- Dec 4, 2012
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As with many things Anglican, I expect to get different answers from you all. Complicating the issue is that "mystic" and "mysticism" can be nebulous terms themselves. I hope to hear from how Anglicans personally intuit and think about these matters and perhaps we will get a sense of an underlying folk theology.
I am less familiar with what would be recognizable as Anglican mysticism as a unique expression, although I can point to elements of the faith I would view as mystical, such as a spiritual uniting with Jesus Christ in the eucharist.
Although I have left behind the Oneness sect due to later theological incompatibilities I had with them and abuses of authority with little or no accountability in the congregations, I am strongly influenced by my Oneness Pentecostal great grandmother who has since died. Do not mistake me for a charismatic. I do not engage with tongues speaking, miraculous healings, or other such matters, though I reserve judgment in individual cases about these things.
But my grandmother was saturated in a religious life. Whatever we as Anglicans may think of these matters, my grandmother went into long trances and euphorias. She prayed all through the day, while eating, while washing dishes, whatever. She taught me how to pray without ceasing.
I was taught to take a break between each math problem in school just to say, "Jesus, Jesus!" under my breath; this practice came from my grandmother.
Now Pentecostalism emphasized works to a degree that good works were at least implied to be necessary for salvation, though some will be more traditionally Protestant in emphasis on this matter. But my great grandparents emphasized works.
Later of course I would move into Anglicanism and discover that in the homilies while good works are praised as evidence of the fruit of the spirit very much, they are regarded as ineffectual in obtaining the favor of salvation.
Like my grandmother, my life is saturated with religion, religious thoughts, and prayer, but in a liturgical format. But as to works and salvation, I have arrived at a paradox: workless works or effortless works. My works in themselves will not save me, but by surrender to God's Will as my grandmother taught me, our wills become conformed gradually to his, and our thoughts, efforts, and desires arise from a more spacious, relaxed, and passive place within ourselves.
This is an experiential insight I arrived at over time having a background in both Oneness Pentecostalism and Anglicanism. I have no idea if it is considered heretical by some, and I am not claiming to be a professional theologian, either.
My experience of Anglicanism, which is admittedly not my lifelong spiritual practice, is of being carried along by God's grace in our works, and not being too discouraged or obsessed with our particular sins, but being caught up into God's grace through reading of scripture, sacraments, private, and public prayer.
As I use the term mysticism, I believe there is a high valuing of personal experience with God. Catholics honor this too but have safeguards in a way that would not be feasible in Anglicanism. Personally, I take whatever spiritual benefit and fruit from my personal experiences in my relationship with God that I can glean from them, and otherwise do not much dwell on even my own personal experiences.
What say you? How do you understand mysticism, and is there a place in Anglicanism for it? Do you value personal experiences with God, and if you do, how do you safeguard from being led amiss by experiences possibly mixed with bias?
I am not sure how fully Anglican my brand of mysticism is. Not that I haven't striven for theological consistency, but I must admit to myself that I truly don't know because no doubt the Oneness Pentecostalism of my formative years continues to shape me no matter how different my religious practice may look today.
I am less familiar with what would be recognizable as Anglican mysticism as a unique expression, although I can point to elements of the faith I would view as mystical, such as a spiritual uniting with Jesus Christ in the eucharist.
Although I have left behind the Oneness sect due to later theological incompatibilities I had with them and abuses of authority with little or no accountability in the congregations, I am strongly influenced by my Oneness Pentecostal great grandmother who has since died. Do not mistake me for a charismatic. I do not engage with tongues speaking, miraculous healings, or other such matters, though I reserve judgment in individual cases about these things.
But my grandmother was saturated in a religious life. Whatever we as Anglicans may think of these matters, my grandmother went into long trances and euphorias. She prayed all through the day, while eating, while washing dishes, whatever. She taught me how to pray without ceasing.
I was taught to take a break between each math problem in school just to say, "Jesus, Jesus!" under my breath; this practice came from my grandmother.
Now Pentecostalism emphasized works to a degree that good works were at least implied to be necessary for salvation, though some will be more traditionally Protestant in emphasis on this matter. But my great grandparents emphasized works.
Later of course I would move into Anglicanism and discover that in the homilies while good works are praised as evidence of the fruit of the spirit very much, they are regarded as ineffectual in obtaining the favor of salvation.
Like my grandmother, my life is saturated with religion, religious thoughts, and prayer, but in a liturgical format. But as to works and salvation, I have arrived at a paradox: workless works or effortless works. My works in themselves will not save me, but by surrender to God's Will as my grandmother taught me, our wills become conformed gradually to his, and our thoughts, efforts, and desires arise from a more spacious, relaxed, and passive place within ourselves.
This is an experiential insight I arrived at over time having a background in both Oneness Pentecostalism and Anglicanism. I have no idea if it is considered heretical by some, and I am not claiming to be a professional theologian, either.
My experience of Anglicanism, which is admittedly not my lifelong spiritual practice, is of being carried along by God's grace in our works, and not being too discouraged or obsessed with our particular sins, but being caught up into God's grace through reading of scripture, sacraments, private, and public prayer.
As I use the term mysticism, I believe there is a high valuing of personal experience with God. Catholics honor this too but have safeguards in a way that would not be feasible in Anglicanism. Personally, I take whatever spiritual benefit and fruit from my personal experiences in my relationship with God that I can glean from them, and otherwise do not much dwell on even my own personal experiences.
What say you? How do you understand mysticism, and is there a place in Anglicanism for it? Do you value personal experiences with God, and if you do, how do you safeguard from being led amiss by experiences possibly mixed with bias?
I am not sure how fully Anglican my brand of mysticism is. Not that I haven't striven for theological consistency, but I must admit to myself that I truly don't know because no doubt the Oneness Pentecostalism of my formative years continues to shape me no matter how different my religious practice may look today.
