Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
Practicing Paradise: Contemplative Awareness And Ecological Renewal, Douglas E. Christie
Practicing Paradise: Contemplative Awareness And Ecological Renewal, Douglas E. Christie
Theological Studies Faculty Works
What would it mean for Christians to take seriously the idea that we are called to practice paradise, to inhabit the world as if “everything is in fact paradise”? In the Christian contemplative tradition, one finds recurring attention to the notion that paradise is somehow knowable, graspable, and inhabitable in this present reality, and that this experience of paradise can be incorporated into a meaningful spiritual practice. This essay asks whether, in a moment of deepening ecological degradation, the contemplative practice of paradise might help us learn again how to imagine the world as whole, inhabit it with tenderness and …
The Work Of Loneliness: Solitude, Emptiness, And Compassion, Douglas E. Christie
The Work Of Loneliness: Solitude, Emptiness, And Compassion, Douglas E. Christie
Theological Studies Faculty Works
The article examines the meaning of solitude in the spiritual life in reference to the life of ancient desert monks and the works of religious poem writer Thomas Merton. The expression of solitude in the Christian monastic tradition was also discussed. The self transforms into a bearer of compassion and experiences the presence of God.