La vivencia subjetiva de la revelación cristiana. Una exploración metodológica
Estudios Eclesiásticos Revista de investigación e información teológica y canónica February 20, 2026 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.14422/ee.v101.i396.y2026.003 via OpenAlex
Summary
This article argues for incorporating introspection and explicitation interviews—methods from contemplative studies—into theological research. It reinterprets decision analysis from St. Ignatius of Loyola's Spiritual Exercises on discernment of spirits. The proposed methodology rigorously examines first- and second-person experiences of subjective transformation through personal relationships with Christian revelation. This approach aims to clarify the link between lived experience of revelation and theological reflection upon it.
Study at a glance
| Design | theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Introspection and explicitation interviews can be methodologically integrated into theology to study subjective transformation through Christian revelation. |
Abstract
After a thorough and careful exploration, this article finds it plausible to incorporate a new research methodology into theological work, based on the use of introspection and explicitation interviews, which are now widely used in contemplative studies. This is also aided by a theological reinterpretation of decision analysis in the rules of discernment of spirits present in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. The novelty of the method aims to incorporate, with methodological rigor, research on the first- and second-person experiences in the subjective transformation process that occurs through personal relationships with Christian revelation. The consequences of this new perspective could better define the relationship between «what is experienced» of Christian revelation and «what is thought» about it.