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61-557: Theologia Germanica , also known as Theologia Deutsch or Teutsch , or as Der Franckforter , is a mystical treatise believed to have been written in the later 14th century by an anonymous author. It was discovered and published by Martin Luther and became popular and influential in Lutheran pietistic circles. According to the introduction of the Theologia the author was a priest and

122-423: A further distinction, within contemplation, between contemplation acquired by human effort and infused contemplation. In early Christianity the term "mystikos" referred to three dimensions, which soon became intertwined, namely the biblical, the liturgical and the spiritual or contemplative. The biblical dimension refers to "hidden" or allegorical interpretations of Scriptures. The liturgical dimension refers to

183-501: A lasting influence on Eastern Christian thought, further develops the idea that the spiritual realities can be found through allegorical readings of the scriptures (along the lines of Jewish aggadah tradition), but he focuses his attention on the cross and on the importance of imitating Christ through the cross, especially through spiritual combat and asceticism. Origen stresses the importance of combining intellect and virtue ( theoria and praxis ) in our spiritual exercises, drawing on

244-410: A looking at, things looked at", from theorein (θεωρεῖν) "to consider, speculate, look at", from theoros (θεωρός) "spectator", from thea (θέα) "a view" + horan (ὁρᾶν) "to see". It expressed the state of being a spectator . Both Greek θεωρία and Latin contemplatio primarily meant looking at things, whether with the eyes or with the mind. According to William Johnston, until the sixth century

305-664: A member of the Teutonic Order living in Frankfurt , Germany. The Theologia was written during the disruptive reign of the Avignon Papacy (1309–78), when many clerics were forbidden to perform Catholic rites because of the power struggle between the Pope and Holy Roman Emperor . Lay groups of pious individuals, like the Friends of God , became prominent during this time, and the author

366-416: A more complete edition on the basis of a new manuscript that had come to his attention. It was Luther who gave the treatise its modern name; in the manuscripts it is known as Der Franckforter ( The Frankfurter ). Luther found much that was congenial to him in this late medieval text. Theologia Germanica proposes that God and man can be wholly united by following a path of perfection, as exemplified by

427-399: A type of " insight ", theoria was the act of perceiving in the wording and "story" of Scripture a moral and spiritual meaning," and may be regarded as a form of allegory. The Alexandrian contribution to Christian mysticism centers on Origen ( c.  185  – c.  253 ) and Clement of Alexandria (150–215 AD). Clement was an early Christian humanist who argued that reason

488-538: A way of commenting against the Spanish Match . He was later chaplain to Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland , and a religious radical pursuing his own beliefs. He lived for some years with the furnace-maker William White , and during the 1620s was in touch with Robert Fludd ; he possessed copied manuscripts of Nicholas Hill . He was a friend of Roger Brereley the Grindletonian , and was praised by John Webster . He

549-722: Is briefly revealed in his heavenly glory, also become important images for meditation. Moreover, many of the Christian texts build on Jewish spiritual foundations, such as chokmah , shekhinah . But different writers present different images and ideas. The Synoptic Gospels (in spite of their many differences) introduce several important ideas, two of which are related to Greco-Judaic notions of knowledge/ gnosis by virtue of being mental acts: purity of heart, in which we will to see in God's light; and repentance , which involves allowing God to judge and then transform us. Another key idea presented by

610-465: Is called cataphatic theology and the latter to apophatic theology . Urban T. Holmes III categorized mystical theology in terms of whether it focuses on illuminating the mind, which Holmes refers to as speculative practice, or the heart/emotions, which he calls affective practice. Combining the speculative/affective scale with the apophatic/cataphatic scale allows for a range of categories: John Everard (preacher) John Everard (1584?–1641)

671-524: Is considered the most important of ancient philosophers, and his philosophical system provides the basis of most later mystical forms. Plotinus (c. 205 – 270 AD) provided the non-Christian, neo-Platonic basis for much Christian, Jewish and Islamic mysticism . For Plato , what the contemplative ( theoros ) contemplates ( theorei ) are the Forms , the realities underlying the individual appearances, and one who contemplates these atemporal and aspatial realities

