Mystical Tradition: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
Table of Contents
Professor Biography ....................................................................................i
0] Course Scope 1
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Judaism1]
Lecture One A Way into the Mystic Ways of the West 4
Lecture Two Family Resemblances and Differences 9
Lecture Three The Biblical Roots of Western Mysticism 14
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Judaism2]
Lecture Four Mysticism in Early Judaism 18
Lecture Five Merkabah Mysticism 22
Lecture Six The Hasidim of Medieval Germany 26
Lecture Seven The Beginnings of Kabbalah 30
Lecture Eight Mature Kabbalah—Zohar 34
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Judaism3]
Lecture Nine Isaac Luria and Safed Spirituality 38
Lecture Ten Sabbatai Zevi and Messianic Mysticism 42
Lecture Eleven The Ba’al Shem Tov and the New Hasidism 46
Lecture Twelve Mysticism in Contemporary Judaism 50
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Christian4]
Lecture Thirteen Mystical Elements in the New Testament 54
Lecture Fourteen Gnostic Christianity 58
Lecture Fifteen The Spirituality of the Desert 62
Lecture Sixteen Shaping Christian Mysticism in the East 66
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Christian5]
Lecture Seventeen Eastern Monks and the Hesychastic Tradition 70
Lecture Eighteen The Mysticism of Western Monasticism 74
Lecture Nineteen Medieval Female Mystics 78
Lecture Twenty Mendicants as Mystics 82
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Christian6]
Lecture Twenty-One English Mystics of the 14th Century 86
Lecture Twenty-Two 15th- and 16th- Century Spanish Mystics 89
Lecture Twenty-Three Mysticism among Protestant Reformers 93
Lecture Twenty-Four Mystical Expressions in Protestantism 96
Lecture Twenty-Five 20th-Century Mystics 100
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Islam7]
Lecture Twenty-Six Muhammad the Prophet as Mystic................. 104
Lecture Twenty-Seven The House of Islam........................................ 108
Lecture Twenty-Eight The Mystical Sect—Shi’a.............................. 112
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Islam8]
Lecture Twenty-Nine The Appearance of Sufism............................. 116
Lecture Thirty Early Sufi Masters.......................................... 120
Lecture Thirty-One The Limits of Mysticism—Al-Ghazzali ........ 123
Lecture Thirty-Two Two Masters, Two Streams............................ 127
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Islam9]
Lecture Thirty-Three Sufism in 12th–14th Century North Africa...... 131
Lecture Thirty-Four Sufi Saints of Persia and India....................... 134
Lecture Thirty-Five The Continuing Sufi Tradition....................... 137
Lecture Thirty-Six Mysticism in the West Today ........................ 141
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Timeline ................................................................................................... 145
Glossary ................................................................................................... 154
Bibliography............................................................................................ 163
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Lecture
Twenty-One English Mystics of the 14th Century
Scope: Certain times and places seem to
generate significant mystical activity and insight, and 14th-century
England saw such an outpouring of great mystical writing. This lecture looks,
first, at the anonymous masterpiece The
Cloud of Unknowing. It then takes up, in turn, the distinctive styles of
Richard Rolle, Walter Hilton, and Julian of Norwich. Finally, we turn to The Imitation of Christ, written by a 14th-century
mystic from the Netherlands, Thomas à Kempis.
Outline
I.
In this lecture and the
next, we will look at some of the mystics who flourished from the 14th
to the 16th centuries in England and Spain.
A.
Christianity in 14th-
and 15th-century England was both thoroughly Catholic and played a
role in the social and religious tensions of the Continent.
B.
The stately cathedrals and
ruins of cloisters found in England testify mutely to the complex ecology of
monasteries, cathedral chapters, convents, and anchorages and the rich
religious life within and around them that was swept away by Henry VIII and
Cromwell.
C.
Although the scenery was
splendid, the times were unstable. This was the period of the Hundred Years’
War with France, the Avignon Papacy, the Peasants’ Revolt, the plague, and
reforming movements associated with Wycliffe and the Lollards.
D.
Two compositions of unequal
literary merit provide insight into the actual lives of Christians in this
period.
1.
Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (written between 1387–1400) is a literary masterpiece in which
tales are told by pilgrims who represent the full panoply of secular and
religious types in Catholic England.
