Spiritual Formation

This book is a multichapter introduction to spiritual formation within the Christian tradition. Corneliu C. Simu discusses spiritual formation from the views of several Christian thinkers, with a chapter devoted to each thinker. The concluding chapter notes common themes shared by each thinker. The author presents some key Patristic, Medieval, Early Modern, Modern, and Contemporary theologians in a way that is characterized by brevity, concision, and clarity. Thus, this small book is a useful introduction to spiritual formation from a Christian perspective. It would be helpful for a college student or young adult who seeks to be educated on the subject. The conciseness of the book is a benefit. Yet the book raises interesting questions for further pursuit. A very succinct - but comprehensive - historical presentation of sanctification through the lens of spiritual formation, a concept which has been revived in the past two decades, especially in Evangelical circles, this text is useful for a college course in spiritual formation or religion, this text would also be helpful for Christians who want to understand their own tradition, and for non-Christians who want to understand the moral and spiritual practices of prominent individuals in Christian history.