Dangerous Mystic: Meister Eckhart's Path to the God Within
by Joel F. Harrington
4.16 · Rating details · 80 ratings · 17 reviews
Life and times of the 14th century German theologian Meister Eckhart, whose theory of a personal path to the divine inspired thinkers from Jean Paul Sartre to Thomas Merton, and most recently, Eckhart Tolle
Meister Eckhart was a medieval Christian mystic whose wisdom powerfully appeals to seekers seven centuries after his death. In the modern era, Eckhart's writings have struck a chord with thinkers as diverse as Heidegger, Merton, Sartre, John Paul II, and the current Dalai Lama.
He is the inspiration for the bestselling New Age author Eckhart Tolle's pen name, and his fourteenth-century quotes have become an online sensation. Today a variety of Christians, as well as many Zen Buddhists, Sufi Muslims, Jewish Cabbalists, and various spiritual seekers, all claim Eckhart as their own. Meister Eckhart preached a personal, internal path to God at a time when the Church could not have been more hierarchical and ritualistic. Then and now, Eckhart's revolutionary method of direct access to ultimate reality offers a profoundly subjective approach that is at once intuitive and pragmatic, philosophical yet non-rational, and, above all, universally accessible. This "dangerous mystic's" teachings challenge the very nature of religion, yet the man himself never directly challenged the Church.
Eckhart was one of the most learned theologians of his day, but he was also a man of the world who had worked as an administrator for his religious order and taught for years at the University of Paris. His personal path from conventional friar to professor to lay preacher culminated in a spiritual philosophy that combined the teachings of an array of pagan and Christian writers, as well as Muslim and Jewish philosophers. His revolutionary decision to take his approach to the common people garnered him many enthusiastic followers as well as powerful enemies. After Eckhart's death and papal censure, many religious women and clerical supporters, known as the Friends of God, kept his legacy alive through the centuries, albeit underground until the master's dramatic rediscovery by modern Protestants and Catholics.
Dangerous Mystic grounds Meister Eckhart in a world that is simultaneously familiar and alien. In the midst of this medieval society, a few decades before the Black Death, Eckhart boldly preached to captivated crowds a timeless method, a "wayless way," of directly experiencing the divine. (less)
Hardcover, 384 pages
Published March 20th 2018 by Penguin Press (first published 2018)
ISBN
1101981563 (ISBN13: 9781101981566)
Edition Language
English
FRIEND REVIEWS
Recommend This Book None of your friends have reviewed this book yet.
Jan 14, 2019robin friedman rated it it was amazing
A New Study Of Meister Eckhart
For centuries after his death the teachings of the medieval German mystic Meister Eckhart (1260 -- 1328) fell into obscurity. Beginning in the mid-19th century, Eckhart's writings were rediscovered and made widely available. Today many people of widely varying backgrounds and religious dispositions draw inspiration from Eckhart. He has been celebrated in the music of John Adams, for example, and his been a source for popular spiritual works as well as for scholarly study and reflection. I have explored Eckhart at various times of my life for years and have learned from him.
Joel Harrington's recent book, "Dangerous Mystic:Meister Eckhart's Path to the God Within" (2018) shows the author is a person who has thought deeply and learned from Eckhart. His book will be valuable both to scholars and to those readers newly approaching Eckhart. Neither a philosopher nor a theologian, Harrington is Centennial Professor of History at Vanderbilt University who has written about German history in the early modern era of the sixteenth century. In his study of Eckhart, Harrington puts his formidable skills as a historian to use.
Many fine books are available about Eckhart's thought and a still larger number are available about Medieval history. But there are few studies which have integrated the two and considered Eckhart within the context of his times. Harrington does so brilliantly and in the process helped me understand both Eckhart's teachings and his life.
The book consists of four parts each of which works to elucidate part of Eckhart's fundamental teaching of letting go. The first part, "Letting Go of the World" talks about the young Eckhart by discussing the world into which he was born. Harrington describes a culture moving towards a monetary, commercialized economy and the impact of this movement on religious belief. He describes the literature of courtly love and of spiritual search in the context of an increasingly commercial society and explores how this literature doubtlessly influenced the young nobleman and, more importantly, is reflected in Eckhart's writings and in his spiritual search. This part of the book takes Eckhart's biography through his early years as a Dominican friar at Erfurt, his home for most of his life.
