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Overview
This is a unique work, well-documented study which examines mysticism from its pagan origins to Paul and the Church Fathers, then as it was understood in medieval times, as well as by Jewish and Buddhist initiates. The book presents a sweeping exegesis of historic and foundational literature and myth, but Bouyer makes sense of it and interprets it in the light of Christian history and theology.Synopsis
One of the most gifted and internationally renowned theologians of our time here explores the importance of mystery and mysticism in the Christian tradition. He begins with a historical look at myth and mystery in pagan, Hellenistic and Classical cults, and the subsequent development in Christian mysticism and spirituality. From myth and mystery he moved to mysticism in the Christian West up to the present. Christian tradition is compared to Jewish, Islamic and Buddhist mystic experiences. Throughout, Bouyer seeks to focus on the power and meaning of these phenomena in their place in the modern Church. Here the reader will find a new way of reading the Bible and a firmer meaning of what it is to be a Christian. Translated from the French by Illtyd Trethowan.