2.
The Book of Margery Kempe is the first
autobiography in English, in which an illiterate and deeply religious woman,
Margery Kempe (c. 1373–c. 1433) dictates her adventures, including a visit with
Julian of Norwich. In her own fashion, Margery expresses two features of
English spirituality: its focus on the Passion of Jesus and intense emotion.
II.
The Cloud of Unknowing is an anonymous
work from the late 14th century. It bears the marks of its age yet
has a timeless quality.
A.
Written by a teacher to a
disciple in the religious life, the book’s simple and charming style cannot
hide the author’s deep immersion in the mystical tradition, especially the
thinking of Dionysius the Areopagite.
B.
The work is entirely
practical, eschewing knowledge and advocating an exercise of prayer that
employs the desire of the will: shooting a “dart of love” toward God through
the cloud of unknowing.
III. The social-religious phenomenon of the anchorite and anchoress,
first discussed in Lecture Nineteen, provides the context for three English
mystics of the period.
A.
Richard Rolle (c.
1300–1349) left Oxford at age 19 and spent the rest of his life as a hermit.
His many writings include an English commentary on the Psalms, reflection on
his own mystical life (Incendium Amoris),
and advice directed to anchoresses (Ego
Dormio and The Form of Perfect Living).
1.
The theme of mortification
and meditation on the Passion of Jesus is prominent.
2.
Rolle’s Mysticism involves
an intense personal love for Jesus and warmth of feeling.
B.
Walter Hilton (c.
1343–1396) was also university educated and was a canon lawyer before becoming
an Augustinian Canon. For a woman living as an anchoress, he wrote The Scale of Perfection.
1.
Like the work of John
Climacus, this book offers a systematic discussion of the contemplative life,
especially mortification and the practice of prayer.
2.
In Hilton, we also find a
role for powerful feeling and an intense devotion to Jesus.
C.
Julian of Norwich (1342–c.
1423) was herself an anchoress, whose Revelations
of Divine Love (or Showings)—in
both a shorter and a longer version—has drawn attention to her as one of the
outstanding mystics of the medieval period.
1.
Many of the themes of her
visions are familiar, such as a deep personal identification with the
sufferings of Jesus.
2.
Other insights are
startlingly original: the vision of all things in a hazelnut, the assurance
that “Every kind of thing will be well,” and the maternal language used for God
and Jesus.
IV.
In roughly the same period,
in the Netherlands, Thomas à Kempis (1380–1471), a member of the Congregation
of the Common Life, wrote The Imitation
of Christ, a work of great subsequent influence that contained the same
emphases found in the English mystics.
A.
Written for those living in
common (monasteries), the spare and direct prose and the profoundly practical
character of the composition have given it wide appeal.
B.
The book shares the view of
all mystics that the meaning of life is to be found in the journey toward God
and emphasizes the role of suffering as a way of following in the path of Jesus
and maintaining his close “friendship.”
Recommended Reading:
Colledge, E. The Medieval Mystics of England.
Questions to Consider:
1.
What do works written for
and by anchorites and anchoresses suggest about the social arrangements for
hermits in the medieval period?
2.
Why does the devotion to
Jesus in the Middle Ages place so much emphasis on his human suffering?
Lecture Twenty-Two
15th- and 16th-Century Spanish Mystics
Scope: The figures we treat in this
lecture, namely, the Spanish mystics of
the 15th and 16th
centuries, are representatives of the highest forms of mysticism. They all
flourished in Spain during the time of its greatest imperial power and intense
spiritual renewal in the face of the Protestant Reformation. Ignatius of Loyola
founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) as an instrument of the
Counter-Reformation, but his Spiritual
Exercises continues to have a profound influence to this day. The names
Teresa of Ávila and John of the Cross are virtually synonymous with Catholic
Mysticism. This lecture will describe their lives and writings, as well as the
less well known Francisco de Osuna, whose Third
Spiritual Alphabet deeply affected Teresa.
Outline
I.
The Spanish mystics of the
15th and 16th centuries are generally seen as
representatives of the highest forms of mysticism. The classical expressions of
mysticism in Spain arose during a time of political ascendancy and religious
reform in that part of Europe.
A.
