Tag: affective prayer

We begin our study at the four basic attrait combinations (think “spiritual personality types”) with an in-depth look at the kataphatic-speculative quadrant. In short, these are people who relate to God primarily by means of connection to the created world (kataphatic) and for whom things need to “make sense” (speculative).

If you are listening to this podcast, odds are better than 50/50 you fall into this category (I do!).  Indeed the very need for an orderly approach to spirituality is a very “speculative” trait. And if you’d most like to listen to this on the way to your favorite museum or with a great wine, welcome to the kataphatic-speculative club! 

In this episode, we’ll look at the particular schools of spiritual formation that best fit the K-S attrait and what practices are likely to help us make progress and where we need to be disciplined lest our attrait lead us into sins of excess or arrogance.

Whether you are a kataphatic-speculative or not, you surely know many people who are, and this will help you both understand them and perhaps be able to offer some wisdom for the life of faith and the work of maturity in Christ.

Church traditions, regardless of whether than have a clear denominational affiliation (e.g., the Presbyterians, Lutherans, Baptists…) not, tend to have a set of “disciplines” they believe are most critical to making progress towards maturity and are often unaware that there are other schools of thought.

Turn up at one congregation and there will be emphasis galore on Bible study, journaling and intercessory prayer.  Turn up at another and there will be much excitement about silent retreats or meditation. During seasons of Lent or Advent a group may decide to dedicate themselves to fasting or to simplicity or service… (As you may know, a flood of books on “spiritual disciplines” has been released upon the Protestant world in recent decades – most of them written as though these practices are newly discovered in the late 20th century…ugh…)

While each of these practices (from Bible study to silent retreat to fasting) can be beneficial, one size does not fit all, and certainly not in every season of life. We would not tell a confirmed introvert that the path to psychological health is more time in crowded malls.  So why would we tell someone with great spiritual energy in nature to spend the bulk of their prayer time hunched over a devotional guide in their kitchen?  But we often do.  And then we wonder why mere talk of “spiritual discipline” makes most of us groan and/or melt with guilt.

Fortunately it does not have to be this way! For most of church history it has been recognized that people are different. Indeed before anyone had the idea of psychological categories (e.g., the ever popular those Myers-Briggs “tests”), the spiritual traditions of the church understood spiritual “types.” Indeed entire schools of spiritual practice grew up around them.  (This is why in the Roman Catholic tradition there are Jesuits, who are different from Benedictines, who are different from Franciscans, all of whom are different than the Augustinians…and so on.)

To make real progress towards proficiency (maturity) you need first to know your spiritual “personality” or classically your ATTRAIT (AH-tray; simply the French word for “attraction”). Once you know how you’re wired, finding the practices that will suit you best will be much, much easier!  You might even discover that spending time on your spiritual self makes you…happy!  Wha…???

You can download a copy of the Attrait Quadrant Diagram HERE.