Causes Into The Christian Mystic

Christian mysticism emerged from other practices in the history of the church that have "magical" and unrealistic qualities about them, which make such practices highly suspect or unorthodox. These practices include asceticism, sacramental superstition, and the allegorical interpretation of Scripture.

The first of these forebears of Christian mysticism is asceticism, which is the radical rejection of the physical world. Like Christian mysticism, asceticism took its impulse from Neoplatonic philosophy.

Next, superstitions grew out of the influence of Greco-Roman mystery religions, such as the Cult of Mithras and Isis, which influenced the church with mystical and magical beliefs about the powers of special rituals. These beliefs affected the Christian view of the sacraments and of the relics of martyrs and heroes of the church mystical teachings.

Third, allegorical biblical interpretation flowed from the belief in a fourfold exegesis of Scripture. That is, instead of a Christ-centered historical focus, the Bible was purported to have hidden meanings that conveyed secret metaphysical and eschatological knowledge.

What drove this desire for experiencing the extraordinary and for reaching new levels of consciousness? One factor was misinterpretation of the Bible. For example, 2 Peter 1:4 says that God makes Christians "partakers of the divine nature." This passage could be over-spiritualized if read out of context. In addition, passages such as the transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-13), Paul's description of a soul's experience of the third heaven (2 Cor. 12:2), and John's vision in Revelation—when misinterpreted—led to an unwitting mixture of biblical Christianity with non-Christian and pagan mystical experiences and philosophies.

Another cause to note has to do with Christian mysticism's medieval context. That context furthered Christian mysticism thanks to features such as plagues and high mortality rates, persecutions of heresy, the Crusades, and the opulence of the church. Why? Because Christian mysticism offered a "retreat" from an often overwhelming, hostile, and confusing world. It focused upon subjective inner experiences, allowing the mystic to disengage or ignore the outside world.