An Outline of New Testament Spirituality

It has become commonplace in contemporary culture to divorce spirituality from religion and regard the two as separate, competing entities. Yet Prosper Grech, an Augustinian father and professor of early Christian literature, recognizes no such distinction. The Christian religion, he finds, is infused with spirituality— which he defines not in a New Age sense but rather as “the believer’s full response to God’s offer of salvation in Christ.” In this book Grech presents the essential spiritual themes of Christian belief for meditation by any who seek to live out their Christian faith in its fullness.

In his compact Outline of New Testament Spirituality Grech considers a wealth of biblical texts, including Genesis, the Psalms, the Synoptic Gospels, Paul’s epistles, the letter to the Hebrews, and John’s Gospel, letters, and Apocalypse. He uncovers the New Testament church’s spiritual response to God’s gifts in each of these texts: its inherited response to God’s Old Testament covenant with Israel; its response to Jesus’ preaching, to the Paschal mystery of his death and resurrection, and to Christ the Light of the World; its response to its own place in history displayed in Acts and Revelation.

Weaving these various theological strands together, Grech traces the contours of a dynamic yet contemplative Christian spirituality— one that not only saturated the New Testament church but also continues to animate Christian life today.