The second part of the book "Letting Go of God" explores Eckhart's long period of study of scholastic philosophy in Paris where he ultimately earned the title of "Master" or "Meister" for his extensive learning (roughly equivalent to the modern-day PhD). Harrington gives background on the nature of scholastic life and of the scholastic approach to philosophy and religion. His approach places Eckhart squarely within and, indeed, a master of the scholastic philosophy of his day. Eckhart gradually became attracted to a Neoplatonic approach to philosophy rather than the Aristotelian approach more common in the schools. Eckhart questioned the ability of reason and logic to provide an approach to God and developed an approach relying more on intuition and personal experience. He conceived the project of writing his own "Summa" to rival and correct that of Aquinas. This project was never realized.
In the third part of the book "Letting Go of the Self" Harrington explores Eckart's life after leaving Paris and the academy for reasons which remain uncertain. Eckhart became a skilled administrator in the Dominican order and a preacher. He took his highly developed thought and presented it to the people, especially to religious women, rather than to fellow scholars and students. Importantly he spoke in German rather than in Latin. Harrington describes Eckhart's life as an administrator and he explores Eckhart's relationship to the movement of women's spirituality expressed by the community of beguines, including figures such as Marguerite Porete, who was burned at the stake for heresy. There is a great deal of mutual influence between Eckhart's teachings and the teachings of the beguines. In this part of the book, Harrington offers an exposition of Eckhart's basic and difficult teachings and of his frequently paradoxical style of writing. Eckhart was aware both of the limitations of human speech and of the necessity of speech for finite beings to approach understanding.
The final part of the book "Holding on to Religion" addresses both holding on and letting go. Harrington discusses the inquisition into Eckhart's thought which ultimately led to the papal condemnation of some of his writing after Eckhart's death. The condemnation was based on the alleged antinomian character of Eckhart's work, its possible radical individualism, and its alleged break from institutional Catholicism. Eckhart's reputation went into eclipse for centuries, and Harrington traces the course of the history of Eckhart's reception in the final sections of his book. With the revival of interest in Eckhart, the tension in understanding his work that began at the outset has revived: some of those who learn from Eckhart place him within the boundaries of orthodox Christian teaching while others see Eckhart as breaking away towards a new form of spirituality outside the bounds of any particular religion.
In placing Eckhart thoroughly within the context of his times and in his insightful discussions of Eckhart's teachings, Harrington's sympathies lie clearly with seeing Eckhart within the context of Christian teachings. Harrington is properly skeptical of relativistic, anything goes understandings of Eckhart. Still, Harrington recognizes that Eckhart's words and teachings in some ways break through traditional Christianity and have allowed those people influenced by Eastern religions, as well as those with a mystical bent in the Moslem and Jewish traditions, and those not professing any particular religion and in some cases not being religious at all to learn from Eckhart. Eckhart's teachings are, in their depth, broader than Christian; and yet in Harrington's account , also stress the value of adherence to a particular religious body, in Eckhart's case Christian. In an Epilogue explaining what Harrington sees as the sources of Eckhart's continued importance, Harrington concludes:
"Meister Eckhart's wayless way deliberately remained general and nonprescriptive, allowing for countless subjective variations. It would be ahistorical and presumptuous to predict his opinion of either religious exclusivism or perennialism. But based on his long life of service, we can conclude with conviction that nothing would have pleased the master more than to be considered still useful to his fellow seekers' journey to the God within."
Harrington's book has helped deepen my own understanding and appreciation of Meister Eckhart.
Robin Friedman (less)
flag9 likes · Like · comment · see review
Jul 16, 2018Jackson Hager rated it really liked it
Shelves: read-catholicism
A good, readable introduction to Meister Eckhart, the famed German mystic. I will admit that when I picked up this book, I was nervous that this was going to be an attempt to remove Meister Eckhart from his Christian context and attempt to paint as some sort of representative of a some universal religious truth, which has been the fate of many spiritual leaders, Christian or not, in our day and age. But I was presently surprised to find that instead of falling into that trap, Harrington instead stresses the importance of placing Meister Eckhart within his specific and religious context in order to gain the best picture of the man. All in all, I would recommend this book to everyone looking for a beginning primer into one of Christian's faiths most interesting thinkers. (less)
flag4 likes · Like · comment · see review
Mar 30, 2020Christopher rated it it was amazing
Shelves: biography
This is a very nice biography of Meister Eckhart. It a great deal of information of what was going on in the church in this time frame as well as several people who were influenced by him. Such as Martin Luther, Thomas Merton, John Paul II and the current Dali Lama. How can you not love a man that said "The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me" or " you must love all men equally, respect and regard them equally, and whatever happens to another, whether good or bad, must be the same as if it happened to you" no bad for some time around 1320 (less)
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Apr 30, 2018brightredglow rated it it was amazing
Loved it. I knew nothing about Meister Eckhart but I've been on a history obsessive roll of late. Enough so that I am not avoiding the medieval period, my usual standard "Wake me when we get to the Renaissance" period.
