The field of Christian Spirituality is concerned with the study of Christian religious experience as such, i.e., as Christian, as religious, and as experience.
Historical studies are a quest for perspective.
In asking how Christians in other places and eras acted and believed, one acquires analytical skills to evaluate present actions and beliefs. The critical study of primary texts is emphasized, and skill in the appropriate languages, is an indispensable prerequisite. The resources of contemporary psychology, including social psychology, feminist and cross-cultural perspectives, provide crucial theories and practices that can enhance the quality of human life and enrich understandings of religion and theology. The critique and interplay of religious communities and theological disciplines at the GTU provide invaluable resources for healing and human transformation. Students and faculty analyze the ancient biblical faith by tracing its influence on the history of ideas, its traditional philosophical reformulations, and its various contemporary reconceptualizations.