The Intellectual and the Spiritual: Evelyn Underhill

Published May 6, 2009 (16 years ago)
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The last modifications of this post were around 16 years ago, some information may be outdated!

My devotions this morning brought me to Evelyn Underhill, a woman during the early twentieth century who brought a lot to the table in developing the spiritual life.

Most notably this morning was this passage, which I think most accurately reflects the state of integration I'm trying to find wtih the various aspects of my life:

In saying this--in insisting that reason has a well-marked and necessary place in the soul's approach to God--I am not advocating a religious intellectualism. I am well aware that it is "by love," as the old mystic said, "God may be gotten and beheld; by thought never." It is humility and love that are essential for successful prayer. But surely it is a mistake to suppose that these qualities cannot exist side by side with an active adn disciplined intelligence.