Some Thoughts on Mysticism

In a recent church gathering a well-known evangelical pastor led his congregation in a “breathing” exercise in which they were exhorted to take “nice, big, deep breaths.” He went on to explain that such breathing exercises, along with meditation, reflection, and silence, have been central to the Christian tradition for thousands of years. He then sought to buttress his argument by pointing out that, “In Yoga, one of the central tenets of Yoga is your breath needs to remain the same regardless of pose. And the Yoga Masters say this is how it is when you follow Jesus and surrender to God.”[i]

Pastor Rob Bell is typical of many today who are looking to the medieval mystics (and to Eastern forms of mysticism) in their search for spiritual reality. But while many of the medieval mystics can be admired for their passion and devotion, they cannot be followed in many of their doctrines and experiences. Being loyal to the medieval church and sharing in its lax (and sometimes hostile) attitude toward Scripture, they often exhibit a glaring lack of discernment and common sense. So while some of their experiences are, no doubt, genuine, many are obviously psychic and some are probably demonic.

Commenting on medieval mysticism and its neglect of Scripture, Dr. Hans Kung, the most widely read Catholic theologian in the world today, says,

These new revelations not only overshadowed the Bible and the Gospel, but also Him whom the Gospel proclaims and to whom the Bible bears witness. It is striking how rarely Christ appeared in all these “revelations,” “apparitions,” and “wonders.” Catholics who followed in the wake of every new “revelation,” which often turned out to be fantasy or deceit, and indulged their desire for sensation by looking for the latest reports of miracles—and yet who had never once in their whole lives read the Scriptures from cover to cover.[ii]

The Origins of Mysticism

Medieval mysticism arose in reaction to the lifeless, outward forms of the medieval church. During the same period evangelical revival groups also emerged for similar reasons. But whereas the revival groups, such as the Waldenses and Albigneses, gave their loyalties to the Scriptures, and looked there for models of faith and spirituality, the mystics tended to give their allegiance to the pope and the institutional church.[iii] This meant that the mystics were more susceptible to non-Biblical approaches to spirituality and this resulted in their adoption of many beliefs and practices that were rooted in pagan, mystical thought, particularly Neoplatonism.

Neoplatonism

Neoplatonism arose in the 3rd century through the Egyptian philosopher, Plotinus, who emphasized and expanded the teachings of Plato and turned Plato’s philosophical system into a mystical religion. Plato had taught that there is a supreme being from which all other beings derive their existence, and he also believed in the immortality of the human soul. Expanding on Plato’s teaching, Plotinus taught that this Supreme Being, whom he called “The One,” was absolutely “other than” this physical world and, therefore, could not be grasped or understood by human reason or knowledge. From “The One” had emanated a series of descending entities resulting in a hierarchy of divine beings between “The One” and humanity. Plotinus believed that it was one of these lesser emanations that had created the physical world. The ultimate goal of the Neoplatonist was, through contemplation of “The One,” to ascend through this hierarchy of beings and be united with “The One.” Since “The One” existed beyond all human knowledge and rationale, “The One” could only be encountered in an irrational state of ecstasy (trance) achieved through mystical contemplation. The noted church historian, Dr. Justo Gonzalez, says,

Neoplatonists believed that if they performed a certain series of progressive steps of contemplation, they would be able to leave behind all the cares and all concerns for physical realities. They thought they could contemplate eternal realities and eventually achieve “ecstasy.” Neoplatonists believed at this point they would be in unity with "The One.”[iv]

Neoplatonism Enters the Church

Neoplatonism became very popular throughout the Greco-Roman world and, as might be expected, many Christians attempted to follow the Neoplatonic route of contemplation. In the 6th century, one of these Neoplatonic minded Christians wrote a treatise on mystical contemplation and at the top penned the words, “Dyonisius the Elder to His Fellow-Elder Timothy.” By this stroke of the pen this unknown individual, now believed to have been a Syrian monk, claimed his writings to be the work of one of Paul’s earliest disciples, Dyonisius of Athens (Acts 17:34), whom tradition says was the first bishop of Athens, written to another early disciple, Timothy. The forgery worked and the works of this individual, now known as “False Dyonisius,” were accepted as the works of one of Paul’s earliest disciples and, thereby, gained much acceptance and authority in the medieval church. So popular became these works that all students of theology were expected to study the wisdom of Dyonisius. Bishops regularly quoted from them and several of the foremost medieval theologians wrote commentaries on them. It was not until the 16th century that the authenticity of these writings began to be questioned by the Reformers. Both Protestants and Catholics now recognize these as later documents written by a “False Dyonisius.”

