritual things or show some form of spirituality (c.f. Romans 10:1–4; 2 Timothy 3:5). However, outward spirituality, meaningfulness, and self-actualization are not the conditions for a spiritual life. Rather, they are the fruit. Without a connection to the grace-filling and life-giving Holy Spirit, the spiritual unbeliever will easily fall into a works righteousness.
