Christian Mysticism
Foundational Premise:
Every human person
has the capacity to know God
“Natural Theology.”
The truth about God has
been made quite plain to all
people. For since the
beginning of the world the
invisible attributes of God,
e.g. his eternal power and
divinity, have been plainly
discernible through things
which he has made and
which are commonly seen
and known.
Romans 1:19-20
“Dogmatic Theology”
God, who gave our forefathers many different
glimpses of the truth in the words of the prophets,
has now, at the end of the present age, given us
the truth in the Son…
This Son, a radiance of the glory of God, is the
flawless expression of the nature of God.”
Hebrews 1:1-2
“Mystical Theology”
A direct experience with God
Rufus Jones, 1920s
Mysticism places emphasis on
immediate awareness of God, on
direct and intimate experience of
the Divine Presence.
(Studies in Mystical Religion)
What Christian Mystics Know
1.
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A Christian mystic has moved from
knowing about God to knowing God
God and Christ are not merely
objects of belief, icons, or ethical
principles, but living persons whom
are known on a first-hand basis
A Christian mystic has moved from
brain-deep knowledge of God to
heart-deep knowledge of God
Jones on Experiencing God
God does not begin in our consciousness as
an abstract idea: He is first of all a real
presence, not an inference.
He is an experience, the ground and basics
of all our other knowledge and of all the
values which attract us.
from The Testimony of the Soul, 1937
Job, ancient Jewish text
Then Job replied to the Lord: ‘I
know that you can do anything,
and no one can stop you. You
asked, ‘Who is this that questions my
wisdom with such ignorance?’
It is I—and I was talking about
things I knew nothing about,
things far too wonderful for
me…I had only heard about
you before, but now I have
seen you with my own eyes.
Moses, 1800 BC
“It was Moses’ practice to take the Tent of Meeting and set it up some
distance from the camp…Whenever MosesArrest
went
thatout to the Tent of
man for
Meeting, all the people would get up and stand
in the entrances of
mocking my
their own tents. As he went into the tent, theglorious
pillar of cloud would
beard!
come down and hover at its entrance while the
Lord spoke with
Moses.
When the people saw the cloud standing at the entrance of the tent,
they would stand and bow down in front of their own tents. Inside the
Tent of Meeting, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as
one speaks to a friend.”
Exodus 33:7-11
Isaiah, 700 BC
It was in the year King Uzziah
died that I saw the Lord.
Attending him were mighty
seraphim, each having six wings.
With two wings they covered their
faces, with two they covered their
feet, and with two they flew.
They were calling out to each
other, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord
of Heaven’s Armies!
Isaiah 6:1-8
Jesus, circa 30 AD
Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in
you. When you're joined with me and I with you,
the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is
sure to be abundant. Separated, you can't produce
a thing.
John 15:4-7
Paul, circa 35-40 A.D.
As he neared Damascus on his journey,
suddenly a light from heaven flashed around
him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say
to him, “[Paul], why do you persecute me?”
“Who are you, Lord?” [Paul] asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” The
men traveling with Paul stood there speechless.
Acts 9:3-7
John, circa 90 A.D.
On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I
heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,
which said, “Write on a scroll what you see…”
I turned around to see the voice that was
speaking to me. And when I turned I saw
someone ‘like a son of man.’
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.
Revelation 1:9-17
Augustine, 4th century
When first I knew Thee, you
took hold of me, so that I could
see that there was something to
be seen, though I was not yet fit
to see it.
And you beat back my weak
sight, dazzling me with Thy
splendor, and I was thrilled with
love.
The Confessions
Thomas Aquinas, 13th century
I have seen that which made the
writing of books a small and
insignificant thing.”
Sister Teresa of Avila, 16th century
Just as God has a private place in heaven,
so does he have a dwelling place in the soul.
It is here that a kind of spiritual marriage
takes place between God and his spouse,
the soul. In this union, God removes the
blinding scales from our spiritual eyes and
we see God.
In the deepest interior place there is firsthand recognition.
Interior Castle
Brother Lawrence, 17th century
I have a friend who these forty years past has been practicing the
Presence of God. It is what he calls the actual Presence…Then it is
he feels that only God and he are in the world, with Him he holds
unbroken converse, asking from Him the supply of all his needs, and
finding in His Presence fullness of joy…
In the depth of his being is where the soul speaks to God, heart to
heart, and over the soul there steals a great and profound peace.
The Practice of the Presence of God
George Fox, 1647
Then I heard a Voice which
said, ‘There is one Christ
Jesus, that can speak to
thy condition’; and when I
heard it my heart leapt for joy.
And this I knew experimentally…
And [it] did let me see his Love, which was endless
and eternal and surpasseth all the knowledge that
people have.
The Journal of George Fox
Marmaduke Stevenson, 1655
I was at the plough in the east parts of Yorkshire in Old
England, near the place where by outward being was, and as I
walked after the plough, I was filled with the love and presence
of the Living God, which did ravish my heart when I felt it.
It did increase and abound in me like a living stream, so did the
love and life of God run through me like precious ointment,
giving a pleasant smell, which made me to stand still.
John Rowntree, 1880s
Just as he was entering young manhood and was beginning to feel
the dawning sense of a great mission before him, he discovered that
he was slowly losing his sight and hearing. He was told that before
middle life he would become totally blind.
Dazed and overwhelmed he staggered from the doctor’s office into
the streets and stood there in silence. Suddenly he felt the love of
God wrap him about as though a visible presence enfolded him, and
a joy filled him, such as he had never known before. From that time
until this joy was deepened into the new life of to-day, he was a
gloriously joyous and happy man.
Eulogy for John Rowntree in The American Friend
Rufus Jones, 1920s
In the same way, when the inward weather is just right; when selfish
ambition is hushed; when the clouds and shadows, which sin makes,
are swept away and genuine love makes the whole inner atmosphere
pure and free from haze, then I know that I find a beyond which
before was nowhere in sight and might easily not have been
suspected.
I cannot decide whether this extended range of sight is due to
alterations in myself, or whether it is due to some sudden increase of
spiritual visibility in the great reality itself. I only know the fact. Before,
I was occupied with things; now, I commune with God and am as sure
of him as I am of the mountains beyond my lake.”
Spiritual Energies in Daily Life
Thomas Kelly, 1940s
Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary
of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Center, a speaking
Voice. Eternity is at our hearts, pressing upon our timeworn lives, warming us with intimations of an
astounding destiny, calling us home unto Itself.
It is the Presence in the midst. Here is the Slumbering
Christ, stirring to be awakened, to become the soul we
clothe in earthly form and action.
A Testament of Devotion
Howard Thurman, 1940s
There would come a moment when there was a
Sense of Presence which seemed always to
speak to me. My response to this Sense of
Presence always had the quality of personal
communion.
There was no voice.There was no image.There
was no vision.There was God.
Important sources
The Bible
Studies in Mystical Religion,
Rufus Jones
A Testament of Devotion,
Thomas Kelly
The Practice of the Presence of God,
Brother Lawrence
The Trustworthiness of Religious Experience,
Elton Trueblood
Core Practices
Prayer
Silence/Solitude
Contemplation
Simultaneity
Validating Process
Are there many reports of first-hand
experience of God by many people of many
types in all ages of history?
Are those who report first-hand experience
generally trustworthy on other matters?
Is there substantial agreement in what is told
us about God?
Are the lives of those who experience God
changed?