Nonetheless, during the Middle Ages Paul was read through the eyes of Dyonisius and turned into a mystic by the medieval church. Spiritual experiences and revelations through contemplation were exalted and valued while the Scriptures were often ignored and, at times, even banned by the institutional church.[v] Exotic, non-Biblical miracles such as levitations, communion wafers bleeding, icons weeping, the wounds of the cross (the stigmata) appearing on individuals, apparitions of the saints and the Virgin Mary, etc. were hailed as the great works of God. Paul’s experience of being caught up to the third heaven, which he reluctantly shared in II Corinthians 12:1-6, was interpreted by the mystics as an experience initiated by Paul through mystic contemplation. In fact, “Paul’s entire life was viewed as a process of mystical ascension, and his letters were considered to be guides in that process.”[vi] Within this Neoplatonic, mystical mindset emerged the mystical movement of the medieval church of which the following traits were characteristic.

· A mystical union of the soul with God
· An ascetic withdrawal from the world
· An unhealthy preoccupation with suffering
· The rejection of rational thinking

Characteristic 1:

A Mystical Union of the Soul with God

Like the Neoplatonist, the goal of the Christian medieval mystic was a union of the human soul with God in which the individual would “swim in the wild waves of the ocean of God’s being.”[vii] This mystical union could only be achieved in a state of quietness and contemplation, “the quiet dark in which all who love God lose themselves,” as one mystic put it. As aids in achieving this contemplative state, various postures and techniques for prayer and meditation were employed. Some were quite remarkable. Gregory Palamas, a 13th century monk, stressed quietness and stillness in the pursuit of this union with God. As an aid to concentration, he recommended that the chin rest on the chest, with the eyes fixed on the navel.[viii]

Characteristic 2:

A Withdrawal From the World

In its merger with Monasticism, mysticism took on an ascetic character in which withdrawal from the world and the normal routines of daily life was emphasized. The monastery and the convent thus became the ideal places where mysticism could be studied and applied. In the monastery, Luther diligently sought to find peace with God through ascetic and mystical practices but was frustrated in these attempts. After finding peace with God through the revelation of the gospel in the Scriptures, he wrote, “If ever a monk got to heaven by monkery, I would have gotten there.”

Characteristic 3:

An Unhealthy Preoccupation with Suffering

An unhealthy preoccupation with suffering characterized medieval mysticism. Some mystics, such as Julian of Norwich (1342-ca.1416), considered one of the greatest English mystics, prayed to be deathly sick, thinking that through such suffering she could better identify with Christ in His sufferings. Not having an opportunity to suffer for Christ, as did the early Christian martyrs, many mystics pursued a self-inflicted martyrdom. For example, Henry Suso (d. 1366), a German Dominican mystic who gained fame for his sanctity and devotion, wore an undergarment studded with 150 sharp tacks that, he said, felt as if he were lying in a nest of wasps. He also made a wooden cross to which he affixed 30 spikes and on this he lay every night for eight years. To intensify his suffering, he affixed seven sharp needles to the cross, and for a long time, he daily inflicted himself with two penitential drills. In these exercises, he would tie the cross to his back and beat upon it with his fist until the spikes and needles penetrated the flesh and the blood flowed down to his feet.[ix]

This unhealthy preoccupation with suffering, and the belief that it produced a cleansing effect on the soul, gave rise to writings such as The Dark Night of the Soul by John of the Cross (1542–91), a Spanish mystic and close friend of Theresa of Ávila (1515-1584).

Characteristic 4:

The Rejection of Rational Thinking

Medieval mysticism also rejected reason and rational thinking, accessing these as hindrances to the soul achieving unity with God. A work by “False Dyonisius” that gained much fame in the medieval church was a book called Mystic Theology in which he said,

I counsel thee in the earnest exercise of mystic contemplation, that you leave the senses and activities of the intellect and all that the senses or intellect can perceive. Having laid your understanding to rest, strain as far as you can toward a union with Him whom neither being nor understanding can contain. So shall you be led upwards to the Ray of that divine Darkness which surpasses all existence.[x]

The parallels with Neoplatonism, particularly in the rejection of reason and union with the Divine, are obvious. Gonzalez describes this work as, “An explanation of basically Neoplatonic mysticism in which the religious life consists in an ascending vision of God.[xi]

Mysticism Does Not Align with
the Teachings of Jesus & the New Testament.

