Mysticism... the challenge of exploring!

 

Christian mysticism

In the past year I have read a number of articles and books on the topic of Christian mysticism. (A good starting point would be the aptly entitled Christian Mysticism W R Inge, in which the author traces the history of Christian mysticism, the dangers and pitfalls of pursuing a particular line of thought too far but, most importantly, the riches that can come through exploring mystery.)

What does it mean?

For the purposes of this blog I will use Inge’s helpful definitions:

• Religious Mysticism may be defined as the attempt to realise the presence of the living God in the soul and in nature, or, more generally, as the attempt to realise, in thought and feeling, the immanence of the temporal in the eternal, and of the eternal in the temporal. 
• The mystic makes it his life's aim to be transformed into the likeness of Him in whose image he was created.

Now, beginning with the assumption that all believers acknowledge that we could not work out our own salvation if God, by His Spirit, were not already working in us - mystics have that longing to go deeper, to explore further. Figuring that the infinite cannot be contained so, if we live in a box, however we define that, we could spend an entire lifetime searching around the box and getting to know it very well, however, it would remain a box with us inside and therefore a finite experience. This feeling of being constrained is very strong for the mystic, whether or not this is the reality, it is a perception that drives them on to explore further the depths of God in all His infinite glory.

The unhappy history...

Throughout Church history there have been mystics, Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant, who have sought to explore unexplored depths and, insodoing, have found themselves isolated from the wider body of Christ. Perhaps a contemporary example of this might be Rob Bell. He thinks, he explores and he share his thoughts, and he provokes reaction. (It would be good if it provoked deeper thought as quickly as it provokes reaction but there we are!) I don’t agree with Rob's conclusions on many issues but I do enjoy the fact that he continues to explore and is willing to explain his exploration.

The tension of the unknown

We don’t like the tension of the unknown, it would seem, and Church history is full of the church casting out the mad mystics who, it was deemed, pulled the Church in strange and unusual directions, often challenging the orthodox because, through the journeying, they seem to find a much deeper satisfaction in God and their personal relationship with Him. “This should not be” shout the religious people with correct doctrine “They are wrong therefore their experience must be counterfeit” … and so the cycle of anger begins, nothing so grumpy as an unhappy, correct person!

But, when we take a step back and acknowledge that we are in relationship with One who is both knowable and beyond knowing we must accept that this tension will always exist. 

Keeping the body together...

In Proverbs 18:1 we read “Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire, he breaks out against all sound judgement.” 

You can become isolated from fellowship in one of two ways - you can remove yourself or, others can remove themselves from you. Either way, isolation comes and therein the danger of lacking sound judgement and of being willing to listen to others and of being with others who are willing to listen. In the past both have existed. There have been those that removed themselves from the body - and we should not be surprised to see they found themselves in a vulnerable place with unusual doctrines. 

However, of greater sadness to me is our impoverishment when we isolated others by disassociation and by taking a step away from them because we can’t understand them, are threatened by their thoughts or worse, jealous. We are then responsible for putting these people in a vulnerable place where they are more likely to move away from sound judgement and we have robbed the body of Christ of being enriched by their experiences and explorations.

In closing...

Surely, any avenue through which a fuller and deeper appreciation of God, of Christ, of what He has done and of who we are in Him, is to be cherished, considered and listened to?

“The "impregnable rock" is neither an institution nor a book, but a life or experience. Faith, which is an affirmation of the basal personality, is its own evidence and justification.” Inge

Press on!