A Baptist Pastor Looks At Campolo's " God of Intimacy"

Dedicated to The Virginia Baptist Mission Board, who is bringing Tony Campolo to speak to the 185th BGAV Meeting in November...

Pastor Larry DeBruyn highlights just the tip of the mystical and ecumenical in Tony Campolo's The God of Intimacy and Action

Tony Campolo and Mary Albert Darling ( editor's note; Darling was trained by Roman Catholic priests of the Jesuit order as a "spiritual director". ) have recently co-authored a book titled, The God of Intimacy and Action. The "intimacy" to which they refer is experiencing closeness to God by engaging ancient spiritual and mystical practices, while the "action" refers to evangelism and advocacy of causes on behalf of the less fortunate in society. In the authors' view, mystical intimacy stimulates and facilitates Christian advocacy. Private spiritual experiences enhance public societal engagement. Through practicing spiritual disciplines of ancient Catholicism, mystical experiences, according to the authors' thesis, become essential for and foundational to the engagement of social justice for all. As to the possible downside of mystical intimacy, the authors seemingly write of "action" to mute criticism that engaging in mystical practices leads devotees, as typically has been the case, to disengage from society and retreat into monasteries.

...Campolo candidly admits to the tension that exists between ancient Catholic mystical practices and the Protestant evangelical faith. He writes: "The evangelical Protestant faith tradition strongly emphasizes that salvation results from God reaching down to us rather than us reaching up to God." He then continues, "Many Protestant Christians, in particular evangelical Christians, have abandoned numerous spiritual practices that the ancient Catholic mystics prescribed because they say . . . that any methodology used as a way to try and reach God is a form of 'salvation by works' as opposed to salvation by grace alone." Campolo understands this to be a "seeming impasse between intentional spiritual practices and grace . . .

See related article: Vatican: Lectio Divina is Privileged Ecumenical Method