Part 2: The Rise of Christian Mysticism in the Church
About a year ago I was talking with a couple who I look up to and respect. The conversation turned to church and a movement that I had heard about, but really never understood or paid attention to it. The conversation got my attention when my friends mentioned a very popular devotional book, entitled, “Jesus Calling” by Sara Young and began to point out the signs of mysticism throughout her book. Why it got my attention? My daughters had received this book a few months earlier as a gift and I remember seeing my daughters read through it. Upon my study my eyes were opened and my ears became sensitive to key words such as, “ancient disciplines”, “experiencing God is of importance”, “I heard the voice of God say to me…”, “disciplines of our church Fathers, Lecto Divino and contemplative prayer. In reading articles concerning the movement, key names such as Henri Nouwen, Thomas Keating and Richard Foster stood out to me. Why? In recent books I have read, they were quoted as modern leaders in the spiritual formation of the church. I remember reading Richard Fosters book “Celebration of Discipline” back in college and did not think anything about until recently. So I decided to take a deeper look into this movement that is penetrating Christian high schools, colleges and the church.
In part one we took a look at meditation and prayer. In part two we will conclude by taking a look at two other key areas of the spiritual formation movement, study and solitude.
Study
The study of God’s Word brings life,
confidence and assurance to those who inductively study the Bible. Paul writes in Romans 10:17, “Consequently,
faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word
of God” (NIV). Christian growth comes
from being in God’s Word. Inductive
study of the Bible helps the reader to see the observations of the passage. Meaning that the reader is taking the
Scripture and asking the question, “What is the passage saying?”. Interpretation of the Scripture is sharing
what it means and lastly the application is asking “How does this apply to
me?”. Foster on the other hand explains
the study of Scripture by saying, “Study is a specific kind of experience in
which through careful observation of objective structures we cause thought
processes to move in a certain way.”[1] There are four steps that he recommends when
coming to the discipline of study, repetition, concentration, comprehension,
and reflection.
Repetition is taking a passage or word
from Scripture and begins repeating it in hopes to channel the mind towards a
certain direction or inner peace. An
example used in motivational circles is repeating a phrase such as, “I am great
and bold”. Repeating this phrase is
believed to change the mindset of the person and thus create a great and bold
person. This idea is applied to Scripture.
Channel a phrase or passage that is to be repeated, such as “Love thy
neighbor” for example. Repeat these
words over and over and it is believed to change the direction or mindset of
the person to do just that…love your neighbor.
In his book “The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment”,
famous new age philosopher Eckhart Tolle says this in a section of his book entitled,
Freeing Yourself from Your Mind.
“The good news is that you can free yourself from your mind. This is the only true liberation. You can take the first step right now. Start listening to the voice in your head as often as you can. Pay particular attention to any repetitive thought patterns, those old gramophone records that have been playing in your head perhaps for many years. This is what I mean by “watching thinker”, which is another way of saying: listen to the voice in your head, be there as the witnessing presence.”[2]
Concentration is
believed to happen once the person focuses on the repeated matter, thus
bringing a heightened focus on that which is being studied. Foster then states that comprehension brings
a person, “to insight and discernment.”[3] Thus, Scripture after being repeated and
concentrated on, through comprehension the passage now becomes a part of the
person which leads to reflection.
Scripture is believed now to become a part of a person which then brings
change or helps us to see things as God would see them.
Instead of the
Holy Spirit bringing us to knowledge of God’s word and conviction, man becomes
the interpreter of Scripture which can lead to fallacy and the deconstruction
of the passage. Paul challenged Timothy
prior to his death to continue in the teachings of the apostles, and most
importantly from the Scriptures “which are able to make you wise for salvation
through faith in Christ”. Paul who
recognizes God’s involvement in the Scriptures and the influence of the Holy
Spirit closes chapter 4 of 2 Timothy with the following words. “All Scripture
is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training
in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every
good work.”.[4]
Solitude
In Matthew
14:22-23 we see Jesus getting away from the crowd and disciples after a day of
ministering to the people. In this case
it was the feeding of the five thousand, probably more than that since men were
only counted in ancient culture. So, I
am sure Jesus was exhausted and needed time away. There is nothing wrong in getting away for
solitude, a place where there is no distractions or responsibilities. There is nothing wrong to create a time to
spend with the Lord in prayer and the reading of the Scriptures. This can be refreshing, as we allow God’s
word to speak to us and then apply that which we have learned to our life. Yet, Foster defines solitude by stating the
following.
“But if we possess inward solitude we will not fear being alone, for we know that we are not alone…Inward solitude will have outward manifestations. There will be the freedom to be alone, not in order to be away from people but in order to hear better.”[5]
He then goes on to
state that Jesus lived an inward solitude life.
Yet, throughout this state of solitude one must ask where does one get
these thoughts and then present them as disciplines of the Christian
faith. Foster refers to them as
“masters”. Other famous philosophers of
Christian mysticism, such as Henri Nouwen and Thomas Keating refer to these
“masters” as the Dessert Fathers, a group of ascetic monks who were seen as
holy and enlightened. In his article The
Bodhisattva in the Desert: Ahisma in the Desert Fathers, Tim Vivian states the
following concerning the Desert Fathers.
