I would like to see a interactive tool that lists all the passages dealing with the various spiritual discipline.
sounds like a great idea to me :-)
This is a great idea!
Preaching themes is currently not exhaustive enough to include all the categories that come under 'Spiritual Disciplines', so I for one would love to see something like this come to fruition.
Out of interest, what topics would you include in a Spiritual Disciplines dataset?
hearing, studying, and reading God's word
memorizing, meditating, and applying God's word
praying for individuals and groups
worship individual and corporate worship
evangelism
serving
stewardship of time
stewardship of money
silence
solitude
Journaling
Ah, I thought you meant something more like Richard Foster's http://www.albministry.org/pdf/List%20of%20Disciplines.pdf
I wonder if a lack of consensus on what the disciplines are and how they are defined might present a problem to Faithlife. I know they've mentioned that as a problem re: a prophecy/fulfillment interactive.
I think that could be a issue, but it would still be worth investigating
This is a great point MJ. Though I wonder if it could be "yes, and..." rather than "either, or". Several books on Spiritual disciplines exist, Foster (as you've already mentioned), the Kent Hughes and family have written several, Donald Witney has written another. There is bound to be overlap across these titles, but also likely to be disciplines that are unique to each author and title.
An interactive that draws all of these various disciplines together with links to relevant verses/passages and the resources they appear in would be more useful than one that only focuses in on one list or resource. At least that's how I see it in my mind :-)
they appear in would be more useful than one that only focuses in on one list or resource.
I agree. I simply used Foster as an example that contrasted philosophical to be list that had been provided. While I see it as potentially valuable, I'm uncertain that it is practical to develop - I'm uncertain as to the degree of consensus meets minimum requirements.
To illustrate why I am uncertain, here are the table of contents for 3 books on spiritual disciplines:
I know they've mentioned that as a problem re: a prophecy/fulfillment interactive.
That would definitely be a useful interactive, although I certainly acknowledge the difficulty that would present itself (particularly distinguishing between the varying dispensation/covenantal/eschatological systems. But at the same time, Andrew's recommended use of the theological/denominational data could really be interesting for such instances.
To illustrate why I am uncertain, here are the table of contents for 3 books on spiritual disciplines
Good point, well made :-P
Perhaps, what might be more appropriate then is an interactive like the Bible Outline browser that pulls together the various passage outlines from all the commentaries in one's library? It could pull together the contents pages of the various book on spiritual disciplines in a library catalog and then allow the user to draw links, make inferences, and group disciplines together based on their own reading and understanding?
Dunno, a spiritual disciplines interactive sounds like a good idea on paper. But even as I write trying to convince you of how it might work I'm now struggling to see it myself...
Dunno, a spiritual disciplines interactive sounds like a good idea on paper.
I agree. If one can develop categories that mean the same thing across denominations, I suspect something like the Systematic Theology feature might work.
I agree. If one can develop categories that mean the same thing across denomination, I suspect something like the Systematic Theology feature might work.
Perhaps then the answer lies in creating a series of broad trans-denomination top-level categories with more specific categories drawn from titles on spiritual disciplines nested inside them. So for example,
It wouldn't necessarily matter if one spiritual discipline appears in more than one top-level category based on how different authors speak about them so long as there was a way to gather together all the info on a particular discipline in one place. For example, silence might appear in both prayer and personal development depending on how different author speak about them.
Just some thoughts.
and praying the rosary
I get to tease you a bit here - I'd use the term "prayer beads" which is used in Orthodox including Coptic & Ethiopean, Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran traditions - I'm sure there are others I don't know. [;)] More seriously, yes, I think you are on the right track although I would argue against several of your titles and classifications.
I get to tease you a bit here - I'd use the term "prayer beads" which is used in Orthodox including Coptic & Ethiopean, Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran traditions - I'm sure there are others I don't know. More seriously, yes, I think you are on the right track although I would argue against several of your titles and classifications.
Ha ha ha... I am young(ish) reformed protestant evangelical from the UK who sadly does not get much opportunity to talk theology and practice with people outside of my tradition - though I wish I had more. So feel free to tease and disagree, I have no doubt I'm showing a hideous degree of ignorance with the categories and examples I used above! In my defense, they were intended to be illustrative more than illuminative. :P
Seriously though, glad you think it is heading in the right direction and thanks for the heads-up re: prayer beads, I'll certainly be using that termenology from now on.
You might find this single page history of Christian prayer beads of interest: http://www.prayerfoundation.org/dailyoffice/history_%20of_prayer_beads.htm