That's why I selected "Dangerous Mystic" by Joel Harrington to read. It was more enjoyable than I had expected. Very detailed but at same time, very readable and engaging. Author did a great job at bringing Meister Eckhart to life in context to his times and then to our own.
Glad ...more
flag2 likes · Like · comment · see review
Aug 23, 2021Eden rated it it was amazing
Shelves: nf-faith, middle-ages, nf-history
2021 bk 265. Well researched, well planned out, well written and now, well read. After our pastor referred to Meister Eckert in a series of sermons, I was interested enough to search out a biography of him. This has led to a summer of reading. Even with a background in history, I did not know the history of Eckert's time and place, nor of the religious forces at work within the Catholic church at the time. I found this a fascinating read that stretched my vocabulary and frequently caused me to lay the book aside in order to think about either Eckert's writings or the times he was in. In fact, I will admit to realizing that I needed to read this in small chunks and so it took me most of the summer. Thanks to Harrington, I have a far better idea of the man, his thoughts, and the forces at play in the times in which he lived. (less)
flag1 like · Like · comment · see review
May 08, 2019Caleb Abraham rated it really liked it
Excellent introduction to the life, times, and thought of Meister Eckhart, a truly fascinating and complex figure.
flag1 like · Like · comment · see review
Sep 19, 2020Jodina Renae rated it it was amazing
Outstanding book! As someone who has been drawn to the teachings of Meister Eckhart, this was a thorough, well-written, accessible read placing Eckhart in his historical context.
flag1 like · Like · comment · see review
Aug 07, 2019Ions rated it really liked it
An interesting biography about someone I never knew existed! It's refreshing hearing some Christian philosophies from the 1200s sounding almost modern. (less)
flag1 like · Like · comment · see review
Nov 26, 2017Roxanne rated it really liked it
This is a Goodreads win review.I do not know what to make of this book. I have never heard of this Meister Eckhart or his teachings. From what I can tell he was a very learned man and lay preacher. He had a revolutionary method at that time of having people reach a personal internal path to God, which a lot of people liked and some people did not like and could not understand.
flag1 like · Like · comment · see review
Jul 01, 2019Brett Folkman rated it it was amazing
I really enjoyed Joel Harrington's efforts to place Meister Eckhart into the historical context of his life. I've read Eckhart's writings, but found this treatment of the man himself, the political and social climate, etc., very helpful in trying to understand Eckhart's theology - which in my opinion - we are all guessing at, since it wasn't clearly laid out by the Meister himself. Many take a few quotes, a sentence or two that support their world view and pat themselves on the back! I think that's why he's now nearly universally looked upon as a wise sage - you can interpret his purposefully veiled statements in many ways. It was also very beneficial to understand the theological speculations that came before and after Eckhart to place his views, as we have them, into the broader context of developing theologies. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to get to know Meister Eckhart and not just his sayings!
Brett Folkman, Doctor of Ministry (less)
flagLike · comment · see review
Apr 11, 2019Phil Calandra rated it really liked it
"Dangerous Mystic...." is a biography of the great Christian Mystic, Meister Eckhart. It chronicles his life as a child, his entry into the Domincan Order and the progression of his spiritual life. This is the most comprehensive history of Meister Eckhart's life that I have read. It gives an account not only of Meister Eckhart's life but the history of the time that contributed to Eckhart's philosophy; however, this book appears to be more geared to the historian than the casual reader but I would still highly recommend it. (less)
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Sep 21, 2020The Book Grocer rated it it was amazing
Purchase Dangerous Mystic here for just $12!
This is a fascinating, concise introduction to famed German Medieval mystic, Meister Eckhart, explaining Eckhart's philosophy and large influence on Western Christian mysticism. The writing is lively and engaging.
