Atlantic Spirituality vs. Pacific Spirituality

Atlantic Spirituality vs. Pacific Spirituality

Spiritual winds have blown from the West to the East throughout Christian history. Wolfgang Simson described this transition with his images of mountains. For him, spiritual forces have moved from Alps (Europe) to Rocky (America) to Himalaya (Asia) and finally to Zion (Middle East) in the future. Here I would like to propose another way of looking at this historical process of spiritual movements with the images of oceans, Atlantic for the West and Pacific for the East.

Here European and American churches fall into a category of western Christianity developing “Atlantic Spirituality. South American, Asia, and Africa belong to non western Christianity simply classified as the East in a broad sense labeling as “Pacific Spirituality.”

From my own vantage point, I would like to focus on two historical events in the winds of Pacific Spirituality. One is the born of Pentecostalism at Azusa Street, California in 1906; the other is the Spiritual Awakening at Pyoungyang, Korea in 1907. These two events could be characterized by the activation of what I call “Spiritual CPR” in the time of spiritual suffocation. What does “Spiritual CPR” stand for? C is for Congregating day/night, week days/weekend. P is for Praying individually/collectively, quiet/out loud, words/tongue. R is for Reading the Bible part/whole, reason/revelation, intellect/emotion.

Since “Atlantic Spirituality” found its ground from rational approaches, it valued “silent spirituality” through Monastic movements. Current spiritual practices such as meditation, centering prayer, and so on have been the hallmarks of its tradition. Whereas “Pacific Spirituality” is based upon emotional approaches, it celebrated “shouting spirituality” through such as Korean Tongsunggido (the whole congregation praying out loud individually) and praising worships.

Today 80% of Christian population resides in non western world where “Pacific Spirituality” is bursting. The rest of Christian churches in the west is struggling to survive or preparing their funeral.
We cannot create a wind but flow with it. Any type of wind cannot be superior to the other. If so, churches need to move with/for the wind that is being initiated and controlled by the Creator, our God.