“Through their way of life, teaching, spiritual counsel, and example, the early Christian Monks are bodhisattvas. In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a deity or being who has attained enlightenment awaking, worthy of nirvana, but who remains in the human world to help others.”[6]
In other words
Vivian is uplifting these Desert Fathers as men who had received spiritual
insight and oneness with God. Because of
this “enlighten” stage, these mean are being lifted up and called upon to
challenge Christians to apply spiritual disciplines that is supposed to bring
one to experience God. John of the
Cross (1587) explained to the nuns of Beas Granada the following, “Wisdom
enters through love, silence, and mortification. It is great wisdom to know how
to be silent and to look at neither the remarks, nor the deeds, nor the lives
of others. It is better to learn to silence and quiet the faculties so that God
may speak”[7]
By using the examples of the Desert
Fathers, Foster gives recommendations that lead a person to solitude. He recommends a person to capture moments in
the day that we can call “little solitudes”.
This can be moments that include waking up, driving to a destination or
before a meal. Another is finding a
“quite place that especially designed for a place of solitude. This can be a special place outside, a
sanctuary or he even recommends a closet.
Foster even goes as far as challenging the believer to live an entire
day in silence and then write out what the person felt and maybe even what God
said to them. In the introduction to her
devotional book, Jesus Calling, author Sara Young writes about her practice of
intimacy and solitude. Her devotional is
based on the words she received from Jesus during her solitude time and even
challenges the reader to read the words as if Jesus was speaking to you. She concludes her introduction with the
following challenge.
“These messages are meant to be read slowly, preferably in a quiet place. I invite you to keep a journal to record any thoughts or impressions you receive as you wait in his Presence.”[8]
CONCLUSION
Christian mystic Henri Nouwen says the
following, “Many people are asking their religious leaders to help them find
their way through the complex labyrinth of contemporary living”.[9] In a culture where people lack the concept of
right and wrong; doctrine and knowledge of the Scriptures, it does not surprise
me that Christian mysticism is a tsunami of a movement within the church. From the pulpit to worship songs it seems that
mysticism has crept into the churches and many people do not even know it. Just this morning our congregation was
signing a very popular worship song when the words made me take a double
look! “You are the love I need/ You are the air I breathe/ You are my
love my life always forever.” Jesus, “You are the air I breathe”? I did not realize that we can breathe in
Jesus? I have sung this song so many
times, yet due to this research my mystic antennas are up and for the first
time these words caught my attention.
The danger of Christian mysticism is that it sounds great, yet it’s
subtle. Roger Oakland writes in Faith
Undone: The Emerging Church, “When we embrace ideas and philosophies of man
rather than the inspired Word of God, it does not take long to be led astray.”[10] This is why Paul’s warning to the church of
Colossi re-sounds very loud to our generation.
“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive
philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces
of this world rather than on Christ.”[11]
In doing this research I have asked myself why? Why has this movement become accepted within the local church by leaders and practiced by many lay people? I came to a conclusion. First, the lack of doctrine being spoken from the pulpit has contributed to the dumbing down of lay people. To many times I have sat in services where the pastor did not open his Bible or spoke a “group session” sermon. These messages may have some purpose, yet when it consumes the pulpit and truth in God’s Word is not spoken, people will not know how to defend their faith or worse believe in something that goes against the Word of God. Second, lack of doctrine leads to people who will have a lack of knowledge in the Scriptures. George Barna writes,
“Among all born-again adults about one-quarter make their moral and ethical choices on the basis of the Bible. One out of five base their choices on whatever feels right….In essence, this tells us that the three out of four born-again Christians overlook the Bible as their shaping worldview influence.”[12]
If people do not
know what the Scriptures say, then ethics and Christian spiritual growth are in
jeopardy. Which I believe then leads to
the third point, a powerless church. Bruce
Milne writes,
“The biblical background implies that the ‘church’ is essentially the living community of those who have responded to the call of God, and therefore not the formal ecclesiastical structure immediately brought to mind today by the word ‘church’”[13]
A powerless church
is one who has lost the passion to preach the gospel and base it upon feeling
and emotion. A powerless church has lost
its moral and spiritual authority in a community thus becoming a building
filled with people. A powerless church
is a building filled with people with no desire to reach or love on the
un-churched.
In Paul’s challenge
to Timothy he says the following, “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them and you will save both
yourself and your hearers.”[14] What a responsibility we have as pastors and
teachers. A responsibility to train,
equip and send out the body of believers to impact the market place, not with
experiential Christian growth, but with Spiritual growth that birth the fruits
of the Spirit!
His call. His gift to you. Your purpose. Irrevocable.
His call. His gift to you. Your purpose. Irrevocable.
[1]Foster, Richard J. Celebration
of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth. San Francisco: Harper &
Row, 1988. p55
[2] Tolle, Eckhart. The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual
Enlightenment. Novato, CA: New World Library, 1999. p15
[3] Foster, Richard J. Celebration
of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth. San Francisco: Harper &
Row, 1988. p57
[4] 2 Timothy 3:16, NIV
[5] Foster, Richard J. Celebration
of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth. San Francisco: Harper &
Row, 1988. p84-85
[6]
Vivian, Tim The Bodhisattva in the Desert: Ahimsa in the
Desert Fathers, a Meditation. Cistercian
Studies
Quarterly; 2013; 48, 1; ProQuest Central
[7] Kenny, Colum. Power of Silence :
Silent Communication in Daily Life. London, GBR: Karnac Books, 2011. ProQuest
ebrary. Web. 7 December 2014
[8] Young, Sarah. Jesus Calling: A
365-day Journaling Devotional. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2008. xvi
[10] Oakland, Roger, Faith Undone: The
Emerging Church, Lighthouse Trails Publishing, 2007, p16
[11] Colossians 2:8
[12]Barna, George. Think like Jesus: Make the Right Decision
Every Time. Nashville: Integrity, 2003. p21
[13] Milne, Bruce. Know the Truth: A Handbook of Christian
Belief. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1982. p211.
Comments
Post a Comment