The word spirituality is notoriously difficult to define. It is often
used in a vague way to refer to the inner relationship between the self
and God. The implication is that people only relate to God with their
"inner" being (soul/spirit) and not with any other part of who they are.
There is a lurking influence of Neoplatonism within Christian thinking
that tends to assume that the material is bad and the spiritual good,
that there is a gaping hole between our inner and our outer selves and
that the proper location of devotion is our inner being. There is a
further assumption that, especially in the writings of Paul, the soul is
to be placed in the "good" category while opposite it, in the "bad"
category, is the body—leaving the question of what is meant by heart and
mind largely ignored. Paula Gooder here explores the meaning of six key
concepts in the Bible, especially in the writings of Paul, before
moving on to explore what Paul intended by the contrasts he drew, and
what implications this all has for the way we think and speak about our
spirituality today.
