Apakah Teologi Spiritual ?

Istilah yang paling kuat untuk kerohanian Kristen adalah teologi

spiritual. Iman kita tidak mungkin terpisah dari pemahaman kita
tentang Allah sebagaimana yang diwahyukan dalam FirmanNya. Inilah
yang membedakan Kerohanian Kristen yang benar dengan macam-macam
kerohanian lain masa kini. Istilah teologi spiritual memiliki
nilai karena tujuannya adalah untuk menyelaraskan iman Kristen
dengan praktiknya dalam kehidupan sehari-hari.
Traditional Use of the Term
Classically, spiritual theology has been the academic study of
Christian formation. It has been divided into two fields: ascetic
theology and mystical theology.
Ascetic theology focuses upon much of what we term discipleship
today. It looks at our training (asksis), especially in terms of
practicing various spiritual disciplines, as practical steps in
putting to death our old nature of sin so that we can walk in the
freedom of the Spirit.
Building upon that foundation of discipleship, mystical theology
looks upon our intimate encounter with God. What we call
experiencing Gods presence in prayer or feeling God in
worship, is what Christian mysticism is about. While the word
mystic has developed a negative connotation in its contemporary
usage, in its classical usage it simply emphasizes the heart-felt
love for God and the experiential relationship with the Lord to
which all believers are called.
Although the term spiritual theology has maintained this
traditional, narrower definition since the nineteenth centuryand
though it was often seen as a subset of systematic theologythe
term today often carries a broader connotation. In particular,
spiritual theology seeks to integrate our faith with our
practice, especially emphasizing the Trinitarian foundation of
our Christian faith.
God is a Trinity of Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Christian Spirituality, by definition, needs to be Trinitarian.
Orthodox Christianity has always worshiped a God who exists
eternally as three Persons. God is love (1 John 4:8), and love is
of necessity relational. From all eternity the Father and the Son
share intimate communion with each other, as seen especially
throughout the Gospel of John. By the Holy Spirit, the Godhead
invites us to participate in that love relationship.
Our Trinitarian faith shapes our relationship with the Lord.
Spiritual formation is essentially relational. God is personal.

That personal God invites us into the same love relationship that
the Father and Son share (see John 17). For a valuable discussion
of Trinitarian theology and spirituality, see Philip Sheldrakes
Spirituality and Theology: Christian Living and the Doctrine of
God.
Spiritual theology keeps our Christian formation from becoming
simply one more self-improvement program on the market. It ties
our practice with our personal relationship with God. Moreover,
it emphasizes that relational character of our livesspiritual
growth is lived out in friendships with others and friendship
with God.
2010 Glenn E. Myers
Norma untuk para pemimpin rohani dalam membedakan roh-roh saat
orang mengaku dapat pewahyuan atau bernubuat:
1. Any revelation contrary to dogma or morals must be rejected as
fale. God does not contradict himself.
2. Any revelation contrary to the common teaching of theologians
or purporting to settle an argument among the schools of theology
is gravely suspect.
3. If some detail or other in a revelation is fale, it is not
necessary to reject the entire revelation; the remainder may be
authentic.
4. The fact that a prophecy is fulfilled is not of itself a
conclusive proof that the revelation was from God; it could hve
been the mere unfolding of natural causes or the result of a
superior natural knowledge on the part of the seer.
5. Revelations concerning merely curious oruseless matters should
be rejected as not divine. The sam is to be said of those that
are detailed, lengthy, and filled with a superfluity of proofs
and reasons. Divine revelations are generally brief, clear, and
precise.
6. The person who receives the revelation should be examined
carefully, especially as to temperament and character. If the
person is humble, well balanced, discreet, evidently advanced in
virtue, and enjoys good mental and
physical health, there is good reason to proceed further and to
examine the revelation itself. But if the individual is exhausted
with excessive mortifications, suffers nervous affliction, is
subject to periods of great exhaustion or great depression, or is
eager to divulge the revelation, there is cause for serious
doubt.