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A Brief History of Spirituality BLACKWELL BRIEF HISTORIES OF RELIGION SERIES This series offers brief, accessible, and lively accounts of key topics within theology and religion. Each volume presents both academic and general readers with a selected history of topics which have had a profound effect on religious and cultural life. The word ‘‘history’’ is, therefore, understood in its broadest cultural and social sense. The volumes are based on serious scholarship but they are written engagingly and in terms readily understood by general readers. Published Heaven Heresy Islam Death Saints Christianity Dante Spirituality Alister E. McGrath G. R. Evans Tamara Sonn Douglas J. Davies Lawrence S. Cunningham Carter Lindberg Peter S. Hawkins Philip Sheldrake A Brief History of Spirituality Philip Sheldrake ß 2007 by Philip Sheldrake BLACKWELL PUBLISHING 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK 550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia The right of Philip Sheldrake to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act