Of course, neither Jesus nor Paul advocated the rejection of the intellect or rational thinking. In fact, Jesus said that we are to love God with all our . . . minds (Matthew 22:37). Paul’s mode of operation in fulfilling his call to the Gentiles involved the use of logical thinking as he reasoned daily in the synagogues and in the school of Tyrannus concerning the identity of Jesus (Acts 17:2-3; 19:9-10). It is the carnal mind that is against God, not the mind per se. The answer is not to reject the mind and rational thinking, but to renew the mind in God’s Word as Paul admonishes in Romans 12:2. Although God’s Word and Spirit will often transcend human reason, they will never violate it or seek to eliminate it.

Medieval mysticism is out of touch with Jesus and the New Testament in terms of prayer, as well. Jesus does not teach any form of mystical prayer. He does not teach any postures or techniques for prayer and meditation. Neither is there any mention of silence or contemplation. Instead, Jesus emphasizes a relational approach to God in which prayer is simple conversation with a loving, benevolent Being whom He calls Abba, an endearing term used only by children for the father in the Jewish household.

For Jesus, oneness with God is not a mystical union of one’s being with God, but a practical oneness of will and purpose, culminated by the indwelling Holy Spirit and Word of God in one’s life.

Another point of divergence with Jesus and New Testament Christianity is that Jesus does not call His disciples to withdraw from the world into solitude and contemplation. Instead, He sends them into the world and promises a baptism in the Holy Spirit that will empower them to prophetically engage the world as His witnesses (John 17:18; Acts 1:8).

Neither does Jesus teach progressive stages of cleansing through darkness and suffering, as did the mystics. Instead, He shed His Blood to cleanse from sin and its effects. He also emphasizes the Word of God as an agent of cleansing. For example, He says to His disciples, "You are already clean through the word I have spoken to you" (John 15:3). And He prays to the Father, "Sanctify them by Your truth, Your word is truth" (John 17:17).

Parallels With Eastern Mysticism

Some have also pointed out the parallels of medieval mysticism with religions of the East—such as Buddhism and Hinduism--that also seek a mystical union of the human soul with the Divine through meditation and contemplation. It is possible that Neoplatonism itself was influenced by Eastern religious thought since there was commercial interaction between India and the Roman Empire, especially in the eastern sector where Neoplatonism arose. This is why Kung says,

And yet we must realize that mysticism is not a specifically Christian phenomenon. Not only is mysticism older than Christianity; it also comes from far away. Mystical religion had already come into being at a very early stage – in the late Vedan period – in India.[xii]

Although many of the mystics can be admired for their commitment and devotion, we must recognize that many of their concepts and approaches to prayer and spirituality are rooted in pagan, mystical religion, i.e., Neoplatonism. The Reformers and Revivalists of the 16th century did not consider the medieval mystics to be their predecessors but, rather, sought to model their faith and spirituality after Jesus and the New Testament. Those who are hungering for spiritual reality in the 21st century would be wise to follow their example.

[i] www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/robbelltranscript.doc
[ii] Hans Kung, The Church (Garden City, NY: Image Books, 1976), 257-58.
[iii] See my book, 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2002) for a more thorough discussion of this issue.
[iv] Justo L. Gonzalez, Paul: His Impact On Christianity (Nashville: Graded Press, 1987), 38.
[v] In 1190 Pope Innocent III declared that as by the old law the beast touching the holy mountain was to be stoned to death, so simple and uneducated men were not to touch the Bible or venture to preach its doctrines. Archbishop Berthholdt of Germany echoed Innocent’s ban on the Bible when he declared, “The Scriptures are not to be given to simple and unlearned men and, above all, are not to be put into the hands of women.” In reaction to the evangelical revival groups, who quoted Scripture in defense of their beliefs and practices, the Synod of Toulouse issued a formal ban in 1229 forbidding laypeople to possess copies of the Scripture in their own language.
[vi] Gonzalez, 41.
[vii] Philip Schaff, vol. 6 of History of the Christian Church, 8 vols. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1910), 276.
[viii] Tony Lane, Harper’s Concise Book of Christian Faith (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1984), 64.
[ix] Schaff, vol. 6 of History of the Christian Church, 263-64.
[x] Lane, Harper’s Concise Book of Christian Faith, 56.
[xi] Gonzales, 40.
[xii] Hans Kung, Christianity: Essence, History, and Future (New York: Continuum, 1995), 448.

