FROM: Banbury, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
ABOUT ME: Living the highs and lows of life in the adventurous pursuit of God Himself and of who I'm meant to be as the Bride of Christ.
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Sunday, July 01, 2007,9:23 a.m.
CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM
I read an interesting concept today that talked about mysticism, and Christianity being mysticism.
At first it startled and kind of offended me, and then as I read more, the writer defined a mystic as someone who believes there is a spiritual world outside of the physical world that we see and touch, and he then went on to explain that a Christian mystic simply believes that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Master over that spiritual world. And that's Christian mysticism.
I thought it was an interesting perspective, and reminded me of a couple of friends of mine who like to define their faith in terms and phrases of the popular culture so as to attract the attention of those they desire to invite to the truth. The word "Christianity" is a bit of a blocker these days in conversation, but the word "Mysticism" might just open some doors that would otherwise be shut.
Interesting thought..... I guess the trick is to be careful how it's used and to ensure that when using this idea in conversation we are still married to the truth, not watering it down or leaving out its power and strength. While "Mysticism" might be a more attractive word to some than "Christianity," the truth is that Jesus Himself is the most attractive part of our faith, so He had better be a part of that conversation in full force.
It does make me smile, however, to think that the next time I get caught in that conversation where someone says, "I'm into spirituality, I just don't like religion" (which, by the way, tends to mean, "I like the idea of stuff I don't understand, but I hate Christianity" - which is ironic, because they obviously don't understand it), I'm going to say, "Me too - I'm totally into mysticism and the spiritual" and see where that leads!
At first it startled and kind of offended me, and then as I read more, the writer defined a mystic as someone who believes there is a spiritual world outside of the physical world that we see and touch, and he then went on to explain that a Christian mystic simply believes that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Master over that spiritual world. And that's Christian mysticism.
I thought it was an interesting perspective, and reminded me of a couple of friends of mine who like to define their faith in terms and phrases of the popular culture so as to attract the attention of those they desire to invite to the truth. The word "Christianity" is a bit of a blocker these days in conversation, but the word "Mysticism" might just open some doors that would otherwise be shut.
Interesting thought..... I guess the trick is to be careful how it's used and to ensure that when using this idea in conversation we are still married to the truth, not watering it down or leaving out its power and strength. While "Mysticism" might be a more attractive word to some than "Christianity," the truth is that Jesus Himself is the most attractive part of our faith, so He had better be a part of that conversation in full force.
It does make me smile, however, to think that the next time I get caught in that conversation where someone says, "I'm into spirituality, I just don't like religion" (which, by the way, tends to mean, "I like the idea of stuff I don't understand, but I hate Christianity" - which is ironic, because they obviously don't understand it), I'm going to say, "Me too - I'm totally into mysticism and the spiritual" and see where that leads!
