Oct

31

Beware of those Eastern Mystical Labyrinths!

Other people's blogs

Sigh. The folks at Lighthouse Trails Research (one of the Internet’s more visible anti-mysticism websites) are getting goofier and goofier (or, perhaps, more and more paranoid). Yesterday they posted a blog entry in which they listed over thirty terms that they describe as “the ‘inside language’ of contemplative spirituality.” They go on to issue this dire warning: that all these “point to one thing … eastern mysticism.”

The list includes such terms as:

  • Labyrinths
  • The Jesus Prayer
  • Lectio Divina
  • Taize
  • A Thin Place
  • Spiritual Direction
  • Ignatius Exercises (sic)
  • Centering prayer
  • Prayer of the Heart
  • Dark night of the soul
  • Practicing the Presence
  • Spiritual Formation

Actually, only two of the terms on the list — “Yoga” and “Mantra” — are from eastern religions. All of the rest are thoroughly Christian terms, even if some of the practices included, such as Centering Prayer, are ecumenical in scope (Centering Prayer, as a method of teaching contemplative prayer, was created as a response to the many Christian young people who were exploring eastern mysticism in the 1970s). So, not only is this post silly and paranoid, but it’s just plain inaccurate.

Indeed, most of the terminology on this post points not to eastern mysticism, but to Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity. I think the people at Lighthouse Trails should just call a spade a spade and admit that their real agenda is to tear down the body of Christ, by pitting evangelicals against Catholics.

My favorite term on this list is “A thin place,” which comes from not from the lands of eastern mysticism, but from Ireland. It simply refers to a place where one can more easily discern the presence of God (whether it be a cathedral, a monastery, or a site of natural beauty and wonder). I’m sure the generations of devout Christian Celts who celebrated God’s presence in their lives would be most amused to discover that they were secret agents of eastern mysticism, without even realizing it!

If you’ve read this far, please join me in praying for everyone associated with Lighthouse Trails Research — that they might be healed of their erroneous belief in an angry God who hates contemplative spirituality. As annoying as I find their website, what really saddens me is when I ponder what it must be like for those who actually live under the bondage of such a legalistic theology.

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Oct

31

Mysticism and Gnosis

Mysticism / Spirituality

The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that there is an essential difference between mysticism and gnosis.

On the surface, both deal with the phenomenology of spiritual experience — direct encounter with the Divine Other, and/or the experience of Union with the Divine. But then there seems to be an essential ingredient that differentiates mysticism from gnosis, or vice versa.

Gnostic spirituality seems to imply that direct personal experience always trumps the received wisdom tradition (if the church tells me to serve the poor, but my own gnosis directs me not to interfere with the poor because they have their own spiritual karma to unravel, then as a gnostic I will ignore what the church says and follow my inner teachings). By contrast, conventional religion suggests that tradition always trumps experience — which is why the Catholic Church will only accept mystical teachings that are fully and completely consistent with official church teaching. Perhaps mysticism is the golden mean between these two positions. Mysticism dares to suggest that personal experience and received tradition must always inform, enlighten, critique, and shape each other. Gnosis and tradition are equally valuable, equally marvelous and miraculous arenas where the Holy Spirit can and does act. Likewise, both are subject to scrutiny — from each other. It is in this arena of mutual humility and shared vulnerability that God can do God’s mighty work of shaping us — and the community — in ever new ways.

I’m not sure if this is all that there is to understanding the difference between mysticism and gnosis. But it’s a start.

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