The Impact of Martin Luther & the Reformation on Modern Revivalism

The emphasis by Martin Luther and other Reformers on the ultimate authority of Scripture and the priesthood of all believers opened the way for all the great revivals of the modern era. Luther’s work broke the paralyzing hold of a religious hierarchy that claimed final authority over the people, quenched the work of the Holy Spirit in their midst, and confined Biblical knowledge to the priesthood. His emphasis on the priesthood of all believers unleashed the masses to pray and expect answers from God. If there had been no Luther, there would have been no Methodist revival, no Great Awakenings, no Cane Ridge, and no Pentecostal-Charismatic revival.

Luther’s Early Life

Luther was born into a poor, peasant German family where he was taught to pray to God and the saints, to revere the church and the priests, and was told frightful stories about the devil and witches. One day, at the age of 22, he was caught outdoors in a terrible thunderstorm and feared for his life. In a state of panic, he made a vow to become a monk if his life was spared. True to his vow he entered the Augustinian monastery at Erfurt that same year of 1505.

As a monk, Luther’s chief concern was to become a saint and earn a place in heaven. He, therefore, observed the minutest details of discipline, living a very austere life and learning the principles of mystical prayer and meditation. His days were spent in reading and studying, prayer and fastings, night watches, and self-mortifications. His fellow monks held him up as a model of sanctity and envied his self-denial. He later said, “If ever a monk got to heaven by monkery, I would have gotten there.” However, in spite his austere lifestyle and many religious works he found no peace with God.

While a monk, Luther continued his studies and in 1507 he was ordained to the priesthood and celebrated his first mass. In In 1511 he was sent to Wittenberg to be the professor of Bible at the newly formed university there, and, in the same year, he received his doctor of theology degree. He began to lecture in the vernacular on the books of the Bible and, to do so intelligently, he began to study the Bible in the original languages. It was while teaching through the New Testament, particualarly Romans and Galatians, that Luther began to see the truth of justification through faith in Jesus alone.

Luther Learns the Power of God’s Word

It was the power of God’s word, and the revelation therein, of being made righteous before God through faith in Jesus that brought Luther into a place of peace with God. Romans 1:17 convinced him that only through faith in Christ could a person become just before God and find peace in their soul. This was revolutionary, for the church taught that one was saved through submisison to the church and by receiving the sacraments from an ordained priesthood; and the mystics, who were genreally loyal to the institutional church and its doctrines, taught that one could only find peace with God through a mytical union of the soul with God obtained through a series of religious exercises and intense suffering.

Luther, being also the parish priest in Wittenberg, preached these revolutionary doctrines of salvation through faith alone from the pulpit as well as in the classroom. It was not long before his sermons were being printed and distributed throughout Germany, arousing great interest among the masses and great consternation with church officials. Ordered by his superiors to stop preaching and publishing these “heretical” doctirnes, Luther had to decide if he would obey God or man. By now it was clear to him that his source of authority was the word of God and that he must preach it even if the devil and all the world opposed him.

When he continued to preach and teach the truths he had learned from Scripture, he received notice from Rome of his excommunication and an order that all his books and tracts be confiscated and burned. He was later condemned as a heretic at the Diet of Worms and anyone knowing his whereabouts was instructed to inform the nearest authorities so that he could be apprehended.

Luther’s writings, however, gained such popularity with the masses that neither pope or emperor dared to try and apprehend him. Later in life, in explaining how he was able to succeed against such formidable opposition, Luther credited his success to the power of God’s word. He said,

"I only urged, preached, and declared God’s Word, nothing else. And yet while I was asleep, the Word inflicted greater injury on popery than prince or emperor ever did. I did nothing; the Word did everything."[i]

Confronting An Errant Sprituality With Scripture

Luther confronted, not only erroneous doctrine and the church hierarchy with Scripture, but also an errant spirituality that had become divorced from Scripture. While Luther was hiding in the Castle of Wartburg after his condmenation at the Diet of Worms, two indiviudals from Zwickau, known as the Zwickau Prophets, came to Wittenberg claiming to have had divine visions, dreams, and visits from the angel Gabriel. They wowed the people with their revelations and began taking the reform movement in Wittenberg in a radical direction that was not compatible with Scripture. Melanchthon and Luther’s other colleagues were unable to stop them.