From 1452–1516, Ferdinand
and Isabella sought reform and uniformity in religion, as they did in the
state; from 1519–1556, Charles V was the Holy Roman Emperor and defender of the
papacy.
1.
These monarchs encouraged
the moral reform and intellectual advancement of the clergy and the religious.
2.
At the same time, they
sponsored the Inquisition and the suppression and expulsion of Jewish and
Muslim populations.
3.
The expansion of the empire
through world exploration encouraged the use of Catholic missionaries to secure
the Roman Catholic version of Christianity, rather than the Protestant, in the
New World.
B.
The explicitly Catholic
character of Spanish Christianity was particularly significant at a time when
northern Europe was dominated by the Protestant Reformation.
1.
The internal reforms and
political muscle of Spanish
Catholicism spearheaded
the Counter-Reformation, which was symbolized by the Council of Trent, held
from 1545–1563.
2.
The great mystics of the
period demonstrated that Catholicism could not be dismissed as a mechanically
external form of religious observance.
C.
As a result of the fusion
of state and religious interests, each of the teachers considered in this
lecture experienced varieties of suspicion, challenge, inquisition, and even
imprisonment within the church.
II.
Out of the deeply personal
commitment of Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556) arose the most powerful instrument
of the Counter-Reformation, the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).
A.
Like Francis and Dominic,
whom he emulated, Ignatius devoted his intelligence, energy, and will to the
cause of Christ.
1.
Trained for court, he was
wounded in battle and almost died; while recovering, his reading of the lives
of saints led him to reform his life.
2.
Prompted by powerful
mystical experiences and a hunger for education (which he pursued at the
University of Paris), he gathered like-minded associates and began to develop
his Spiritual Exercises.
3.
The Society of Jesus, which
is characterized by a vow of obedience to the pope, was approved in 1540; by
the death of Ignatius, it had 12 provinces in 10 countries and 33 colleges from
Spain to Brazil.
B.
The Spiritual
Exercises continues the medieval tradition of meditation on the life and
Passion of Jesus but represents a distinctive method to achieve spiritual
progress.
1.
The exercises are led by
someone who has already gone through them and can act as a director.
2.
The emphasis on the
individual’s conversion and on spiritual discernment are keys to the powerful
influence of Ignatian spirituality and its effectiveness as a spirituality for
those who are actively engaged in, for example, the ministry of education.
3.
Prayer is grounded in the
basic truths of faith, the prayer shared with others, and the mysteries of
Jesus’s life.
III. Across the span of a century, three great mystics advanced the
understanding of the higher reaches of mystical prayer.
A.
Francisco de Osuna (c.
1492–c. 1540) was a Franciscan whose teaching emphasized the prayer of quiet
recollection.
1.
His positive teaching on
recollection in The Third Spiritual
Alphabet (one of six Alphabets he
composed) represented a stance contrary to that taken by those advocating
prayer of abandonment or “passing away.”
2.
His robust good sense
concerning contemplation had a powerful effect on Teresa of Ávila and, through
her, on John of the Cross.
B.
Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582)
combined the personal experience of prayer with an extraordinary ability to
teach others the path of contemplation.
1.
Teresa joined a Carmelite
monastery at age 20. She suffered physically from chronic illness and
experienced both intense mystical states and great difficulty in prayer.
2.
After a vision of hell, she
instituted a more rigorous form of the Carmelite life, and the rest of her life
was spent in founding communities and teaching them.
3.
The Book of Her Life (1562) relates
Teresa’s experiences up to the founding of her first community; The Way of Perfection (1565) provided
teaching in the contemplative life for her nuns; The Interior Castle (1577) is her most mature exposition of the
“consolations and delights” of the prayer of quiet.
4.
Her vision of the soul as a
castle with seven dwelling places enables her to trace with charm, humor, and
personal authority the path toward mystical unity with God through the prayer
of quiet or of recollection.
5.
Teresa is a writer who has
great personal authority; in Book IV of the Interior
Castle, she gives us a lovely metaphoric contrast between water that is run
through aqueducts or plumbing and water that simply rises up from a spring.
6.
Like other mystics of this
period, Teresa had “intellectual visions of our Lord,” but she distinguished
between what she called the mystical betrothal with Jesus (a fleeting
experience of unity in prayer) and the mystical marriage (a lasting
experience).
C.
