Mysticism for Moderns,
or Agnostic to Gnostic,
I take it for granted that faith is a matter of experience. I also assume that it should make intellectual sense. This is a record of my searching and finding in both these areas.
I found cause to question the Christian faith radically, but the parts that I had to reject or reinterpret were precisely those parts that cut it off from other faiths. This was not the criterion for modification, but the very pleasant consequence of re-examination on grounds of internal consistency. By the end, a complete and long overdue restatement of Christianity in the language and thought of today has been made. I am no iconoclast, rather I have made Christianity shine as the beautiful faith that it is, and fit to converse with sister faiths.
I discovered that astonishing dignity and power belong to the human condition, and that the writings of the mystics, far from being vague, mysterious and difficult to understand are extremely lucid and relevant, also that their experiences are available to us who live and work in the world at large, not on demand it is true, not instantly, not to be had for money, but available.
I find no difference between Mystical Union and Gnosis, so this also serves to express Gnosticism in modern terms.
Those who know The Cloud of Unknowing, St Teresa of Avila’s Life and Interior Castle, St Thérèse of Lisieux’ Autobiography of a Saint, Brother Lawrence’s The Practice of the Presence of God, Joel Goldsmith’s The Infinite Way, Walsch’s Conversations with God, Plato’s Symposium, Elaine Pagels’ The Gnostic Gospels, the Anna books by Fynn, Apuleius’ The Golden Ass, the Upanishads and the Hermetica will not find anything new or surprising here. A lot of it was new and surprising as I was discovering it.
To establish a place from which to speak, to let you know what lies behind my words, to achieve precision by giving the background and the larger picture, and to ensure that I communicate from the heart, I tell my story, or that part of it which is relevant. After that there is the central section "Christianity Refreshed". A series of shorter pieces follows, some of which have sub-themes:
The Real Story of Abraham and Isaac
Chalcedon Revisited
A Screwtape letter newly discovered in the archives
Soul and Spirit, a substantial section
Coventry, exploring spiritual power
The Testament, including two-level interpretation of scripture
A Dialogue, which shows how not to do it
The Blood of Christ
Fear
Cannibals, two sections returning to concerns of the soul
James Nayler
The Greatest Story Ever Told.
Dies Irae
Read and enjoy.
I found cause to question the Christian faith radically, but the parts that I had to reject or reinterpret were precisely those parts that cut it off from other faiths. This was not the criterion for modification, but the very pleasant consequence of re-examination on grounds of internal consistency. By the end, a complete and long overdue restatement of Christianity in the language and thought of today has been made. I am no iconoclast, rather I have made Christianity shine as the beautiful faith that it is, and fit to converse with sister faiths.
I discovered that astonishing dignity and power belong to the human condition, and that the writings of the mystics, far from being vague, mysterious and difficult to understand are extremely lucid and relevant, also that their experiences are available to us who live and work in the world at large, not on demand it is true, not instantly, not to be had for money, but available.
I find no difference between Mystical Union and Gnosis, so this also serves to express Gnosticism in modern terms.
Those who know The Cloud of Unknowing, St Teresa of Avila’s Life and Interior Castle, St Thérèse of Lisieux’ Autobiography of a Saint, Brother Lawrence’s The Practice of the Presence of God, Joel Goldsmith’s The Infinite Way, Walsch’s Conversations with God, Plato’s Symposium, Elaine Pagels’ The Gnostic Gospels, the Anna books by Fynn, Apuleius’ The Golden Ass, the Upanishads and the Hermetica will not find anything new or surprising here. A lot of it was new and surprising as I was discovering it.
To establish a place from which to speak, to let you know what lies behind my words, to achieve precision by giving the background and the larger picture, and to ensure that I communicate from the heart, I tell my story, or that part of it which is relevant. After that there is the central section "Christianity Refreshed". A series of shorter pieces follows, some of which have sub-themes:
The Real Story of Abraham and Isaac
Chalcedon Revisited
A Screwtape letter newly discovered in the archives
Soul and Spirit, a substantial section
Coventry, exploring spiritual power
The Testament, including two-level interpretation of scripture
A Dialogue, which shows how not to do it
The Blood of Christ
Fear
Cannibals, two sections returning to concerns of the soul
James Nayler
The Greatest Story Ever Told.
Dies Irae
Read and enjoy.