When Luther heard what was happening, he put his life at risk and returned to Wittenberg. He preached eight sermons for eight days in succession in which he challenged with Scripture the visions and dreams of the prophets from Zwickau. Schaff says, “In plain, clear, strong, scriptural language, he refuted the errors without naming the errorists.”[ii] It soon became obvious to the populace that the two men were in error. The prophets, realizing they had lost the day, departed Wittenberg and never returned. One of Luther’s colleagues wrote to the Elector of that region,

"Oh what joy has Dr. Martin’s return spread among us. His words, through divine mercy, are bringing back every day misguided people into the way of truth. It is as clear as the sun, that the Spirit of God is in him, and that he returned to Wittenberg by His special providence."[iii]

Luther was open to supernatural, mystical experiences, but he subjugated his experiences to Scripture. For example, while in intense prayer one day, Luther suddenly saw a bright vision on the wall of Jesus, with the wounds of His passion, looking upon him. At first he thought it was a heavenly revelation but changed his mind because the person in the vision was not compatible with the Christ he knew from Scripture. He said,

"Therefore I spoke to the vision thus: 'Avoid you, confounded devil. I know no other Christ than He who was crucified, and who in His Word is presented unto me.' Whereupon the image vanished, clearly demonstrating from whom it came."[iv]

Opposing Miracle Claims for Monetary Gain

Luther also challenged the Roman Church hierarchy for using miracle claims within monasticism and mystcism for monetary gain. Luther believed in miracles, but miracles must be in line with Scripture. In his estimation, many of the miracle claims within monasticism and mysticism did not meet the test of Biblical truth.

For example, in his book, To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, Luther blasted church leaders for exaggerating the truth and promoting extra-Biblical miracles, such as certain hosts (communion wafers) bleeding and the miraculous creation of a statue of the Virgin Mary. Great crowds flocked to the places where these miracles supposedly occurred and much money was collected in offerings, in fees for masses, and from the sale of amulets and indulgences. Luther was incensed and thundered his rebuke,

"Oh, what a terrible and heavy reckoning those bishops will have to give who permit this devilish deceit and profit by it. They should be the first to prevent it and yet they regard it all as a godly and holy thing. If they had read the Scripture as well as the damnable canon law, they would know how to deal with this matter! The miracles that happen in these places prove nothing, for the evil spirit can also work miracles, as Christ has told us in Matt. 24:24."

Luther’s Personal Faith in the Miraculous

Luther believed in miracles and saw miraculous answers to his prayers. He even formulated a divine healing service for Lutheran congregations. When his friend and colleague, Philip Melanchthon, was dying, Luther prayed over him, quoting all the Scirptures he could call to mind related to faith and healing. He then took Melanchthon by the hand and said, "Be of good courage Philip, you shall not die." Melanchthon immediately revived and soon regained his health. He later said, "I should have been a dead man had I not been recalled from death itself by the coming of Luther."[v] The noted historian, Philip Schaff said, “He lived and moved in the heart of the Scriptures; and this was the secret of his strength.”[vi] Luther himself once said,

"What greater wickedness, what greater contempt of God is there than not believing His promise? For what is this but to make God a liar or to doubt that He is truthful?—that is, to ascribe truthfulness to one’s self but lying and vanity to God."[vii]

Reformation Opened the Way For Revival

It was no coincidence that the Reformation, with its emphasis on Scripture, came on the heels of the invention of the printing press, with the Bible being the first book to be printed. For the first time in history God’s word could be mass-produced and made available to the common people. With the word of God now available on a scale hitherto unknown, Luther and other reformers emphasized education for the masses, primarily so they could read the Bible. They saw getting God’s word into the hands and hearts of the people as the key to on-going reformation throughout the Church. The Reformation and its emphases also opened the way for all the great revivals of the modern era.

The invention of the printing press and Luther’s success in directing the church’s attention back to Scripture did more to change the course of history than any events since the birth of Christ and the conversion of the apostle Paul. Even secular historians understand this and Time Warner, in the year 2000, named Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press and Luther’s instigation of the Reformation as the number 1 and number 3 most important events of the past millennia.

[i] Philip Schaff, vol. 7 of History of the Christian Church, 8 vols. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1910), 389.
[ii] Schaff, vol. 6 of History of the Christian Church, 388.
[iii] Schaff, vol. 6 of History of the Christian Church, 390.
[iv] Martin Luther, Table Talk (Gainsville, FL: Bridge-Logos, 2004), 138-39.
[v] A.J. Gordon, The Ministry of Healing, (Harrisburg: Christian Publ., 1961), 94.
[vi] Schaff, vol. 7 of History of the Christian Church, 295.
[vii] Martin Luther, “The Freedom Of A Christian,” Three Treatises (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1957), 285.