"The Celebration of Discipline"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines Richard J. Foster's work "The Celebration of Discipline", which attempts to portray the often contradictory aspects of the Christian life, while also showing that such measures are obligatory for all those wanting to live an authentic Christian experience. The paper maintains that the book remains an important and relevant work on Christian spirituality because of the timeless truths it contains, and the way in which it addresses so many of the issues associated with contemporary notions of spirituality. Specifically, the paper evaluates Foster's work by primarily focusing on the three classical groups of disciplines outlined by the author, which include "The Inward Disciplines" (meditation, prayer, fasting, and study), "The Outward Disciplines" (simplicity, solitude, submission, and service), and "The Corporate Disciplines" (confession, worship, guidance, and celebration).

Outline:
Introduction
Reflections of a Disciplined Life
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"There are few people that would deny that true Christian spirituality only occurs through the existence of a deep and personal relationship with God that is usually marked by the practice of both inward and outward spiritual disciplines. Even so, there are relatively few Christians who practice the wide variety of disciplines outlined in Foster's work due to the way in which modern Christianity has tended to distinguish spirituality through an increasingly narrower worldview. Many churches, for example, encourage the use of disciplines such as prayer and Bible study, while tending to ignore others such as meditation and fasting because they are often seen as either being extreme or even unbiblical. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Chambers, Tim (1996). Online article: "Notes on Mere Christianity." Retrieved 02/08/2009 from:< http://home.pcisys.net/~tbc/writing/merechri.htm>
• Foster, Richard J. (1978). Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth. Published by Hodder & Stoughton Religious; New Edition (1 Nov, 1980).
• Gilley, Gary E. (n.d.). Online article: "Book Review: Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster." Retrieved 02/07/2009 from:<http://www.svchapel.org/Resources/BookReviews/book_reviews.asp?ID=219>
• Lewis, C.S. (2001). Mere Christianity. Published by HarperOne (Feb. 6, 2001).

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