Paul, The Book Grocer (less)
flagLike · comment · see review
Sep 16, 2018Mark Jurgensen rated it it was amazing
Given that this biography was written by a history professor at Vanderbilt, I was afraid the prose might be dry and slow going. Not so. While Harrington does spend considerable time discussing the cultural/social/political/religious context in which Meister Eckhart lived (the late 13th - early 14th centuries), the writing is lively and engaging. Ironically, Harrington does a better job elucidating Eckhart's main philosophical ideas than many theologically trained writers I've read. Highly recommended! (less)
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Nov 23, 2020SCDavis rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
In so far as I understand what is written of Meister Eckhart in this book, I am compelled to strive for a similar relationship with God as the one he had. That is I hope to go further down that road or rather realize how much of the road is under my feet after dwelling on the truths contained within his writings. This book helped me realize a bit more about his contribution to this goal of realization.
flagLike · comment · see review
May 02, 2018Gypsi rated it it was amazing
Shelves: 2018-books-read
Harrington presents a biography of Medieval mystic, Eckhart, set in historical context. This is an easily readable scholarly work which shares some of Eckhart's teaching in addition to his life. The reader is left with a full idea of who Eckhart was and why he is influencing thinkers today. (less)
flagLike · comment · see review
Eckhart was one of the most learned theologians of his day, but he was also a man of the world who had worked as an administrator for his religious order and taught for years at the University of Paris. His personal path from conventional friar to professor to lay preacher culminated in a spiritual philosophy that combined the teachings of an array of pagan and Christian writers, as well as Muslim and Jewish philosophers. His revolutionary decision to take his approach to the common people garnered him many enthusiastic followers as well as powerful enemies. After Eckhart's death and papal censure, many religious women and clerical supporters, known as the Friends of God, kept his legacy alive through the centuries, albeit underground until the master's dramatic rediscovery by modern Protestants and Catholics.
Dangerous Mystic grounds Meister Eckhart in a world that is simultaneously familiar and alien. In the midst of this medieval society, a few decades before the Black Death, Eckhart boldly preached to captivated crowds a timeless method, a "wayless way," of directly experiencing the divine. (less)
------------------
Hardcover, 384 pages
Published March 20th 2018 by Penguin Press (first published 2018)
ISBN
1101981563 (ISBN13: 9781101981566)
Edition Language
English
FRIEND REVIEWS
Recommend This Book None of your friends have reviewed this book yet.
Jan 14, 2019robin friedman rated it it was amazing
A New Study Of Meister Eckhart
For centuries after his death the teachings of the medieval German mystic Meister Eckhart (1260 -- 1328) fell into obscurity. Beginning in the mid-19th century, Eckhart's writings were rediscovered and made widely available. Today many people of widely varying backgrounds and religious dispositions draw inspiration from Eckhart. He has been celebrated in the music of John Adams, for example, and his been a source for popular spiritual works as well as for scholarly study and reflection. I have explored Eckhart at various times of my life for years and have learned from him.
Joel Harrington's recent book, "Dangerous Mystic:Meister Eckhart's Path to the God Within" (2018) shows the author is a person who has thought deeply and learned from Eckhart. His book will be valuable both to scholars and to those readers newly approaching Eckhart. Neither a philosopher nor a theologian, Harrington is Centennial Professor of History at Vanderbilt University who has written about German history in the early modern era of the sixteenth century. In his study of Eckhart, Harrington puts his formidable skills as a historian to use.
Many fine books are available about Eckhart's thought and a still larger number are available about Medieval history. But there are few studies which have integrated the two and considered Eckhart within the context of his times. Harrington does so brilliantly and in the process helped me understand both Eckhart's teachings and his life.
The book consists of four parts each of which works to elucidate part of Eckhart's fundamental teaching of letting go. The first part, "Letting Go of the World" talks about the young Eckhart by discussing the world into which he was born. Harrington describes a culture moving towards a monetary, commercialized economy and the impact of this movement on religious belief. He describes the literature of courtly love and of spiritual search in the context of an increasingly commercial society and explores how this literature doubtlessly influenced the young nobleman and, more importantly, is reflected in Eckhart's writings and in his spiritual search. This part of the book takes Eckhart's biography through his early years as a Dominican friar at Erfurt, his home for most of his life.
