What is Christian Mysticism?
Let's Talk Religion・2 minutes read
Mysticism, often associated with non-Abrahamic traditions, originated within Christianity and has evolved through major figures and practices in Christian history, aiming to transcend human consciousness and encounter God. Various mystical expressions have influenced Christian development, with figures like Hildegard of Bingen emphasizing intense mystical visions and figures like Meister Eckhart focusing on new ways of knowing and loving based on inner awareness of God's presence.
Insights
- Mysticism, often linked with non-Abrahamic religions, actually originated within Christianity, encompassing encounters with God beyond human consciousness.
- Christian mysticism, spanning historical figures and practices, involves seeking intimacy with God through contemplative prayer, inner purification, and mystical visions, shaping diverse Christian traditions and theological developments.
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Recent questions
What is Christian mysticism?
Christian mysticism involves encountering God beyond consciousness.
Who are some influential Christian mystics?
Influential Christian mystics include Hildegard of Bingen and Meister Eckhart.
What is the goal of Christian mysticism?
The goal of Christian mysticism is to achieve union with God.
How did mysticism influence different branches of Christianity?
Mysticism influenced Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and Western Christianity.
How did Protestantism impact Christian mysticism?
Protestantism altered the focus of Christian mysticism.
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Summary
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Christian Mysticism: Origin, Definition, and Development
- Mysticism is often associated with non-Abrahamic traditions like Hinduism or Buddhism, but it actually originated within Christianity.
- Christianity is considered the least problematic place to use the term "mysticism" due to its historical connection.
- Christian mysticism encompasses major developments and figures in Christian history, from church fathers to contemporary thinkers.
- Defining mysticism is challenging, as it varies among individuals, but it generally involves transcending human consciousness to encounter God.
- William James defines mysticism as involving encounters with the absolute and absorption into it.
- Bernard McGinn suggests that Christian mysticism involves preparing for and reacting to the direct presence of God.
- Mysticism is a recent term, and historical figures did not identify as mystics; they practiced Christianity with mystical elements.
- Mystical expressions can be found in Judaism, with biblical prophets having mystical experiences and apocalypticism featuring mystical visions.
- Early Christianity inherited mystical expressions from Judaism, with figures like Origen and Clement of Alexandria incorporating neoplatonic ideas.
- Christian mysticism developed through monasticism and ascetic practices, aiming for intimacy with God and theosis, becoming divine or godlike.
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Christian Mysticism: Path to Union with God
- Apophaticism is a practical instruction, not just theoretical philosophizing, aiming to reach God through an inactivity of knowledge.
- Mystical theology, like apophaticism, seeks Union with God through prayer, emphasizing internal purification over external search.
- Early mystical Christian developments, including fosis and dianus' expressions, influenced Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and Western Christianity.
- The Great Schism in 1054 divided Christianity into the Western Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, with mysticism playing a more prominent role in the latter.
- Hesm, a meditative practice like the Jesus prayer, and theologians like Gregory Palamas, shaped Orthodox theology.
- Monastic orders, such as the Benedictines, Dominicans, and Franciscans, were crucial in Christian mysticism's development.
- Hildegard of Bingen, a Benedictine polymath, composed music, painted, and had intense mystical visions, contributing significantly to Christian mysticism.
- Lay orders like the beins and beards in the 13th century, not directly tied to the church, produced influential mystics like Mechtild of Magdeburg.
- Love is a central theme in Christian mysticism, often described in terms of a lover and beloved relationship with God, leading to a Metar rational knowledge.
- Figures like Marguerite Porete and Bernard of Clairvaux emphasized the annihilation of the self in God through love, facing controversy and persecution for their radical views.
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Mystical Union: Eastern & Western Perspectives
- The Eastern Church, before Bernard, had influential mystics like Simeon the New Theologian, who emphasized theosis or divinization as the mystical goal.
- Simeon experienced mystical union through intense visions of light, describing divine warmth, radiance, breath, and a fire kindling in his heart.
- Simeon's visions involved immaterial light enveloping individuals, akin to the light of God experienced by the disciples on Mount Tabor.
- Eastern Orthodox mysticism, particularly hesychasm, focuses on inner stillness and solitude through meditative prayer practices like the Jesus prayer.
- The purpose of contemplative practices in hesychasm is to purify the soul, journeying into the apophatic darkness to experience the light of God within oneself.
- Meister Eckhart, a German mystic philosopher, viewed God as the ground, beyond even the trinity, emphasizing a fused identity between the soul's ground and God's ground.
- Eckhart's mystical vision centered on the concept that God is the sole possessor of pure being, leading to a non-dualistic perspective where all existence is God's being.
- Eckhart's mystical path involves detaching from the world, returning inward to the source, and achieving union by merging one's ground with God's ground.
- Eckhart's mystical approach focuses on new ways of knowing and loving based on inner awareness where God becomes present in our acts.
- Gregory Palamas defended hesychasm against concerns of pantheism, distinguishing between God's essence and energies, with the latter being uncreated manifestations of God in creation.
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Evolution of Mysticism in Christian Theology
- God's energies are perceived as communicable, present everywhere in creation, transcending but permeating it without consumption.
- Palamas' doctrines, controversial in the Catholic Church, became integral to Orthodox Doctrine, making him a significant theologian and Mystic.
- Mysticism evolved post-14th century, with notable figures like John of the Cross, Tera of Avila, Julian of Norwich, and Nicholas of Kuuza.
- Protestant Reformation altered mysticism, abolishing monasticism, but mystical elements persisted, influencing early reformists like Martin Luther.
- Protestantism's rejection of Union With God concept altered mysticism's focus, yet mystical tendencies persist in various denominations like Pentecostalism and Quaker movements.
