Teresa of Avila and Jonathan Edwards on Prayer and Spirituality

Authors

  • Jonathan Liem Yoe Gie Gereja Kebangunan Kalam Allah Indonesia Tenggilis Mejoyo, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36421/veritas.v20i2.392

Keywords:

Teresa of Avila, Jonathan Edwards, mystical prayer, mystical theology, contemplative prayer, receptive prayer, spirituality

Abstract

Contemplative prayer has been a major source of contention in evangelical spirituality. Contemplative prayer is frequently mentioned as one apparent spiritual activity that is foreign to the scripture and Christian worldview and more resembling the New Age Movement and pantheistic Eastern religion by people who are skeptical of the mystical Christian tradition. This article will examine Teresa of Avila’s thought on mystical prayer, which is sometimes misinterpreted as a notion incompatible with evangelical theology of prayer. Hence, Teresa’s ideas of mystical prayer will be examined and compared with Jonathan Edwards’ concepts of prayer, which is considered to reflect evangelical theology of prayer. The comparison suggests that the contemplative, mystical prayer of Teresa is compatible with evangelical theology of prayer in its progress and purpose. Teresa and Edwards both understood prayer as an experience and progress that leads to the complete union with God, mediated by Christ and his words in scripture. This spiritual union with God will transform the devoted one with tremendous passion and strength to love and help others in their struggle and suffering. This study of Teresa’s thought of mystical prayer is expected to reinvigorate evangelical theology and praxis of prayer by learning from the rich spirituality of the Christian mystical tradition.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Ahlgren, Gillian T.W. “Wise action in a world of suffering and injustice: Teresa’s vision for today.” In Teresa of Avila: Mystical theology and spirituality in the Carmelite tradition, edited by Peter Tyler and Edward Howells, chapter 9. London: Routledge, 2017.

Anderson, Mary Margaret. “Thy Word in Me: on The Prayer of Union in St. Teresa of Avila’s Interior Castle,” Harvard Theological Review 99, no. 3 (July 2006): 329–354. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0017816006001271.

Beck, Peter. “The Voice of Faith: Jonathan Edwards’s Theology of Prayer.” PhD Diss., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2007.

Beck, Peter. “Jonathan Edwards on Prayer and the Triune God.” In Taking Hold of God: Reformed and Puritan Perspectives on Prayer, edited by Joel R. Beeke dan Brian G. Najapfour, chapter 10. Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage, 2011.

Bloesch, Donald G. “Prayer and Mysticism (1) Two Types of Spirituality,” Reformed Journal 26, no. 3 (March 1976): 23–26.

Bloesch, Donald G. “Prayer and Mysticism (2) Divergent Views on Prayer.” Reformed Journal 26, no. 4 (April 1976): 22–25.

Bloesch, Donald G. “Prayer and Mysticism (3) Towards Renewed Evangelical Prayer,” Reformed Journal 26, no. 5 (May–June 1976): 20–22.

Boa, Kenneth. Conformed to His Image. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001.

Coe, John H. “The Controversy Over Contemplation and Contemplative Prayer: A Historical, Theological, and Biblical Resolution.” Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care 7, no. 1 (May 2014): 140–153. https://doi.org/10.1177/193979091400700112.

DePrinzio, Kevin M. “Your Word Pierced My Heart, and I Fell in Love: Teresa of Avila’s Reading of Augustine of Hippo’s Confessions.” PhD Diss., Catholic University of America, 2017.

Edwards, Jonathan. Letters and Personal Writings. Vol. 2, The Works of Jonathan Edwards. Edited by George S. Claghorn. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998.

Edwards, Jonathan. The Great Awakening. Vol. 4, The Works of Jonathan Edwards. Edited by C.C. Goen. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1972.

Edwards, Jonathan. Apocalyptic Writings. Vol. 5, The Works of Jonathan Edwards. Edited by Stephen J. Stein. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1977.

Edwards, Jonathan. Sermons and Discourses, 1720–1723. Vol. 10, The Works of Jonathan Edwards. Edited by Wilson H. Kimnach. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992.

Edwards, Jonathan. The “Miscellanies”. Vol. 13, The Works of Jonathan Edwards. Edited by Thomas A. Schafer. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994.