The second part of the book "Letting Go of God" explores Eckhart's long period of study of scholastic philosophy in Paris where he ultimately earned the title of "Master" or "Meister" for his extensive learning (roughly equivalent to the modern-day PhD). Harrington gives background on the nature of scholastic life and of the scholastic approach to philosophy and religion. His approach places Eckhart squarely within and, indeed, a master of the scholastic philosophy of his day. Eckhart gradually became attracted to a Neoplatonic approach to philosophy rather than the Aristotelian approach more common in the schools. Eckhart questioned the ability of reason and logic to provide an approach to God and developed an approach relying more on intuition and personal experience. He conceived the project of writing his own "Summa" to rival and correct that of Aquinas. This project was never realized.
In the third part of the book "Letting Go of the Self" Harrington explores Eckart's life after leaving Paris and the academy for reasons which remain uncertain. Eckhart became a skilled administrator in the Dominican order and a preacher. He took his highly developed thought and presented it to the people, especially to religious women, rather than to fellow scholars and students. Importantly he spoke in German rather than in Latin. Harrington describes Eckhart's life as an administrator and he explores Eckhart's relationship to the movement of women's spirituality expressed by the community of beguines, including figures such as Marguerite Porete, who was burned at the stake for heresy. There is a great deal of mutual influence between Eckhart's teachings and the teachings of the beguines. In this part of the book, Harrington offers an exposition of Eckhart's basic and difficult teachings and of his frequently paradoxical style of writing. Eckhart was aware both of the limitations of human speech and of the necessity of speech for finite beings to approach understanding.
The final part of the book "Holding on to Religion" addresses both holding on and letting go. Harrington discusses the inquisition into Eckhart's thought which ultimately led to the papal condemnation of some of his writing after Eckhart's death. The condemnation was based on the alleged antinomian character of Eckhart's work, its possible radical individualism, and its alleged break from institutional Catholicism. Eckhart's reputation went into eclipse for centuries, and Harrington traces the course of the history of Eckhart's reception in the final sections of his book. With the revival of interest in Eckhart, the tension in understanding his work that began at the outset has revived: some of those who learn from Eckhart place him within the boundaries of orthodox Christian teaching while others see Eckhart as breaking away towards a new form of spirituality outside the bounds of any particular religion.
In placing Eckhart thoroughly within the context of his times and in his insightful discussions of Eckhart's teachings, Harrington's sympathies lie clearly with seeing Eckhart within the context of Christian teachings. Harrington is properly skeptical of relativistic, anything goes understandings of Eckhart. Still, Harrington recognizes that Eckhart's words and teachings in some ways break through traditional Christianity and have allowed those people influenced by Eastern religions, as well as those with a mystical bent in the Moslem and Jewish traditions, and those not professing any particular religion and in some cases not being religious at all to learn from Eckhart. Eckhart's teachings are, in their depth, broader than Christian; and yet in Harrington's account , also stress the value of adherence to a particular religious body, in Eckhart's case Christian. In an Epilogue explaining what Harrington sees as the sources of Eckhart's continued importance, Harrington concludes:
"Meister Eckhart's wayless way deliberately remained general and nonprescriptive, allowing for countless subjective variations. It would be ahistorical and presumptuous to predict his opinion of either religious exclusivism or perennialism. But based on his long life of service, we can conclude with conviction that nothing would have pleased the master more than to be considered still useful to his fellow seekers' journey to the God within."
Harrington's book has helped deepen my own understanding and appreciation of Meister Eckhart.
Robin Friedman (less)
flag9 likes · Like · comment · see review
Jul 16, 2018Jackson Hager rated it really liked it
Shelves: read-catholicism
A good, readable introduction to Meister Eckhart, the famed German mystic. I will admit that when I picked up this book, I was nervous that this was going to be an attempt to remove Meister Eckhart from his Christian context and attempt to paint as some sort of representative of a some universal religious truth, which has been the fate of many spiritual leaders, Christian or not, in our day and age. But I was presently surprised to find that instead of falling into that trap, Harrington instead stresses the importance of placing Meister Eckhart within his specific and religious context in order to gain the best picture of the man. All in all, I would recommend this book to everyone looking for a beginning primer into one of Christian's faiths most interesting thinkers. (less)
flag4 likes · Like · comment · see review
Mar 30, 2020Christopher rated it it was amazing
Shelves: biography
This is a very nice biography of Meister Eckhart. It a great deal of information of what was going on in the church in this time frame as well as several people who were influenced by him. Such as Martin Luther, Thomas Merton, John Paul II and the current Dali Lama. How can you not love a man that said "The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me" or " you must love all men equally, respect and regard them equally, and whatever happens to another, whether good or bad, must be the same as if it happened to you" no bad for some time around 1320 (less)
flag2 likes · Like · comment · see review
Apr 30, 2018brightredglow rated it it was amazing
Loved it. I knew nothing about Meister Eckhart but I've been on a history obsessive roll of late. Enough so that I am not avoiding the medieval period, my usual standard "Wake me when we get to the Renaissance" period.
