Considering Hindu spirituality turns out to be rather difficult, as the term is often not used in the literature. The idea here is that everything in the world comes into being because it is connected to something else (like spokes in a wheel) (Tennent, 2002:91). Within this context it is essential to look at the concept of the community, which in the South African concept can be conceptualized as Ubuntu.
The fulfillment of the messianic promise as given in the Old Testament lies at the heart of Christianity (Joubert, 1996:143). Martin Luther was one of the theologians who wanted to reform the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century. Communicating with God the Father through prayer is necessary for growth in new life.
As will be shown, these are very different from the earlier Western understanding of the concept of spirituality, in that it is very different from its historical roots in the Christian tradition.
Contemporary conceptions of spirituality
In summary, the biblical text asserts that mankind was uniquely created for fellowship with God, but the disobedience of the first man, Adam, destroyed that possibility. One of the most important characteristics of Christian spirituality is love for God, which emphasizes the inner nature of the Christian faith. Although there is generally no consensus on the concept of spirituality and no accepted definition of the concept (Zinnbauer, Pargament & Scott, 1999:891ff; McSherry & Cash Bursztein, 2004:65; Hodder), most contemporary authors include all or some of the following aspects in their definitions.
Many of the spiritualities discussed below have been privatized, meaning that while spirituality has historically been seen as part of organized religion, this has now changed to largely private experiences, outside of any religious or secular institution (Wright, 2000:55 ). Maher & Hunt (1993:21) say that it is ultimately up to the viewer whether or not a spirituality will be accessible. One of the characteristics of these new spiritualities is the fact that they tend to be egalitarian and abhor any form of particularity, hierarchy and authority (Woodhead Chater, 2001:64).
Mary Daly and Daphne Hampson are two of the most notable post-Christian feminists, who sharply criticize Christianity, especially for its supposed patriarchy and oppression (Woodhead, 1993: 167f). However, it should be kept in mind that the status of women in ancient Israel, Greece and Rome was very low (Bell, 1998:196ff.). Some (Maher & Hunt, 1993:23) go further, saying that nowhere are the roots of spirituality more evident than in the mainstream traditions of Native Americans, which radiate a spirit of universal respect for all living things.
Although the roots of spirituality as it is known in the West are firmly embedded in the Judeo-Christian historical tradition, these roots are often dismissed as outdated or ignored. There is also the claim that the roots of Western spirituality lie outside the Christian tradition (Tacey, 2001:90ff; Ayman, 2004:107). In their article, they describe the various Eastern religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam), which they perceive as a different spirituality than that traditionally found in the West.
A framework for evaluating different kinds of spiri- tualities
It claims that there is only one whole, with different parts, namely yin (femininity, responsiveness, cooperation) and yang (masculinity, demands, aggression, rationality). There is always, it is argued, a movement towards one and away from the other (Capra, 1984). It has been found that many spiritualities encompass various Eastern religions, but in most cases there is ample room for mixing religious traditions and practices.
Then we are asked the question: "How are we to understand this multiplicity of discourse?" The above discussion seems to point to three sources of truth – logic, history and experience. In describing spirituality or the expression of spirituality in this study, these three criteria can be transformed into three constructs or continuums. They present a taxonomy of spirituality, which is on the one hand theistic (belief in a supreme being) and religious (belief in God, observance of rituals), moving towards phenomenological spirituality (learning about life through life and experience) towards mystical spirituality (the relationship between transcendent, interpersonal and transpersonal) as described above.
As mentioned earlier, McSherry and Cash describe this first continuum as based on religious and theocentric descriptors versus an eclectic variety of descriptors. Second, as noted throughout the discussion, most religions can be characterized as inclusive, allowing for different and often different elements, sometimes including different deities, all as part of an ideal type of spirituality. Historical approaches, on the other hand, describe spirituality in a specific way, based on a particular view of God, a specific view of reality, and an absolute view of truth.
Intrinsic spiritualities focus on the psychological aspects of individual human beings, and typically these types of spiritualities are intrinsically motivated. The table below can be used to categorize the discussed spiritualities into three continuums (internal vs. external, particular vs. inclusive, historical vs. non-historical). Evaluating Different Expressions of Spirituality The basic question in this section is as follows: Given the fact that.
Evaluation of different expressions of spirituality The basic question in this section is the following: Given the fact that
The lack of historical grounding and a coherent epistemology justifying this belief is lacking and clearly shows that this perception of spirituality contains quite possibly insurmountable philosophical problems. Regarding intrinsic or extrinsic elements of spirituality, it can be postulated that both are present as there is a high emphasis on experience. Eastern trends of spirituality focus on the inclusion of elements from Eastern religions (mainly Buddhism and Hinduism) in Western concepts of spirituality.
This is also based on a postmodern understanding of the world, where the inclusion of different ideas of spirituality is desirable. Eastern notions of spirituality are thought to reinforce Western ideas of spirituality, not based on history, but rather on the basis of expected intrinsic experiences (cf. Yob, 1995:109). None of them can present any clear reason, based on history or historical evidence, why this particular trend or concept of spirituality should be advocated.
While many of these trends in contemporary views of spirituality seem highly arbitrary, at least in some cases there is more of an epistemological foundation upon which the following spiritualities are based. Although Buddhism has a definite, if historically shadowy, founder, little historical evidence is available in the Buddhist texts to verify any truth claims. Looking at a historical record, there is virtually no written record except for the meager evidence from the colonial era.
When we think about Christian spirituality, it becomes clear that there is a very definite historical basis (cf. Geisler, 1999:91ff; Habermas, 2006:161ff). Considering the various religious traditions that shape expressions of spirituality, it becomes clear that in most religions little attention is paid to providing a solid epistemological foundation. However, the biggest problem in dealing with different faiths as well as modern concepts of spirituality seems to be the tension between particularity and inclusivity, which will be discussed in the next section.
Discussion
It must be emphasized that the very idea of inclusivity is inspired by postmodernism with its denial of absolute truth. If postmodernism could be shown to be true, it would destroy its own main thesis (McCallum, 1996:53). This premise is not considered open to criticism simply because it is unconditionally accepted as a given.
It does not seem philosophically or academically possible to answer the question of truth, since it seems to be inherent in the nature of things. Of course it is true that, for example, there are different cultures that have different practices, and sometimes none of these practices seem to be the case. Nevertheless, this statement cannot be made based on the idea that there is no absolute truth, and therefore no absolute right or wrong.
But what to do if there is a group of people who believe in the need to practice female circumcision. Or what to do with people who stubbornly advocate that only their brand of spirituality or philosophical claim is right, in other words, who do not have a high value for tolerance at all. The whole idea of inclusiveness can only work if all people subscribe to the idea that tolerance is the highest value in a given society.
However, within the idea and philosophy of inclusion there is no basis for the claim that tolerance is or should be the highest value. In short, for tolerance to be accepted as an ideal value, a coherent justification is needed to explain why it is ideal (cf. Sokal & Bricmont, 1998:50ff; Geisler, 1999:501f). Adherents of these religions disagree with the idea that all religions are ultimately the same.
Conclusion
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