what's the difference between christianity and spirituality? and what makes each profound?

Answer 1

Christianity is a form of spirituality, although not all who call themselves Christians are actually spiritual. What makes Christianity profound is pretty much the same thing that makes any spiritual path profound, namely, it offers a route by which ordinary people can learn to see beyond their own ego-centered desires and discover compassion. Jesus was big on compassion, and to the extent that Christians are thus inspired to develop compassion, Christianity can be as profound as any other spiritual path.

Now you might be wondering why compassion is profound. This is a key question, and a great many people who follow their religions "religiously" fail to connect with the deeper meaning of life precisely because they don't understand the true meaning of compassion. A religious person who lacks compassion fails to be truly spiritual because compassion goes to the true core of reality, and it provides the "meaning of life" that all great religions are meant to address. How so? Well, the first thing you need to understand is that true compassion is not simply "pity" for the suffering of others. True compassion involves genuine concern and empathy, along with a willingness to endure some discomfort in order to help others. It involves giving without any expectation of reward or public recognition. This does not mean that we should beat ourselves up because we can't help feeling some hope that our efforts will be rewarded or recognized. There is nothing necessarily wrong with enjoying some personal benefit, but the criteria for genuine compassion is this: Would you do what you did even if you knew for certain that no one other than you (not even God, or the laws of karma) would ever know that you did it? Would you do it even if the person you help does not share your religious or political views? If the answer is a heartfelt "yes" then you are probably experiencing a moment of true compassion. The point is that you are acting because you deeply FEEL that this is the right thing to do, and that you really want to help someone. You are not doing it just for a reward; you are not doing it just to promote your own religious or political cause. You are doing it because you feel connected to another being in such a way that this being's welfare is just as important as your own.

Now you might still be wondering why this feeling of compassion is so profound. And the answer is this: What you feel when you feel genuine compassion is, in fact, the deepest core of reality. Your existence is, in Truth, linked to all other beings through a shared core of deep identity. This is difficult to explain rationally, and achieving a moment of true compassion is relatively rare in the lives of most people (because most of our are so thoroughly immersed in our own ego-centered desires), but the bottom line is that these fleeting moments of genuine compassion are moments of "mini-enlightenment" – they are direct experiences of ultimate reality manifest in the embodied form of your feelings and actions in a moment of "thoughtlessness" – that is, a moment when your ego has fallen completely silent and thus are you simply experience Being for what it really is.

One final note: Being on a spiritual path does not mean that you actually achieve true compassion very often. Rather, being on a spiritual path means that you are making a heartfelt effort to be more compassionate. For many people this effort may take the practical form of wanting to "find one's true self" or "know the Truth of existence," and this is ok because if the quest is sincere and the seeker preservers, she will eventually learn compassion, and thus will eventually experience at least a few moments of enlightened insight and clarity. To discover our own true nature is to discover the Oneness of Being, and thus to inevitably experience compassion.

Answer 2

For the Christian, there would be no distinction. Christian spirituality is understood as the whole way of life that is engendered by Christian faith-- how one thinks, how one feels, how one acts. For many of the great Christian spiritual writers, spirituality represents the objective dimension of one's life as a disciple of Christ in terms of particular practices and perceptions. As a reference to how this might look, consider investigating the "The Rule of St. Benedict" or "The Introduction to the Devout Life" by William Law or St. Theresa of Liseaux's "Story of a Soul" or for a more contemporary take read anything by Stanley Hauerwaus or Robert Barron's "The Strangest Way". You don't have to necessarily buy these folks beliefs, but they can all give you a sense of what Christian Spirituality is all about and why Christians would see the two (Christianity and Spirituality) as integral. Modern people like to see a distinction between Christianity and Spirituality because of our concern for pluralism and our prejudice that religious truth is subjective and oriented toward personal opinions. But many Christians would see this kind of "spirituality" as being more akin to self-help or popular metaphysics, rather than expressive of what they (Christians) understand as genunine spirituality.

Answer 3

There's many different ways of interpreting this question, but I will try to make it simple. By the way, I am a Christian.

Christianity refers to the belief in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, the Son of God and the Son of Man, for the forgiveness of sins and redemption. There are other facets of Christianity, of course, but in order to be a Christian, one must believe in and confess Jesus Christ for who He is.

Spirituality is a slightly more vague term. It may refer to the idea that religion is not the proper means of experiencing God. It may also refer to the idea that one should be accepting of any and all faiths. Other interpretations are possible, as I have mentioned.

Christianity is profound for a number of reasons. Christ proclaims Himself as The Way, The Truth and The Life, and that no one can come to God the Father except through Him. Jesus is both God and man; He is one of a kind among all who have ever lived. There are many other reasons that Christianity is profound; email me if you would like more.

Spirituality is profound, I think, because it seems to have many adherents, and the number is growing. People who, for one reason or another, would rather not associate themselves with Christianity or any particular faith, take the "safe" position of spirituality. In my limited experience, people are generally not criticized for being "spiritual"; but start to mention the Virgin Birth, the Crucifixion, or the Resurrection, and people are quick to respond. It's worth mentioning that people who align themselves with any faith tend to be maligned in some way, however.

May God bless you, and show you the true path to God.

Answer 4

Most modern Christians and modern 'Sprititualists' are the same in that they believe in a literal world of 'spirit', dually opposed to the reality that we experience. True to the original meaning of both Christianity and spirituality ('religion' outside of religious tradition) is the profound idea that what underlies the material world is Spirit or the Abstract which is similar to the concept of Brahman in Vedantic Hinduism.

Answer 5

christianity is a religious group/ organization that seeks to follow Christ's teachings and values. While spirituality refers to the inner disposition of an individual. It defines a person's spiritual status. No offense to some, but take this as true: not all christians are spiritual, and not all spiritual are christians. You don't necessarily have to be a member of any religious group to be spiritual. You find it in the inner peace and comfort of an individual.

hope this helps. ^_^

Answer 6

Christianity is a branch of spirituality, a way of increasing spirituality in human beings.