Christian mysticism, Part I
Posted by nathan on 11 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: thoughts on god.
You cannot be a Christian without being a mystic.
-Don Miller
Do you agree or disagree?
7 Comments »
Posted by nathan on 11 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: thoughts on god.
You cannot be a Christian without being a mystic.
-Don Miller
Do you agree or disagree?
7 Comments »
on 12 Dec 2006 at 12:06 am 1.
Adam said …
I’d need to see a “mystic” defined, but my initial response is that I agree.
CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE:
-The innocent pay the price for the guilty.
-God becomes man … through divine conception of a virgin.
-God (in a human body) lived among us and performed miracles, including coming back to life.
-God (Holy Spirit) lives inside of Christians, and does miraculous things through them, the first being eternal salvation.
-The oneness of God exists in three parts. You understand that? Me neither, but its true.
That all sounds pretty mystic to me.
on 12 Dec 2006 at 1:48 pm 2.
Todd Helmkamp said …
I think the mystic part refers to our connection to, and relationship with, the Creator of the universe. That’s the mystical part.
on 15 Dec 2006 at 3:54 am 3.
joe said …
Well, I guess that depends on how you are defining mystic.
If you mean mysticism as it pertains to occult rites or practices, then NO, I don’t agree. I don’t do yoga to connect with God. I don’t center, I don’t clear my mind. I’m not looking for a guru or a spirit guide. I’m not interested in the “greater good that is in all of us.” Frankly, there is no good in me, I fall so far short of the glory of God the best I can give him is disgusting filthy smelly rotten dirty rags.
But you know, what is mystical, is the fact that, even though he can have no part in sin, his eyes are “too pure to look on evil” (Habakkuk 1:13), he still accepts my filthy rags because of what Jesus did on the cross…that’s pretty mystical.
I’m with Adam and Todd on this, there are a lot of things about my relationship with God that I don’t understand or comprehend fully, but I have that relationship. That’s pretty mystical.
on 15 Dec 2006 at 2:37 pm 4.
Ariel said …
I agree with Adam that definition is necessary. But if “Christian mysticism is understood as pertaining to an experiential relationship with Jesus Christ, as revealed biblically, I’m all for it.
on 28 Dec 2006 at 11:37 am 5.
joe said …
Is there a part two?
on 23 Jul 2007 at 9:47 pm 6.
john kuykendall said …
Spiritual understanding is an intensification of faith transforming it into a vision, an experience and a mystical union. This spiritual vision is accomplished by sacrificing the ego into total submission, a moment where we give ourselves totally to God. Ego is a kind of anxiety that ties the spirit down to the physical plane and allows no enlargement of consciousness. Thanks to the death and sacrifice of Jesus and his physical form, we can achieve wonderful spiritual heights. Jesus by his grace died for us and then rose again spiritually to resurrect our consciousness from our egos.
on 23 Jul 2007 at 9:49 pm 7.
john kuykendall said …
A spiritual Christian will secure his passions in the reflection of Christ rather than avoiding them. Awakening in an ingenious way his consciousness thus the words religious practice or rigorous practice.