That's why I selected "Dangerous Mystic" by Joel Harrington to read. It was more enjoyable than I had expected. Very detailed but at same time, very readable and engaging. Author did a great job at bringing Meister Eckhart to life in context to his times and then to our own.
Glad ...more
flag2 likes · Like · comment · see review
Aug 23, 2021Eden rated it it was amazing
Shelves: nf-faith, middle-ages, nf-history
2021 bk 265. Well researched, well planned out, well written and now, well read. After our pastor referred to Meister Eckert in a series of sermons, I was interested enough to search out a biography of him. This has led to a summer of reading. Even with a background in history, I did not know the history of Eckert's time and place, nor of the religious forces at work within the Catholic church at the time. I found this a fascinating read that stretched my vocabulary and frequently caused me to lay the book aside in order to think about either Eckert's writings or the times he was in. In fact, I will admit to realizing that I needed to read this in small chunks and so it took me most of the summer. Thanks to Harrington, I have a far better idea of the man, his thoughts, and the forces at play in the times in which he lived. (less)
flag1 like · Like · comment · see review
May 08, 2019Caleb Abraham rated it really liked it
Excellent introduction to the life, times, and thought of Meister Eckhart, a truly fascinating and complex figure.
flag1 like · Like · comment · see review
Sep 19, 2020Jodina Renae rated it it was amazing
Outstanding book! As someone who has been drawn to the teachings of Meister Eckhart, this was a thorough, well-written, accessible read placing Eckhart in his historical context.
flag1 like · Like · comment · see review
Aug 07, 2019Ions rated it really liked it
An interesting biography about someone I never knew existed! It's refreshing hearing some Christian philosophies from the 1200s sounding almost modern. (less)
flag1 like · Like · comment · see review
Nov 26, 2017Roxanne rated it really liked it
This is a Goodreads win review.I do not know what to make of this book. I have never heard of this Meister Eckhart or his teachings. From what I can tell he was a very learned man and lay preacher. He had a revolutionary method at that time of having people reach a personal internal path to God, which a lot of people liked and some people did not like and could not understand.
flag1 like · Like · comment · see review
Jul 01, 2019Brett Folkman rated it it was amazing
I really enjoyed Joel Harrington's efforts to place Meister Eckhart into the historical context of his life. I've read Eckhart's writings, but found this treatment of the man himself, the political and social climate, etc., very helpful in trying to understand Eckhart's theology - which in my opinion - we are all guessing at, since it wasn't clearly laid out by the Meister himself. Many take a few quotes, a sentence or two that support their world view and pat themselves on the back! I think that's why he's now nearly universally looked upon as a wise sage - you can interpret his purposefully veiled statements in many ways. It was also very beneficial to understand the theological speculations that came before and after Eckhart to place his views, as we have them, into the broader context of developing theologies. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to get to know Meister Eckhart and not just his sayings!
Brett Folkman, Doctor of Ministry (less)
flagLike · comment · see review
Apr 11, 2019Phil Calandra rated it really liked it
"Dangerous Mystic...." is a biography of the great Christian Mystic, Meister Eckhart. It chronicles his life as a child, his entry into the Domincan Order and the progression of his spiritual life. This is the most comprehensive history of Meister Eckhart's life that I have read. It gives an account not only of Meister Eckhart's life but the history of the time that contributed to Eckhart's philosophy; however, this book appears to be more geared to the historian than the casual reader but I would still highly recommend it. (less)
flagLike · comment · see review
Sep 21, 2020The Book Grocer rated it it was amazing
Purchase Dangerous Mystic here for just $12!
This is a fascinating, concise introduction to famed German Medieval mystic, Meister Eckhart, explaining Eckhart's philosophy and large influence on Western Christian mysticism. The writing is lively and engaging.
