So this little meditation is for two audiences: those who would like to consider what is true about a religion based on its mystical traditions; and those Christians who may have dismissed the mystical streams in their own faith, because of extremes of exaggerated versions. I would like to define a mystic as someone who seeks or claims to encounter the ultimate truth of their religion or faith, and to directly encounter it. Not all mysticisms are the same. I focus in this dialogue with Dallas Willard’s thoughts, mostly on the theistic forms of mysticism, because these are the ones I’ve studied most. I am convinced that mysticism is one way to look carefully at what a religion is really grounded in and saying. How it is lived out. For this reason the study of mysticism is a window into what is essential faith. What is your ultimate, and how does that cause you to live in real life? Anyways, i begin with some long but helpful quotes about mysticism from the late Dallas Willard. Helpful thoughts, i think.
I hope this article helps those who are open to at least the mystical streams in the world religions, and helps them as well as Christians to consider Christian mysticism as a valid option for true spirituality in our times.
In non-theistic mysticisms, the Ultimate is impersonal–either viewed as a Life Force, or Principle or Energy itself of life. The Vedic ways are many to make contact with the ultimate, to become one with Oneness itself. But here I want to focus on what distinguishes Christ centered mysticism from other forms.
Is there a distinction to Christian mysticism? Are all mysticisms the same? Is his and my basic question in this article.
Some people don’t like the sound of mysticism, too esoteric or impractical, but if you look at it as those who are seeking the true essence or Source of your religion, and wanting to express and live in and from it, it gets more interesting for study. To see it as the actual spirituality (the lived out-ness of your beliefs about The Nature of Reality!) of your religion.
We want to look at people’s actual lived spirituality to access the essential nature of a particular religion. Those who have claimed to actually live out that religion, are the easiest to read the faith through. So with Christianity, you might want to look at someone like Martin Luther King, or Mother Teresa, Albert Swietzer, Bonhoeffer, or others who you think lived the spirituality of that tradition. Those who appeared to have contact with its Source. Like St John, or St Paul who had overt recorded encounters with Jesus.
For Christians, the ground of all Being, The Absolute, is Jesus Christ Himself. So we don’t just merge we enter intimate relations with Him. The hebrew word for knowing refers to sexual intimacy. So that it is that level of knowing–person to Person depth of being exchange. That sets it apart even in its mystical streams of expression. The Absolute is not a nebulous “sacred”, or energy force, but a living personal loving God, who makes Himself encounter able! And has revealed Himself and His Ways into human history.That’s unique. The God with us part who reveals Himself in history. It still matters what or Whom your Ultimate is.
Ours is a relational mysticism, less about dissolving into Other, and more about a loving relationship, or ongoing dialogue or conversation, with the Ultimate Other who has made Himself known in history—Jesus, the Christ. Unlike the Vedic or non-theistic religions, we do not just overcome the illusion we are separate from Reality, we relate directly to it in order to even find our who we are. We enter self revealing direct relationship with Christ Himself. That’s unique to Christ-ianity, which is always centered in the sustainer of all things—the sacrificial Son of God, the Christ, the Anointed by God one. This gets uniquely expressed through the lives of the mystics within true church history.
This is a useful and helpful way to read christian history. Read history through its mystics-those who have claimed, like St Paul-to have an encounter with Jesus Himself. And some who have even claimed to have daily friendship with Him directly. Those who claimed to have encountered the essence of their faith—in this case, those who have met and are friends with Jesus. The Real Jesus who sustains all of Reality! And the Author and Sustainer of our faith!
Distinctions help especially when studying mysticism. I will define a mystic as someone who claims to have encountered ultimate reality directly. So it matters what each religion’s ultimate or upper storey is. And the fruit of having that as your Ultimate! A tree is known by its fruit.
In college, I studied comparative religious art specifically looking at mystical traditions within various religions. Still fascinates me as it’s easier to read the direct symbols which stream through the mystical traditions of the worlds religions. Fun place to start if you want to see the essence of a religion. And not just reject the entire pursuit of spirituality.
Rather than throwing out all claims at mysticism, I wanted to consider what they express about each religion’s ultimate or highest absolute. It was a helpful way to study religions of the world. I mainly focused on the Theistic ones, as having a Personal God as your ultimate has been my lived experience. Having a friendship with God, interest me more than dissolving into an abstract Being-ness or nothingness. I want to know a Someone, not nothingness. So I started with the religions who claimed to have a Personal God, one which we could relate to somehow down here.
There are many ways to study religious traditions, the mysticism of each faith is a helpful way in.
I think it’s a good topic again in our day of watered down easy to digest religious supermarkets.
I’m convinced that Christianity offers the most true form of mysticism available. Yet it is often misunderstood even within Christianity. Yet as people search for a more authentic spirituality, I think it’s useful to consider what makes Christian mysticism unique or distinct from other religions.
