Embodied Faith: Reflections on a Materialist Spirituality

The materialist spirituality in Embodied Faith is biblically grounded, and it smells of earth even as it offers a taste of heaven. Taking an observation of St. Benedict as his starting point, Ola Tjørhom maintains that outward forms are fully capable of incorporating and expressing inner spiritual substance. / Tjørhom moves on to identify three crucial features of a materialist spirituality. First, it has a concrete substance — primarily the sacraments and the sacramental dimension of our Christian life in its totality. Second, materialist spirituality cannot be lived out in a vacuum, but requires concrete spaces — mainly the church and the world, which, though separate, are clearly interconnected. Third, this spirituality is grounded not in airy ideas and concepts but in plain empirical perception — in things we can see and hear, smell and taste — making it a spirituality eminently suited for our daily lives and the world. / “Ola Tjørhom has written a wise book that bridges many gaps: between the material and the spiritual, the Catholic and the Protestant, the mystical and the everyday. His vision of a materialist spirituality is not a call to leave this world nor an invitation to extreme experiences, but a sober proposal for a Christian life that is in but not of the world. Firmly rooted in creation, such a spirituality still yearns for the transformation of all things. Few books are as ecumenical as Tjørhom’s, drawing on a variety of Christian traditions in a way that respects each. Persuasively presented, his wide-ranging reflections cover such a range of topics, one is tempted to call it a ‘systematics of spirituality.’ ”— Michael Root / Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary