"But I can't judge anyone else for their cheese. I've deep-sea dived in the Gouda."
-Jack Black on judging people for their musical tastes

James Houston on Christian mysticism

by Edmondo Senatore at photo.net

I have at times been very critical of Christian "mysticism." I grew up in a tradition which very much emphasized personal experiences with God (focusing especially on "inner peace"), and at many important junctures in my life I have experienced moments which I readily describe as personal encounters with God. And yet I have at times become wary and even critical of such emphases, for numerous reasons, including: the individualistic subjectivity of such mysticism, the emotional manipulation sometimes present in churches aiming to acheive such spiritual experiences (especially in neopentecostal-influenced Latin American evangelicalism), the concreteness of Anabaptist concepts of discipleship (Nachfolge), and Latin American theology's emphasis on the here-and-now.

I recently came across a chapter in a book at the library titled "Reflections on mysticism: How valid is evangelical anti-mysticism?" The book is in homage to Klaus Bockmühl (who --judging by our library's collection-- was a fairly conservative, pastoral German theologian of the 20th century). Houston describes him saying that "while in temperment he was more anti-mystical, he had a strong conviction of Biblical mysticism" (p. 163).

Houston begins the chapter by outlining some common Protestant objections to mysticism: it is associated with visions and raptures, it implies direct encounter with God in a non-mediated way, it is seen as a expression of Roman Catholic piety or interpreted as Neoplatonism, it is rejected by the Enlightenment, it is suspected for its tendency towards individualism and radicalism, and it creates an elite in the Church. He mentions that F. Heiler juxtaposes mysticism (receptive) with profetism (resolute), and that A. Nygren equates mysticism with egocentrism as opposed to theocentric faith seen in the Bible and the Reformation.

Houston then proceeds to explain how Christian mysticism differs from Platonism. He mentions its concept of God (non-existent in Platonism), the notion of grace (God initiates, not man’s self-realization), the idea that virtue is a gift, and not a means of purification, the communal orientation (fellowship and not withdrawal), and the absence of dualism (not just an elite are called to a “higher” contemplative life). However there are correlative parts which explain the influence of Platonism on early Christian, mainly the importance of the invisible reality and the immortality of the soul.

Houston continues by expounding upon the qualities of Christian mysticism, noting that mysticism must be present in Christianity if we are to speak of Christian “wholeness”. It is part of being human: “the self is essentially more than a mere self; transcendence belongs to its nature” (p. 165, citing L. Dupré).

• Christian mysticism is conservative in nature; the religious experience is shaped by the dogma. “The Christian mystic does not experience unidentified reality which he then can conveniently label God, but rather he is aware of the mediation of Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, of the reality and the love of God Himself” (p. 173). Faithful Christian mystics do not enunciate new dogmas or use their experiences to establish or confirm Biblical truths. 
• Christian mysticism leads to the embodiment of Christian living, rather than to narcissism. “To experience God directly in one’s life, as the theophanies of the Old and New Testament depict, is also to be transformed by God [… Christian mystics] are not such morbid, pathological, sentimental or weak creatures. Strength, courage, definiteness, wisdom, realism, truth, love are their fundamental characteristics” (p. 175). 
• Christian mysticism is not a special faculty, but rather the integration of what we are called to be. “‘The Christian mystic’, then, is simply […a person] who is ‘living by the Gospel’. He or she has an integrity of heart and mind, for the things of God” (p. 176).

Houston concludes the chapter with the suggestion that such mysticism could not have originated in the Greco-Roman world, but only from the Judeo-Christian concept of “the presence of Yahweh with His covenant people, and of Jesus Christ in the Church. True mysticism is simply expressing personally the presence of God in our midst. […]If it is Christian mysticism when we allow God’s self-giving and self-revealing life to penetrate into the innermost centre of our human persons, and in turn to enable us to ‘love our neighbor as ourselves’, then clearly we should seek it with all our heart, soul, and might” (p. 177).

I consider the article a helpful defense of the validity of "Christian mysticism", which at the same time provides helpful paramters to protect against the non-Christian distortions of such experiences.

"Mysticism, then, is not sanctity. The heart of godliness is love, divine love, that is both received and shared. So progress in loving and being loved reflects more progress in humility, self-giving, simplicity, and godly contentment than the more dramatic gifts we tend to associate with the mystical life. It is more the heroism of the commonplace than the sensationalism of the extraordinary" (p. 166).
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Houston, J. M. (1991). Reflections on mysticism: How valid is evangelical anti-mysticism?. In M. Bockmühl & H. Burkhardt (Eds.), Gott lieben und seine Gebote halten: In memoriam Klaus Bockmühl (pp. 163-181). Giessen: Brunnen.