All the theistic religions have a personal most High God as ultimate. And they have a relational rather than merging into model for mystical Union.
In Christianity the marriage metaphors is most often used for ultimate Union. Groom and bride metaphors are throughout the Jewish prophets and again in the New Testament where it is specifically applied to Jesus as Groom and His church or people as the bride. This central metaphor speaks of a knowing intimacy. To know in Hebrew refers among other things to sexual or most intimate knowing.
So we are meant to come into marital intimacy with Christ. That’s a basis for true Christian intimacy. We take on and receive His Name–Christ. We do so as in getting married to Christ. That’s a core foundation in true Christianity. It is a marital level of union with one another. And in doing so, we get caught up in Our Groom’s intimacy with His Father, which space is our home. It’s a very family relations religion! But the way we come into the family is to marry Jesus. That’s what true mystical practice is about–that marriage or type of union between two. This is what Jesus was talking about in John 17–you in Me, and Me in Father. That space is the aim of Christ centered mysticism.
This is one reason why marriage is such a “high symbol” in Christianity-it speaks of the nature of our relationship with Christ!! It’s meant to have the level of contact and encounter as marital intimacy. A marital intimacy not with a nebulous other, but with The Person of Jesus Christ. It’s not a random marriage with being itself, or energy, it is a relationship with a Someone.
That’s a core image of Christian mysticism. Union is relational and it is ultimately with Jesus Christ who Christians believe to be the “ground of all Being”, or the Absolute or Ultimate—the name or Identity above all other Names and Identities so to speak. And we are offered a relational mystic union with Him. That’s the core offer of Jesus coming to earth, and into “our hearts”.
Postlude:
I’ve been looking at how mystical experiences informed the spirituality of some of the church fathers as well. St John being the most obvious, but I’m considering Paul a mystic also.
Been studying St Paul as a mystic lately. Paul as a master of word and Spirit…
St Paul as a mystic. Someone who was given “revealed theology” from God directly! Consider it. His entire conversion was a mystical experience, then he is directed directly by God’s intervention on his missions.
We think of St Paul, as the great theologian, but he clearly also had direct encounters with even Jesus, which is why he claimed to be an apostle! But his spirituality was replete with mystical encounters with God. Visions, dreams and spiritual training from above etc. Good to remember that some of the early apostles actually were mystics, though in a uniquely Christ centered way.
I’ve been thinking lots about Paul’s spirituality, since he is considered to be the first to really lay out a Christian theology. It’s important to consider that he had direct encounters with God, but also very clear revealed thinking— he directly encountered, even the risen Christ, if we are to believe scriptures!
When you think of it, Paul’s entire spirituality was really begun by a mystical encounter with the Risen Jesus. The rest is history. Don’t discard your mystics.
He also got his fresh gospel for the gentiles (“this gospel”)—a “mystery” revealed to him, concealed in God beforehand, as Paul puts it in his letter to the thessolonians.
In fact, his entire journey was informed by mysteries previously concealed by God but which were revealed to him. One basic one being that non-Jews are included in the Kingdom! A very useful revelation for us!
Paul considered and called himself a steward of the mysteries of God!
It is still remarkable to me how many “founders of our faith” had extremely mystical spiritualities. St John is overt, but many don’t think of Paul as someone who was directly informed by his encounters with God. Yet, he was, as we are meant to be.
For Christians, again, the ground of all Being, The Absolute, is Jesus Christ Himself. That sets it apart even in its mystical streams of expression. The Absolute is not a nebulous “sacred” but a living personal loving God, who makes Himself encounterable! It still matters what or Whom your Ultimate is. Our spiritual parents had a specific Personal Ultimate, and had a marital union of friendship with Him!
So, of course not all mysticism are the same or equal. Depends on what or Whom your ultimate is! Mysticism is typically defined as some form of union with The Absolute or Ultimate. In Christianity, this would be with Jesus, the Author and sustainer of Reality. The Logos or Way of God incarnate.
There are basically theistic forms of mysticism which see the ultimate as Person, and others, usually Vedic faiths, which see the “ground of all Being” as impersonal. That’s one major dividing line, as depending on which you believe, you live differently. It matters what we union with or center in, and what is the nature of that union. Is it loving relationship or a merging with consciousness, or nothingness etc…”Choose your ultimate wisely, it will determine your course!” as one of my mentors put it.
Jesus claims to be the Ultimate come down into human history and making God available to us through intimacy with Him and His spirituality. Union with His Spirit in His relationship with His Father. That alone makes christianity peculiar, as my grandmother used to say. You have ultimate ground of all being incarnating into His own creation and offering a gateway into The Most High God Father. Christlikeness would be union with His Nature over time. That’s the daily practice of the Christ-ian mystic!
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