Edwards, Jonathan. Sermons and Discourses, 1734–1738. Vol. 19, The Works of Jonathan Edwards. Edited by M.X. Lesser. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001.

Flynn, Maureen. “The Spiritual Uses of Pain in Spanish Mysticism,” Journal of The American Academy Of Religion 64, no. 2 (1996): 257–278. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1466102.

Gatta, Julia. “Mysticism and Incarnation,” Sewanee Theological Review 36, no. 2 (1993): 259–263.

Grieb, A. Katherine. “Teresa of Ávila: The Interior Castle,” Theology Today 62, no. 2 (July 2005): 230–234. https://doi.org/10.1177/004057360506200208.

Groothuis, Douglas R. dan Sarah C. Geis. “Examining Contemplative Prayer,” Bibliotheca Sacra 172, no. 685 (2015): 12–23.

Hannah, John, D. “Jonathan Edwards’s Thoughts on Prayer,” Bibliotheca Sacra 173, no. 689 (2016): 80–96.

Heer, Friedrich. Europaische Geistesgeschichte. Diedit oleh Johanna Heer dan Sigurd Paul Scheichl. Wien: Böhlau Verlag, 2004.

Howard, Evan B. “Is Thoughtless Prayer Really Christian? A Biblical/Evangelical Response to Evagrius of Pontus,” Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care 7, no. 1 (2014): 118–139. https://doi.org/10.1177/193979091400700111.

Jensen, Peter J. “Prayer in Reformed Perspective,” Reformed Theological Review 44, no. 3 (1985): 65–73.

Lovat, Alice Lady. The Life of Saint Teresa. London: Herbert & Daniel, 1912.

Nouwen, Henri. The Prayer of the Heart. New York: Ballantine, 2003.

Nugent, Donald Christopher. “What Has Wittenberg to Do with Avila: Martin Luther and Saint Teresa,” Journal of Ecumenical Studies 23, no. 4 (September 1986): 650–658.

Poloma, Margaret M. dan Lee, Matthew T. “From Prayer Activities to Receptive Prayer: Godly Love and The Knowledge that Surpasses Understanding,” Journal of Psychology and Theology 39, no. 2 (June 2011): 143–154. https://doi.org/10.1177/009164711103900205.

Reininger, Gustave. “Centering Prayer and the Christian Contemplative Tradition,” Sewanee Theological Review 40, no. 1 (1996): 29–45.

Serrán-Pagán y Fuentes, Cristóbal. “The Active Life and the Contemplative Life in St. John of the Cross: The Mixed Life in the Teresian Carmelite Tradition,” Religions 11, no. 10 (2020): 509. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11100509.

Teresa of Avila. The Spirit of S. Teresa. London: Levey and Co., 1866.

Teresa of Avila. The Interior Castle. Classics of Western Spirituality. Diterjemahkan oleh Kieran Kavanaugh dan Otilio Rodriguez. New York: Paulist, 1979.

Teresa of Avila. The Way of Perfection. Translated by E. Allison Peers. 1946. Reprint; New York: Dover Publications, 2012.

Teresa of Avila. The Life of Teresa of Jesus, of the Order of Our Lady of Carmel. Translated by David Lewis. 1904. Reprint; Oklahoma: Veritatis Splendor, 2014.

Tyler, Peter. The Return to the Mystical: Ludwig Wittgenstein, Teresa of Avila and the Christian Mystical Tradition. London: Continuum, 2011.

Whitney, Donald S. “Defining The Boundaries of Evangelical Spirituality.” Paper presented in 53rd Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Theological. Society, November 15, 2001.

Wilhoit, Jim. “Contemplative and Centering Prayer,” Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care 7, no. 1 (2014): 107–117. https://doi.org/10.1177/193979091400700110.

Yungen, Ray. A Time of Departing: How Ancient Mystical Practices are Uniting Christians with the World’s Religions. Second edition. Eureka: Lighthouse Trails, 2006.

Published

30-12-2021

How to Cite

Liem Yoe Gie, Jonathan. “Teresa of Avila and Jonathan Edwards on Prayer and Spirituality”. Veritas: Jurnal Teologi dan Pelayanan 20, no. 2 (December 30, 2021): 219–235. Accessed March 29, 2024. https://ojs.seabs.ac.id/index.php/Veritas/article/view/392.

Issue

Section

Articles