S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 3 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 1 7 5 Lubomir Martin Ondrasek 3 Transformative Power of Spiritual Autobiography: Scholarly Observations There seems to be little doubt that narrative writing can be an effective tool for influencing human thought and action. R. Ruard Ganzevoort, who is one of the leading proponents of narrative approaches in practical theology, cites the great medieval theologian St. Bonaventure, who in his Breviloquium ("Brief Discourse") recognized that "the mind is more moved by examples than by argumentation, by promises more than by reasoning, by piety more than by definitions" (Ganzevoort 2012, 215). Ganzevoort, after explaining "the narrative turn" (influenced by Ricoeur’s work on narrative identity), discusses narrative approaches and their application to practical theology. In his informative chapter, he introduces the six dimensions of a narrative model – structure, perspective, tone, role assignment, relational positioning, and justification for an audience – before concluding with a critical evaluation of the aforementioned narrative methods. One of the alleged weaknesses of these approaches is uncritical acceptance of human subjectivity and ignorance of the normativity question – something that everyone involved in autobiographical writing needs to keep in mind. Similarly, Harvey Cox, writing more than seven centuries after St. Bonaventure and referring to the work of American Jewish philosopher Edith Wyschogrod, remarked, "for all their importance, neither ethical principles nor moral theories actually ‘motivate’ anyone. What motivates people are stories, narratives, accounts of situations in which choices must be made and stands taken" (Cox 2004, 25). Due to space constraints, we cannot explore here why human beings seem to be wired this way, but the fact that they are is critically important for leadership studies in general and transformational ministry in particular. As a public theologian with the ambition of becoming a transformational leader, my goal is to motivate people to action, helping them become agents of positive change in society. I view a well-written spiritual autobiography as an important vehicle towards transformational leadership. Herbert Anderson and Edward Foley, practical theologians at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, also recognize that "stories are mighty," underscoring their transformative power. The authors elucidate, adding an important new element to our conversation: "Stories are mighty, however, not only because we shape our lives through them but also because they have the power to unsettle the lives we have comfortably shaped by them. In the sense, the narrative mode itself subverts our settled social realities. Our self-interpretation is not the last word, because our stories are not just our stories. When we weave together the human and the divine, we are attentive to another story that is not completely our own, a narrative that has the power to transform" (Anderson and Foley 1997, 7). The most important chapter of the book for our purposes is Chapter 1, "The Power of Storytelling," which underscores the transformative capacity of narrative. There are a number of studies and myriad examples showing the impact of spiritual autobiographies on readers. It would probably take a lifetime for a scholar to examine the widespread effects and transformational influence of St. Augustine’s famous Confessions. Teresa of Ávila poignantly describes her experience reading this work: "When I began to read the ‘Confessions’, I thought I saw myself there described, and began to recommend myself greatly to this glorious Saint. When I came to his conversion, and read how he heard that voice in the garden, it seemed to me nothing less than that our Lord had uttered it for me. I felt so in my heart, I remained for some time lost in tears, in great inward affliction and distress" (quoted by Janet K. Ruffing 2011, 54). It is true that people can be moved but not changed, but it seems equally true that they cannot be changed without first being moved. One of the big questions, of course, is why some people are never moved by reading a spiritual autobiography and others are never changed, or, put it in positive terms, what criteria spiritual autobiography should meet to increase its probability of becoming a vehicle of transformation. 4 Concluding Remarks In this essay, I am not arguing that spiritual autobiography is the only or best strategic tool for religious and ethical transformation. I simply assert that it is a legitimate and effective form of religious discourse and for some the most appropriate mode of theological reflection that seeks to inform, form, and transform the reader, who as a result of this process commits to the ethical task of Christianity in the world and contributes to the creation of a "good society," which for me is the aim of transformational ministry. Whether a spiritual biography becomes a vehicle for personal transformation seems to depend mainly on the content of the narrative ("what?") and the way it gets communicated ("how?"). To achieve success in both areas, resulting in faithful and effective spiritual autobiography, one must not only attend to the practical theological and ethical tasks and integrate them within one’s story, but also learn the art and science of autobiographical writing (Walton 2014, Ruffing 2011, Phifer 2002,
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