John of the Cross
(1542–1591), like Teresa, has been given the status of doctor of the church for
his mystical writings; he also shares with her the founding of the Discalced
Carmelites.
1.
John studied with the
Jesuits, then professed as a Carmelite and studied at the University of
Salamanca. Ordained in 1567, he considered becoming a Carthusian but then met
and joined Teresa in her reform of the Carmelites, founding male houses.
2.
When imprisoned and
maltreated by religious superiors suspicious of their reform, John began the
composition of “The Spiritual Canticle.” In all of his works, including The Ascent of Mount Carmel and The Dark Night, poetic expression
precedes and is the basis for his exposition on the path of love.
3.
As The Dark Night suggests, John’s teaching is severe, emphasizes
suffering, and is apophatic, yet he tells us that the way to union with God is
not through knowledge but through the embrace of the heart and the giving of
the self completely to God in love.
Recommended Reading:
Kavanaugh, R. trans., Teresa of Avila.
Questions to Consider:
1.
How do the Spanish mystics
of the 16th century make an implicit argument for the vibrancy of
the Catholic tradition?
2.
Consider the interplay of
the active and the passive in the path of contemplation found in Teresa of
Ávila.
Lecture
Twenty-Three Mysticism among Protestant Reformers
Scope: The great Protestant reformers of
the 16th century, Martin Luther and John Calvin, are best known for
their attacks on what they regarded as the abuses of the mystical life as found
in medieval monasteries and for their insistence on a one-tier form of
Christian discipleship. This lecture touches on the reasons for their attack,
then turns to their positive teachings on Christian piety, in which much of the
heart of the ascetical tradition (including self-denial) continues to find a
central place. The lecture concludes with a look at some of the impressive
witnesses to rigorous discipleship found among the writings of the Radical
Reformation, the early Anabaptist movement, in which the ideals of the first
monks find expression in the entire community.
Outline
I.
The Protestant Reformation
of the 16th century was not unique in its quest for spiritual reform
but was so in its challenge to the structural elements of the church that, in
its view, prevented reform.
A.
A number of medieval
mystics explicitly addressed incompetence and immorality among the clergy, and
internal reform of monasteries and religious orders was a constant theme.
1.
None of these previous
reforms, however, had questioned the papacy, the priesthood, or the sacraments.
2.
The essential structure of
the church was not challenged until the 16th century with the
emergence of Martin Luther, John Calvin, and the Radical Reformation.
B.
Martin Luther (1483–1546)
was an Augustinian monk who issued a call to “faith alone, Scripture alone” (sola fide, sola scriptura) as the
measure for Christian life.
1.
In his Letter to the German Nobility (1520), Luther challenged the papacy,
clergy, Monasticism, and mendicant orders, as well as the universities.
2.
The Babylonian
Captivity of the Church (1520) extends the structural challenge to the
entire sacramental system that legitimated a distinct priesthood.
C.
The scholar and reformer
John Calvin (1509–1564), in his Institutes
of the Christian Religion (1536), similarly called into question the papacy,
the sacraments, and the making of vows.
D.
The goal of reformation was
not destructive but constructive: to establish simpler forms of Christian life
closer to the ideal found in the New Testament.
II.
Martin Luther’s pastoral
writings show his roots in the medieval tradition, as well as a new spirit of
simplicity.
A.
In a commentary on Genesis
28:10–22 written in his 60s, Luther interprets Jacob’s ladder allegorically in
a manner explicitly indebted to earlier mystics and teachers.
1.
He begins with a mandatory
distinction between the holiness that comes from God and the holiness that we
accomplish.
2.
Luther recasts in his own
terms, more scripturally, the fundamental distinction that was basically that
of the mystics in earlier ages.
B.
His A Simple Way to Pray: For Master Peter the Barber shows how a
tradition of meditation and prayer is communicated to ordinary believers.
III. John Calvin’s Institutes of
the Christian Religion contains sections that reveal the reformer’s
reappropriation of classic Christian asceticism, not for specialists but for
all believers.
A.
Institutes III, 6–8, is dedicated to
“The Life of a Christian” based on the teaching of Scripture and includes
traditional teaching on self-denial and bearing the cross.
1.
In chapter 7, he talks
about the summary of the Christian life, and he begins exactly where the
mystics began, with selfdenial.
2.
