Spiritual Formation

Spiritual formation is the growth and development of the whole person by an intentional focus on one’s (1) spiritual and interior life, (2) interactions with others in ordinary life, and (3) the spiritual practices (prayer, the study of scripture, fasting, simplicity, solitude, confession, worship, etc.). In Care of Mind, Care of Spirit, Gerald G. May has written, “Spiritual formation is a rather general term referring to all attempts, means, instruction, and disciplines intended towards deepening of faith and furtherance of spiritual growth. It includes educational endeavors as well as the more intimate and in-depth process of spiritual direction.”

Introduction
Spiritual formation is a universal experience. Dallas Willard writes that

“it is a process that happens to everyone…. Terrorists as well as saints are the outcome of spiritual formation. Their spirits or hearts have been formed.”

A study of various world religions such as:

• Judaism,
• Islam,
• Hinduism,
• Buddhism,
• Confucianism, and
• Taoism

and others would enable one to understand specifically how each religion views spiritual formation or spiritual growth within its unique belief system.

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Dallas Willard

Dallas Willard (September 4, 1935 - ) is an American philosophy professor and author born in Buffalo, Missouri. His work in philosophy has been primarily in phenomenology, particularly the work of Edmund Husserl. His more popular work has been in the area of Christian spiritual formation, within the various expressions of historic Christian orthodoxy.

Willard attended William Jewell College, and later graduated from Tennessee Temple College in 1956 with a B.A. in Psychology, and from Baylor University in 1956 with a B.A. in Philosophy and Religion. He went to graduate school at Baylor University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, earning a Ph. D. in Philosophy with a minor in the History of Science in 1964.

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comparative religion

Comparative religion is a field of religious study that analyzes the similarities and differences of themes, myths, rituals and concepts among the world's religions. Religion can be defined as "Human beings' relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, spiritual, or divine" (see also spiritual formation, divinity).

In the field of comparative religion, the main world religions are generally classified as either Abrahamic, Indian or Taoic. Areas of study also include creation myths and Humanism.

Abrahamic religions
In the study of comparative religion, the category of Abrahamic religions consists of the three monotheistic religions, Christianity, Islam and Judaism, which claim Abraham (Hebrew: אברם 'Abram "exalted father," later to be named Avraham אַבְרָהָם "father of a multitude" or "chief of multitude" by God (אלהים 'elohiym), cf. Genesis 17:5; Arabic Ibrahim ابراهيم ) as a part of their sacred history. Other religions (such as the Bahá’í Faith) that fit this description are sometimes included but also often omitted.

The original belief in the One God of Abraham eventually became present-day Judaism. Christians believe that Christianity is the fulfillment and continuation of the Jewish Old Testament, recognizing Jesus as the Son of God. Islam believes the present Christian and Jewish scriptures have been modified over time and are no longer the original divine revelations as given to Moses and other prophets. For Muslims (see Shiite Muslims, Sunni Muslims) the Qur'an is the final revelation from God, with Muhammad as his messenger for its transmission.

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spiritual formation

Spiritual formation is the growth and development of the whole person by an intentional focus on one’s (1) spiritual and interior life, (2) interactions with others in ordinary life, and (3) the spiritual practices (prayer, the study of scripture, fasting, simplicity, solitude, confession, worship, etc.). In Care of Mind, Care of Spirit, Gerald G. May has written, “Spiritual formation is a rather general term referring to all attempts, means, instruction, and disciplines intended towards deepening of faith and furtherance of spiritual growth. It includes educational endeavors as well as the more intimate and in-depth process of spiritual direction.”

Spiritual formation is a universal experience. Dallas Willard writes that “it is a process that happens to everyone…. Terrorists as well as saints are the outcome of spiritual formation. Their spirits or hearts have been formed.”

A study of various world religions such as:

• Judaism,
• Islam,
• Hinduism,
• Buddhism,
• Confucianism, and
  
• Taoism

and others would enable one to understand specifically how each religion views spiritual formation or spiritual growth within its unique belief system.

More...