Paul, The Book Grocer (less)
flagLike · comment · see review
Sep 16, 2018Mark Jurgensen rated it it was amazing
Given that this biography was written by a history professor at Vanderbilt, I was afraid the prose might be dry and slow going. Not so. While Harrington does spend considerable time discussing the cultural/social/political/religious context in which Meister Eckhart lived (the late 13th - early 14th centuries), the writing is lively and engaging. Ironically, Harrington does a better job elucidating Eckhart's main philosophical ideas than many theologically trained writers I've read. Highly recommended! (less)
flagLike · comment · see review
Nov 23, 2020SCDavis rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
In so far as I understand what is written of Meister Eckhart in this book, I am compelled to strive for a similar relationship with God as the one he had. That is I hope to go further down that road or rather realize how much of the road is under my feet after dwelling on the truths contained within his writings. This book helped me realize a bit more about his contribution to this goal of realization.
flagLike · comment · see review
May 02, 2018Gypsi rated it it was amazing
Shelves: 2018-books-read
Harrington presents a biography of Medieval mystic, Eckhart, set in historical context. This is an easily readable scholarly work which shares some of Eckhart's teaching in addition to his life. The reader is left with a full idea of who Eckhart was and why he is influencing thinkers today. (less)
flagLike · comment · see review
Dangerous Mystic: Meister Eckhart's Path to the God Within Kindle Edition
by Joel F. Harrington (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
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"Masterfully executed... rich... Harrington... takes on the so-called 'mystic's mystic' with a historian's capacity to immerse the reader in the 14th century and in Eckhart's spiritual framework. He does so with a writerly elegance and elucidation that situates the medieval thinker squarely in this modern-day moment."--Chicago Tribune
"[A] wonderfully smart, readable biography of a 14th-century Dominican priest and mystic named Meister Eckhart. . . . [Harrington] is a scholar/storyteller who can tell a true tale that feels like a novel, without cheap tricks. . . . At times, Dangerous Mystic has a Name of the Rose excitement to it, a man against the grain during a time of ferment, a mind that sought to rise above it. Dangerous Mystic is likely to make Eckhart even more of a hero to more people. Good."--Philadelphia Inquirer
"Impressive. . . . This illuminating book successfully explains Meister Eckhart's philosophy and large influence on Western Christian mysticism."--Publishers Weekly
"An excellent biographical work . . . [Harrington] does an admirable job of presenting Eckhart dispassionately, as a historical figure, a theological innovator, and an impetus for modern thinkers. Extremely well-researched and fluidly written, [DANGEROUS MYSTIC] will serve as a meaningful resource for students of mysticism and of late Medieval Christianity."--Kirkus, starred review
"Calmly dazzling... a serene, intelligent, appropriately ambitious yet accessible work on one of history's most mysterious theologian mystics."--Joy Williams, Book Post
Joel Harrington here offers a characteristically subtle and elegant evocation of mediaeval spirituality at its most powerful. Meister Eckhart's noble quest for enlightenment resonates through the centuries, and here we see what made the man whose preaching sent such shock waves through the mediaeval church. ― Andrew Pettegree, author of BRAND LUTHER
A rare combination of sweeping historical narrative, penetrating biography, and profound spiritual elucidation. Joel F. Harrington elegantly shows why Meister Eckhart is reclaimed as a touchstone of humane holiness in every era - especially ours. This is a book to read, to save, and to give."
― James Carroll, author of THE CLOISTER
"In this engrossing and compelling book, Joel Harrington offers a profound, moving, and accessible portrayal of one of the greatest yet most enigmatic figures of medieval Christianity. Meister Eckhart gave expression to humanity's yearning for union with God, and for a pure and selfless knowledge of the divine. With a masterful touch, Harrington places the Dominican mystic in the changing, febrile world of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and guides the reader through the development and expanse of Eckhart's sublime thought and interior spirituality. We encounter the men and women to whom Eckhart preached, his teachers, his friends and enemies, and popes and inquisitors, all of whom are cast in bold profile in the author's stylish and vivid prose. Eckhart's life was filled with visions, charity, politics, and controversy, and ended with papal censure. His legacy continues to be debated. This life of one of Western Christianity's great mystics is an astonishing achievement." --Bruce Gordon, author of CALVIN, Titus Street Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Yale Divinity School
Joel F. Harrington's Dangerous Mystic: Meister Eckhart's Path to the God Within is a bold new reading of the life and thought of the great fourteenth-century German mystic who has remained both influential and controversial since his death. Harrington situates Eckhart in his historical and intellectual context in a way accessible to the general reader, as well as thought-provoking for Eckhart scholars. This is a book that will open up the great Dominican teacher and mystical preacher to a new generation. It deserves to be widely read.