Calvin concludes this
sketch of the Christian life with bearing the cross, which is a branch of
self-denial.
B.
In both Luther and John
Calvin, we see not the rejection of the earlier Christian tradition of
asceticism and prayer but, rather, its removal from what they regarded as the
structural inhibitions for all Christians to participate in this tradition.
IV.
The Radical Reformation
among Anabaptists was embattled from the start, rejected not only by Catholics
but also by other reformers.
A.
The dedication of the
Anabaptists to the simple faith of the New Testament led to adult baptism (in
imitation of Jesus), a rejection of military duty and the taking of vows, and a
communal life that included the sharing of possessions.
B.
They had a strong sense of
the mystical presence of Christ in the gathered community’s prayer and reading
of Scripture.
C.
The persecution of the
Anabaptists led to the martyrdom of its members and leaders; like early
Christians, they saw martyrdom as full discipleship in imitation of Jesus.
D.
The spirituality of the
Anabaptists was straightforward, simple, and moving for its authenticity in the
face of adversity and death.
1.
We have, for example, a
letter from prison written by Felix Mantz, who was executed.
2.
Both Michael Sattler and
Annelein of Freiberg were condemned to death, but before their executions, they
wrote moving poetry that shows us a powerful spirit of piety and devotion.
Recommended Reading:
Krey, P. D., and P. D. S.
Krey, trans., Luther’s Spirituality (Classics of Western Spirituality.)
Questions to Consider:
1.
How did Luther and Calvin
adapt the ideals of Christian asceticism to their structural reform of the
church?
2.
Discuss how the piety of
the Anabaptists matched the radical and simple character of their communities.
Lecture
Twenty-Four Mystical Expressions in Protestantism
Scope: The mystical impulse showed
itself in various branches of Protestantism, as it had in Orthodoxy and
Catholicism. Among the most influential Protestant mystics was the Lutheran
Jakob Boehme, a craftsman whose own experiences provided fuel and guidance for
his extensive writings. Another version of Lutheran
Mysticism is found in
Pietism, a movement started by Philipp Jakob Spener. The Anglican tradition
nurtured outstanding spiritual writers, including Jeremy Taylor and William Law.
In the 18th century, John and Charles Wesley stimulated a movement
of renewal within Anglicanism that became its own denomination, Methodism.
Outline
I.
The strong mystical
tendencies evident in Catholicism in Germany and England continued in
Protestantism.
A.
As we have seen already,
both countries were home to memorable mystics in the medieval period.
1.
In Germany, Hildegard of
Bingen, Mechtilde of Magdeburg, Meister Eckhardt, Johannes Tauler, and Henry
Suso stand out.
2.
England produced Richard
Rolle, Walter Hilton, and Julian of Norwich, not to mention the anonymous
authors of the Cloud of Unknowing and
Ancrene Wisse.
B.
In both lands, reformation
exposed social and religious tensions that proved difficult to negotiate.
1.
Thomas Cranmer (14891556)
pushed the Church of England toward a thorough reform of liturgy and theology
but did not go far enough for the Puritans.
2.
Philip Melancthon
(14971560) organized Luther’s reform into a Lutheran Scholasticism that was
insufficiently radical for Anabaptists and insufficiently pious for such
students as Johann Arndt (15551621), who wrote True Christianity.
C.
Mystical teachers arose
within Protestantism in response to the desire for a personal and transcendent
devotion to God that went beyond public worship and theology.
1.
Not surprisingly, when we
look at these traditions, earlier patterns reappear: Charismatic leaders gather
followers that threaten dominant structures.
2.
As in medieval Catholicism,
it is possible to trace personal and literary influence from one generation of
devotion to another.
II.
We find elements of
continuity running through disparate stages of devotional fervor in Lutheran
Germany from the 16th to the 19th centuries.
A.
Jakob Boehme (1575-1624)
appears as an uneducated (but perhaps not untutored) mystic in the Lutheran
tradition who gathered both followers and opponents.
1.
Although a craftsman rather
than a scholar, he was exposed in his hometown of Goerlitz to a variety of
esoteric traditions and had mystical experiences from an early age. His first
work, Aurora (1612), was suppressed
for years.
2.
The Way to Christ (published in nine
separate treatises between 1620 and 1624) is the best known among many compositions
Boehme wrote when he emerged from his silencing in 1620.
