Handbuch Evangelische Spiritualität

The comprehensive »Handbook of Evangelical Spirituality« in three volumes presents the history of spirituality in the context of protestant discourse up to the present day. The very concept of »spirituality« is a new one within the protestant framework, in which terms such as »piety/godliness«, »piety of heart«, »practice of faith«, »true Christianity« and »mysticism« are more conventional descriptions. The first volume deals with the history of protestant spirituality from the Reformation era up to the present. In the second volume, the basic principles of protestant spirituality are discussed, especially in reference to the Trinitarian structure of the Apostolic creed. Here a shift of emphasis occurs to the first and third Articles of the creed: as regards the dogma of creation, anthropological and psychological themes as well as the significance of ecology are highlighted; the third article concerns itself with the environment. The third volume deals with the practice of spirituality and provides an overview of the multifaceted manifestations of piety and related spiritual activities. Finally, some questions remain open for discussion: the exact relation of spirituality as a universal human phenomenon to the protestant faith; the distinction between life-stimulating and life-inhibiting spirituality; and the criteria for a Christian, specifically protestant spirituality.

PETER ZIMMERLING (Hg.), Handbuch Evangelische Spiritualität. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen, Band 1: Geschichte, 2017, 828 S.; Band 2: Theologie, 2018, 729 S; Band 3: Praxis, 2020, 920 S.