Zondervan Mobile - Interview

Thursday
February 09, 2012

AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Interview with Glen Scorgie, author of A Little Guide to Christian Spirituality: Three Dimensions of Life with God

Glen G. Scorgie (PhD, University of St. Andrews and graduate degrees from Wheaton and Regent) has been professor of theology at Bethel Seminary San Diego and a teacher and preacher at Chinese Bible Church of San Diego. He is author of A Call for Continuity and Journey Back to Eden. Dr. Scorgie and his wife, Kate, have 3 children.

A Little Guide to Christian Spirituality

Q: Why did you want to write a book about Christian spirituality?
A: Spirituality is profoundly popular today. Mainstream bookstore shelves are spilling over with volumes ranging from classic devotionals to the totally bizarre. It is easy to be confused by this cacophony of voices. Quite a few Christians are asking: So what exactly is spirituality? And what constitutes a distinctly Christian spirituality? As Christians, we need to get a handle on what it's all about. And these are exactly the questions we aim to address in this book.

Q: Why do you think that spirituality has become so popular?
A: For some time now, skeptical Western philosophy and relentless materialism have ignored God and squeezed the remaining glimmers of the transcendent out of human experience. Modernity is still seductive, but it is failing to satisfy the soul-hunger of a growing number of people. For our contemporaries the term "spirit" represents what is transcendent, what defies reduction to physical reality. The contemporary quest for "spirituality" is a cry of the human spirit for satisfaction of the deeper needs of creatures with eternity set into their hearts. See Ecclesiastes 3:11.

Q: What is your opinion on spirituality and today's society?
A: Christian spirituality should be cultivated in dialogue with godly voices from the past and present. There is no excuse for ignoring the past, for the kind of attitude C. S. Lewis labeled chronological snobbery. Unfortunately, we tend to sample the literature of spirituality eclectically, and for the most part uncritically. We must do better than to take random biopsies from our spiritual heritage. Such dabbling can lead to imbalances and deficiencies in our understanding and experience.

Q: How is Jesus Christ connected to Christian spirituality and what role does the Holy Spirit play in our world today?
A: Everything about Christian spirituality -- indeed, everything Christianity has ever had to offer -- is grounded in what Jesus Christ has done for us. The eternal Son revealed the face of God. He showed us what God is like. As a human being, he also modeled what we are to become. He gave us a glimpse of our own restored humanity. Not only that -- by his life, death and resurrection, and ongoing ministry on our behalf, he makes our own renewal possible. The saving merits and energizing life of Christ now come to us through the Holy Spirit, who is present with us in the world. Presently, the Spirit is our point of contact with -- indeed, our lifeline to -- the triune God.

A Little Guide to Christian Spirituality: Three Dimensions of Life with God is available in softcover.

For more information about, and to sample, A Little Guide to Christian Spirituality: Three Dimensions of Life with God, go to www.zondervan.com/cultures/en-us/Product/ProductDetail.htm?ProdID=com.zondervan.9780310274599

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