Spiritual formation and the nurturing of creative spirituality: A case study in Proverbs

Verbum et Ecclesia ISSN: (Online) 2074-7705, (Print) 1609-9982 Page 1 of 8 Original Research Spiritual formation and the nurturing of creative spirituality: A case study in Proverbs Author: Anneke Viljoen1 Affiliation: 1 Department of Old Testament Studies, University of Pretoria, South Africa Corresponding author: Anneke Viljoen, Dates: Received: 19 Sept. 2015 Accepted: 01 Feb. 2016 Published: 18 Apr. 2016 How to cite this article: Viljoen, A., 2016, ‘Spiritual formation and the nurturing of creative spirituality: A case study in Proverbs’, Verbum et Ecclesia 37(1), a1534. http:// dx.doi.org/10.4102/ve. v37i1.1534 Copyright: © 2016. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License. The article is positioned in the interface between Old Testament scholarship and the discipline of spiritual direction of which spiritual formation is a component. The contribution that a Ricoeurian hermeneutic may make in unlocking the potential which an imaginal engagement with the book of Proverbs may hold for the discipline of spiritual formation was explored. Specifically three aspects of the text of Proverbs illustrated the creative process at work in the text, and how it converges with the concept of spiritual formation and the nurturing of creative spirituality. These aspects were, the development in Lady Wisdom’s discourses, the functional definition of the fear of Yahweh (illustrated from Proverbs 10:1–15:33), and the paradigmatic character of the book of Proverbs. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The research is positioned in the interface between Old Testament studies and Practical Theology. The research results in the enhancement of the interdisciplinary dialogue and interchange of resources between the named disciplines with regard to the interest in formation of persons that the biblical book of Proverbs and the discipline of spiritual formation shares. Introduction A Ricoeurian hermeneutic presents a helpful tool for examining the process of spiritual formation.1 This is because Ricoeur is interested in the role of figurative texts in the formation of human subjectivity and understands religious studies to be a hermeneutical inquiry into the imaginative potential of myth, symbol, and story to aid our efforts to exist with integrity (Wallace 1995:14).2 In this article, the contribution that a Ricoeurian hermeneutic may make in terms of the simultaneous objective and subjective reference of the book of Proverbs is explored: • The objective reference is to the symbolic textual world which Proverbs projects for its reader. This may aid the nurturing of creative spirituality. • The subjective reference points to the reader’s limit-experiences in and through this textual world, shaping his or her self-understanding. This may aid the discipline of spiritual formation. Thus, the article is positioned in the interface between Old Testament scholarship and the discipline of spiritual direction, of which spiritual formation is a component. Why the necessity? Willard (2000:254) notes that the spiritual formation of a person is inevitable and recommends that a conscious, intentional hand should be taken in this developmental process. He observes the need to think deeply and clearly about spiritual discipline and spiritual formation and their relationship to the deepest dimension of personality, that is, the human soul (Willard 1998:101).3 In the same vein, Conn (1999:87) regards spiritual formation and human formation to be inseparable without one being reduced to the other. In this regard, the understanding of the self or person in Proverbs and the book’s distinctive focus on the formation of the person is highly relevant. I am of the opinion that the concern for the formation of the person in all of his or her facets or aspects is one that is shared by both secular society and religious communities. Concern for the formation of the person represents a point of convergence where these two spheres, which often function discretely, may enter into 1.I take spiritual formation, character formation, moral formation and psychological maturation to be aspects or facets of the same phenomenon, namely, (assistance in) the growth and maturation of the person. All these aspects or facets are inextricably bound together as Brown (1996), Conn (1999) and Lawrie (2013) point out. As I am a church pastor (of the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa’s Pinetown congregation), my focus is on spiritual formation, but I am convinced that the principles are also applicable to character as well as moral formation and psychological maturation. Read online: Scan this QR code with your smart phone or mobile device to read online. 2.I have explored this aspect of Ricoeur’s thought in relation to Proverbs in several articles (cf. Viljoen & Venter 2013; Viljoen 2015a; Viljoen [No date, to be published]). 3.Hence, Beck (2003:25) concludes that the study of soul in the Old Testament is foundational to the competences we need to develop regarding spiritual formation and psychotherapy, and I may add, all disciplines concerned with the formation of the person. Note: This aticle is an expanded version of a paper the author delivered at the ISBL conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina 20–24 July 2015. http://www.ve.org.za Open Access Page 2 of 8 fruitful dialogue. When two public spheres share a common interest or concern, the resources which each possesses may be brought to the conversation to the mutual enrichment of both. Akin to the separation between secular society and religious communities is the often disjointed relationship between academic scholarship and the Church. Although there seems to be a still widening chasm between academic scholarship and theological reflection, Brown (1996:1) notes that one thing unites both: ’an uncertainty over how to study and appropriate the wisdom literature of the Old Testament’. Kugel (2003:149) also notes the tendency of biblical scholarship to avoid studying Proverbs, especially in the light of what he calls its stark world view that is directly related to the spiritual aspect of the literature.4 I want to propose that the appropriation of wisdom literature5 (in general, and in this case, particularly Proverbs) in its interface with spiritual formation presents a prolific domain in which academic and ecclesiastical circles may draw closer to each other. The common interest I envision is for an adequate understanding of the person, and a concern for the formation of the total person. Willard (1998:109) contends that an epistemic crisis marks the different professions.6 These professions are working in the dark because of a lack of understanding of what makes human life what it is. This crisis is a result of the modern context in which knowledge of the human self no longer fits the categories regarded as socially acceptable. He maintains that to develop accurate knowledge of the human self an (...truncated)