The stimulus for this research came from the authors experience of observing converts undergo a reattribution of meaning during and subsequent to their conversion experiences. It was clear that changed meanings took place; what was not clear was how and why such changes occurred, nor where the impulse for such change came from. Religious converts routinely report differences in the way they attribute meaning as a consequence of religious conversion. Previously known objects, events and persons are perceived differently as a result of a new plausibility structure being brought to bear. This...

This volume provides an account of the surprising 'in-breaking' of spiritual life that persists in our culture, despite the best efforts of atheist spokespersons and secular theorists. Spirituality in its varying forms is irrepressible, resisting our attempts to exclude it by continuing to seep through the cracks and leak through the gaps. When it is allowed to manifest itself through the Christian faith-tradition, it has the power to surprise, transform and renew everything it touches. This volume contains a series of case studies, each of which describes the inner-functionings and...