3.
Boehme’s teaching fits
uneasily within orthodox Lutheranism; it has distinct Gnostic or Neoplatonic
elements. Although its theosophy is somewhat strange, its call to a passionate
personal discipleship is not.
B.
The movement called Pietism
began in 1675 with the publication by Philipp Jakob Spener (16351705) of Pia Desideria.
1.
Spener had read Johann
Arndt and was convinced of the need for a moral and religious reformation at
the individual level. He issued a six-point agenda for reform, with an emphasis
on reading Scripture in small groups.
2.
The focus on the
individual’s change of heart and holiness of life led to the spread of Pietism
in the 18th century in north and middle Germany.
C.
In response to the
Enlightenment, political upheaval, and the
Industrial Revolution, the
19th-century movement called the German Awakening sought to energize
the classic resources of Christianity.
1.
At the start of the
movement, August Tholuck (1799–1877) depicts a spirituality that celebrates
rather than rejects worldly pleasure in his sermon “Where the Spirit of the
Lord Is, There Is Freedom.”
2.
Toward the end of the
movement, Friedrich von
Bodelschwingh (18311910)
represents the active tendencies of this evangelical Lutheranism in his sermon
“Come out Joachim, the Savior Is Here.”
III. A similar tradition of devotional teaching and practice can be traced
in the Church of England.
A.
Jeremy Taylor (16131667)
lived in the tumultuous period of the Restoration and represented the Anglican
tradition against Puritan pressure.
1.
His personal life was
marked by controversy and the deaths of many loved ones.
2.
In The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living (1650) and The Rule and Exercises of Holy Dying (1651),
he gave classic expression to Christian spirituality, with a strain of
Renaissance learning.
B.
William Law (16861761) was
a fellow at Cambridge and an Anglican priest who became the center of a small
spiritual community and a defender of Anglican theology against Deism.
1.
A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life (1728) argues that a devout life leads to greater happiness than its
opposite. He makes wonderfully imaginative use of personification, developing
his points by embodying them in characters.
2.
In the explicitly mystical Spirit of Love (1752–1754), Law shows
the influence of Jakob Boehme.
C.
The brothers John Wesley
(17031791) and Charles Wesley
(17071788) were disciples
of William Law. They began a renewal movement within the Anglican Church known
as Methodism, which eventually became a distinct denomination.
1.
John Wesley placed a strong
emphasis on personal experience and the process of sanctification, as can be
seen in A Plain Account of Genuine
Christianity (1753).
2.
Charles Wesley expressed
the same theological sensibility through the composition of thousands of hymns.
Recommended Reading:
Erb, P. trans., Jacob Boehme (Classics of Western Spirituality.) Stanwood, P. G. William Law (Classics of Western Spirituality.)
Questions to Consider:
1.
Discuss whether—in terms of
mysticism—more is lost or gained in the progression from Jakob Boehme to the
pastors of the German Awakening.
2.
Can one discern lines of
continuity running from medieval English Catholic Mysticism to the writings of
the Anglican tradition?
Lecture
Twenty-Five 20th-Century Mystics
Scope: Forms of mysticism continue to
flourish in Christianity of the 20th and 21st centuries,
in Orthodox and Catholic monasteries, in groups of Protestants devoted to the
prayerful reading of Scripture and, most dramatically, in the communal
ecstasies of Pentecostal worship. This lecture discusses three individual
mystics who stand out because of their lives and writings. Thomas Merton was a
Trappist monk who embraced both Western and Eastern mystical traditions and
sought ever greater solitude even while becoming the most famous (and
politically outspoken) monk in the world. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a
Jesuit whose vision of reality fused scientific optimism and a cosmic
Christology. Simone Weil was a philosopher and activist whose posthumously
published writings reveal a powerful mystical life.
Outline
I.
The social and symbolic
framework of traditional Christianity and Christian Mysticism have been shaken
by modernity.
A.
The entire Christian creed
has been challenged by the intellectual revolutions of the 18th
through 20th centuries.
1.
The European Enlightenment
and ensuing scientific progress provided an alternative way of knowing and
valuing the world.
2.
The symbolic world of the
Bible was the particular target of historical-critical inquiry.
B.
