Discipleship is a "Team Game"

 

Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941)

Evelyn Underhill was an English writer who published 39 books and more than 350 articles and reviews. Her publications include three novels, two books of verse, a number of works on philosophy and religion, and various essays.She is best known for her work on mysticism and the practical disciplines of the Christian life. 

She attended King’s College for Women, London, where she read history and botany. She became a skilled bookbinder and enjoyed yachting with her father and her husband.

In 1921, Evelyn became a member of the Church of England (Anglican). Three years later she began to conduct spiritual retreats. 

She was opposed to the Spiritualism (the occult) that was increasingly popular in England at that time. In 1937, the Archbishop of Canterbury formed a committee “to discuss the relationship, if any, between spiritualism and the traditional teachings of the Anglican Church” and Underhill was one of the committee members. However, she later withdrew, stating that she was “very strongly opposed to spiritualism... especially to any tendency on the part of the Church to recognize or encourage it.”

What follows is an excerpt from Underhill's "Light of Christ" published in 1944. It is an example of her practical Christianity.

"Books," said St. Augustine after his conversion, "could not teach me charity." We still keep on thinking they can. We do not realize nearly enough the utter distinctiveness of God and the things of God. Psychology of religion cannot teach us prayer, and ethics cannot teach us love. Only Christ can do that and He teaches by the direct method, in and among the circumstances of life. He does not mind about our being comfortable. He wants us to be strong, able to tackle life and be Christians, be apostles in life, so we must be trained by the ups and downs, the rough and tumble of life. Team games are compulsory in the school of Divine Love; there must be no getting into a corner with a nice spiritual book."

 

Related Reading: An Evelyn Underhill Poem (MISSA CANTATA)