Expert: Dr. Jay Forrest - 11/11/2006

Question
Dear Dr. Jay
   What exactly is christian mysticism? I never heard of it before.
   I have heard of Jewish mysticism. (aka Kaballah)
Is this the same thing or similar?
                                   thanks
                                   Bob

Answer
Hi Bob,

All mysticism revolves around the idea of union with ultimate Reality. How one defines that ultimate Reality depends upon one's world view. In Christian mysticism Christ is seen as the means or way of access to God the Father.

Within a Biblical context then, Christian mysticism may be defined, in the words of Georgia Harkness, as "a direct and immediate awareness of the presence of God, whether in union or communion." As A.W. Tozer points out, Christian mysticism "refers to the personal spiritual experiences common to the saints of Bible times and well known to multitudes of persons in the post Biblical era."

If you are interested in researching it further there are a couple links I recommend:

Christian Mysticism (Jay Forrest)
http://www.jayforrest.net/mystic.htm
Introduction to the Mystic Way (Eric Rose)
http://rccop.org/err/way/mysticway.html
Mysticism: A Study in Nature and Development of Spiritual Consciousness (Evelyn Underhill)
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/underhill/mysticism.html

Thank you for your question.

Your servant in Christ,
Jay N. Forrest

http://www.jayforrest.net/