― Bernard McGinn, Naomi Shenstone Donnelly Professor (Emeritus) of historical theology and history of Christianity at the University of Chicago and author of THE PRESENCE OF GOD
Praise for THE FAITHFUL EXECUTIONER by Joel F. Harrington:
"Fascinating . . . Engrossing . . . Harrington brings out the sheer strangeness of the past . . . In The Faithful Executioner, Mr. Harrington has not only rescued the life of an individual from disgust and condescension but also, by focusing on a career in killing, brought a whole world back to life." ―The Wall Street Journal
"Remarkable . . . [A] fascinating exploration . . . this is a surprisingly modern, even topical story that poses difficult questions about capital punishment and what Harrington calls 'the human drive toward retribution.'" ―The Washington Post
"Fascinating . . . One of the pleasures of reading history is to be transported somewhere, even if we aren't sure we want to go." ―The Chronicle of Higher Education
"[A] vividly drawn portrait . . . Harrington succeeds in deftly taking us beyond Schmidt's biography to address broader questions. Finely researched and crafted." ―History Today
"Surprisingly poignant . . . A whole teeming world of Reformation Germany comes alive." ―Kirkus Reviews
"Who can imagine how an executioner feels about his trade? Joel F. Harrington has written a considered and fascinating book that helps us hear the voice of one such man, a professional torturer (and healer) who, astonishingly, kept a diary. Exploring both sixteenth-century Nuremberg and the world about the city, he re-creates the social context for the flamboyant displays of cruelty that later centuries find so hard to comprehend. Both the executioner and his victims are rescued from our condescension and restored to their own moral universe―which is not as far from ours as we like to suppose." ―Hilary Mantel, Man Booker Prize-winning author Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies
"A book as entertaining and revealing as it is improbable and outrageous. Joel F. Harrington has told a marvelous yarn, giving us not just the compelling biography of Meister Frantz but his world." ―Rick Atkinson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944
"The Faithful Executioner is much more than a description of the many imaginative and horrifying means of torturing and putting prisoners to death. It is a rare and utterly fascinating examination of the society that demands it." ―New York Journal of Books --This text refers to the hardcover edition.
Book Description
Life and times of the 14th century German spiritual leader Meister Eckhart, whose theory of a personal path to the divine inspired thinkers from Jean Paul Sartre to Thomas Merton, and most recently, Eckhart Tolle. --This text refers to the hardcover edition.
About the Author
Joel F. Harrington is a professor of history at Vanderbilt University. He is the author of The Faithful Executioner, The Unwanted Child, and A Cloud of Witnesses. --This text refers to the hardcover edition.
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Print length : 384 pages
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Samuel W. Johnson
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, but....
Reviewed in the United States on 5 May 2018
This is an important book for anyone with an interest in Meister Eckhart. Professor Harrington maps out the socio-historical and religious context of Eckhart's time exceedingly well, and he understands, explicates, and probably even embodies to a significant extent The Meister's message. The problem with the book is that it is written from, and frequently seeks to prove Eckhart's fidelity to, an Orthodox Christian perspective that Eckhart soars beyond.
20 people found this helpful
Roger L. Conner
5.0 out of 5 stars Readable, Facinating Book of History
Reviewed in the United States on 6 April 2018
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Brilliant book of history even if theology isn’t your bag. Fascinating insights into our own time: They had corrupt politicians, incorrigible children and “declining morals.” Uncanny parallels to our own time.
12 people found this helpful
Ethan James
2.0 out of 5 stars Not enough Eckhart!
Reviewed in the United States on 19 June 2020
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The title of the book is misleading. Way too much irrelevant medieval history and not enough about Eckhart's actual thought.
6 people found this helpful
Carol Breslin
4.0 out of 5 stars Once past the introductory chapters that provide the history of ...
Reviewed in the United States on 5 June 2018
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Once past the introductory chapters that provide the history of the Middle Ages, this book becomes a challenging exploration of the life and beliefs of an original medieval religious and mystic. A compelling, challenging read.
6 people found this helpful
Harold R. Case
5.0 out of 5 stars Concise and Informative
Reviewed in the United States on 22 March 2020
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An excellent, concise overview of Eckhart, the Dominican order, and the culturally exciting times in which he lived. A person steeped in his thinking may find repetitive.
One person found this helpful
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