The political and social
upheavals of recent centuries have equally had an impact on the Christian
worldview.
1.
Political revolutions have
led to the collapse of Christendom and to the creation of a secular or even
anti-religious state.
2.
Social theory has viewed
human society not as God-given but as generated by human needs and desires.
C.
Theological tendencies
within Christianity have responded to these challenges with a more
this-worldly, activist ideal of Christian life.
II.
Despite such changes,
mysticism continues to flourish in diverse ways throughout the three major
forms of Christianity.
A.
In Orthodoxy, marked
primarily by a commitment to “Holy Tradition,” forms of mysticism associated
with Hesychasm have a central place.
1.
The great monastic centers
have survived and even proliferated, housing thousands of anonymous monks
devoted to silent prayer.
2.
Such centers have also
generated mystics and saints whose teaching is spread through writing, such as
the work of Elder Porphyrios and Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain.
B.
Within Roman Catholicism,
the spiritual life is cultivated among both religious and lay people.
1.
All the great monastic and
mendicant orders (and many more) have spread throughout the world, maintaining
their particular forms of devotion.
2.
In the United States alone,
there are some 63 Benedictine and 28 Jesuit retreat houses where laypeople can
share in the contemplative experience.
C.
Even in Protestantism,
where modernity made the most obvious inroads, forms of intense devotion are
cultivated.
1.
Among evangelical
Christians, revivals, tent-meetings, Bible camps, and faith-sharing groups all
provide opportunities for deepening personal devotion.
2.
In Pentecostal churches,
some forms of worship, such as speaking in tongues, have roots in earlier
mystical tradition.
III. In the second half of the 20th century, three widely
known figures can be taken to represent some of the options for Christian
mystics in modernity.
A.
Thomas Merton (19151968)
was a Trappist monk whose search for God in solitude led to worldwide fame.
1.
The account of his
conversion to Christianity and entrance into Gethsemani Abbey in The Seven Storey Mountain (1948) made
him a celebrity.
2.
An intellectual and
prolific writer, Merton celebrated the contemplative life and sought the desert
experience of a hermitage.
3.
Even as he embraced the
traditional forms of Christian Mysticism, he sought wisdom from Sufi masters
and from Buddhist and Taoist writings.
4.
Through writings and
personal contacts, Merton also engaged pressing social issues of the day, such
as the civil rights movement, the Cold War, and nuclear armament.
B.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
(18811955) was a Jesuit priest and paleontologist who sought to fuse the
horizons of evolutionary science and faith.
1.
He participated in
significant scientific discoveries (such as the discovery of Peking man in
1929) while remaining faithful to the priesthood and his vow of obedience. His
controversial views circulated privately because of censorship by the Vatican
and were published posthumously.
2.
In The Phenomenon of Man (1955), Teilhard offered an evolutionary
interpretation of spirit (consciousness) as arising from the complexification
of matter in accord with God’s plan, leading to the development of a cosmic
“Noosphere.”
3.
The greatest challenge to
humanity was moral: Would humans evolve toward unity or divisiveness?
Teilhard’s hope is expressed in the phrase: “Everything that rises must
converge.”
4.
Shorter writings, such as
those found in Hymn of the Universe
(1965), show the roots of his vision in an intense mystical outlook.
C.
Simone Weil (19091943) was
a brilliant philosopher and political activist whose mysticism stayed on the
fringes of Christianity.
1.
Raised in an agnostic
Jewish family with a brilliant sibling, from childhood, she identified with the
poor and outcast. She was a Marxist, fought in the Spanish Civil War and worked
for a time in a factory. Her severe fasting may have been a form of anorexia; she
died from tuberculosis at the age of 34.
2.
Weil had powerful mystical
experiences in 1937 that drew her to Catholicism, and she corresponded with a
priest, but on principle, she was never baptized, finding much to embrace in
“outsiders” to Christianity.
3.
In her published work, her
view of reality has striking similarities to forms of Kabbalism, and her mystic
sensibility has a strong element of affliction.
Recommended Reading:
Weil, S. Waiting for God.
Questions to Consider:
1.
Discuss the ways in which
modernity in thought and in fact has threatened the credibility of Christian
convictions.
2.
How do the three mystics of
modernity (Merton, Teilhard, and Weil) exemplify a “move toward the world”?