Creative juices

Not blogging at all of late, because my creative juices are more oriented towards art these days:

It's very much an experimental medium, and my art critic doesn't usually let them last for more than five seconds, but he does seem to enjoy them.

Ordinarily executing mundane tasks

Photo by: Matej Lancic 

Another day of faithfully and ordinarily executing mundane tasks! Who knows how decisive they might be?

"I once heard interviews with survivors from World War II. The soldiers recalled how they spent a particular day. One sat in a foxhole; once or twice, a German tank drove by and he shot at it. Others played cards and frittered away the time. A few got involved in furious firefights. Mostly, they day passed like any other. Later, they learned they had just participated in one of the largest, most decisive engagements of the war, the Battle of the Bulge. It didn’t feel decisive at the time because none had the big picture. Great victories are won when ordinary people execute their assigned tasks." - Philip Yancey

(Sparked by Darrow Miller's LifeWork)

Books read so far this year

The Myth of Certainty: The Reflective Christian & the Risk of Commitment by Daniel Taylor

Homage to a Broken Man: The Life of J. Heinrich Arnold by Peter Mommsen

Las preguntas de Dios: la predicación evangélica en América Latina by Emilio Castro

Liberación, Éxodo y Biblia (J. Mervin Breneman O., editor)

Against the Wind: Eberhard Arnold and the Bruderhof by Markus Baum            

North! Or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson

Palabra viva: entorno histórico, literario y teológico del Antiguo Testamento by Samuel Pagan

The Monster in the Hollows by Andrew Peterson

Vida y trabajo: un desafío espiritual by Anselm Grün

El movimiento apostólico contemporáneo by Emilio Antonio Núñez C.

Rostros del protestantismo latinoamericano by Jose Miguez Bonino

Ineffective argumentative strategies to stop a teething nine-month-old, classified by their ethical motivations

(Some of these things I actually find myself saying)

Role Modeling
“Look, T. and Daddy both have shoes. But Daddy doesn’t eat his shoes.”

Etiquette
“T., don’t bite the window. It’s a nice window.”

Purpose
“Books aren’t for eating. Books are for reading.”

Pleasure
“Sweetheart, your stroller can’t possibly taste good.”

Stoic Philsophy
“Precious, you’d have greater peace of mind if you didn’t give way to your lust for devouring Daddy’s shoe.”

Utilitarianism
“You know, you’re not helping anyone by biting the shelf.”

Fundamentalist Biblicism
“Son, the Bible says not to bite Mommy (Galatians 5:15).”

Kant’s categorical imperative
“Biting’s not right. Period. Do the right thing, because that’s your duty.”

Briefs (and links a-plenty)

Music

• I bought the pre-release of Andy Osenga's Leonard the Lonely Astronaut, and I love it. One of my favorite albums is the Normal's A place where you belong (largely written by Andy), and after reading Jason Gray's review of the new album, I realized that I was likely to love Leonard. I have not been disappointed.
• One of the best parts of parenting is listening to children's music! This new release from Sandra McCracken and company is sure to be great, and the sampler available on Noisetrade makes that more than obvious.
• I randomly remembered this song, and am once again smitten by it (despite the fact that, as one commenter on YouTube noted, Ben Folds has been married four times)

Reading and writing

• I was up past midnight on several nights last week speeding through Andrew Peterson's North! Or be Eaten. I love the Wingfeather Saga books, and what I said about the first one pretty much holds true for the first one. On Thursday I was up 'til one o'clock because I didn't dare stop until Janner was out of the Fork! Factory!
• TGC has an interview with Eugene Peterson, an author/theologian/pastor whose work (though I'm only partly familiar with it) I greatly respect.
• I kinda wanna be a writer, but unlike Eugene Peterson (cf. previous bullet), I do not write a lot. My senior paper relied heavily on the research of Mark Yarhouse, and in an Edification dedicated to him, Gary Strauss says Yarhouse was challenged to "commit himself to writing at least one page a day intended for publication" (p. 25).  I, however, am like Kierkegaard who says (cf. next bullet), "I've walked myself into some of my best [blog posts]." Sometimes I imagine myself as a writer with great ideas, but mostly only when I'm walking to and from work, and out running.

Various

• This piece on walking at NPR is good. One thing I really like about living in Paraguay is that it's easy to walk a lot.
• The debate on Christian economics always intrigues me, although I have a hard time coming down on either side.
• I was impressed by this post from Craig Goodwin about how the Orthodox Lenten fast gives preeminence to grace as the worshippers come to the Paschal table.