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732-517: Is contemplation. ... Contemplation is therefore the end of action" and "Such is the life of the divinity and of divine and blessed men: detachments from all things here below, scorn of all earthly pleasures, the flight of the lone to the Alone." The Christian scriptures, insofar as they are the founding narrative of the Christian church, provide many key stories and concepts that become important for Christian mystics in all later generations: practices such as

793-527: Is derived from contemplation. The first hypostasis, the One, is contemplation (by the nous, or second hypostasis) in that "it turns to itself in the simplest regard, implying no complexity or need"; this reflecting back on itself emanated (not created) the second hypostasis, Intellect (in Greek Νοῦς, Nous ), Plotinus describes as "living contemplation", being "self-reflective and contemplative activity par excellence", and

854-539: Is derived from the Greek μύω, meaning "to conceal," and its derivative μυστικός , mystikos , meaning "an initiate." In the Hellenistic world, a "mystikos" was an initiate of a mystery religion . "Mystical" referred to secret religious rituals and use of the word lacked any direct references to the transcendental. In early Christianity the term mystikos referred to three dimensions, which soon became intertwined, namely

915-630: Is described as a "loving contemplation", and, according to Thomas Keating , the Greek Fathers of the Church, in taking over from the Neoplatonists the word theoria , attached to it the idea expressed by the Hebrew word da'ath , which, though usually translated as "knowledge", is a much stronger term, since it indicates the experiential knowledge that comes with love and that involves the whole person, not merely

976-505: Is enriched with a perspective on ordinary things superior to that of ordinary people. Philip of Opus viewed theoria as contemplation of the stars, with practical effects in everyday life similar to those that Plato saw as following from contemplation of the Forms. In the Enneads of Plotinus (c.204/5–270 CE), a founder of Neoplatonism , everything is contemplation ( theoria ) and everything

1037-460: Is less interested in knowledge, preferring to emphasize the hiddenness, the "mystery" of God's plan as revealed through Christ. But Paul's discussion of the Cross differs from John's in being less about how it reveals God's glory and more about how it becomes the stumbling block that turns our minds back to God. Paul also describes the Christian life as that of an athlete, demanding practice and training for

1098-573: Is not simply a matter between the mystic and God, but is often shaped by cultural issues. For instance, Caroline Bynum has shown how, in the late Middle Ages, miracles attending the taking of the Eucharist were not simply symbolic of the Passion story, but served as vindication of the mystic's theological orthodoxy by proving that the mystic had not fallen prey to heretical ideas, such as the Cathar rejection of

1159-472: Is not simply about the sensation of God as an external object, but more broadly about ...new ways of knowing and loving based on states of awareness in which God becomes present in our inner acts. William James popularized the use of the term " religious experience " in his 1902 book The Varieties of Religious Experience . It has also influenced the understanding of mysticism as a distinctive experience which supplies knowledge. Wayne Proudfoot traces

1220-428: Is the most important aspect of human existence and that gnosis (not something we can attain by ourselves, but the gift of Christ) helps us find the spiritual realities that are hidden behind the natural world and within the scriptures. Given the importance of reason, Clement stresses apatheia as a reasonable ordering of our passions in order to live within God's love, which is seen as a form of truth. Origen, who had

1281-510: Is understood as "a gift of the Holy Spirit that enables us to know Christ" through meditating on the scriptures and on the cross of Christ. (This understanding of gnosis is not the same as that developed by the Gnostics , who focused on esoteric knowledge that is available only to a few people but that allows them to free themselves from the evil world. ) These authors also discuss the notion of

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1342-474: Is usually associated with the Friends of God. The Theologia Germanica survives today in only eight manuscripts, all from the second half of the fifteenth century, suggesting that it was not widely disseminated before it came to the attention of Martin Luther. Martin Luther produced a partial edition first in 1516. At that time Luther thought the work might have been written by John Tauler . In 1518, he produced

1403-599: The Eucharist , baptism and the Lord's Prayer all become activities that take on importance for both their ritual and symbolic values. Other scriptural narratives present scenes that become the focus of meditation: the crucifixion of Jesus and his appearances after his resurrection are two of the most central to Christian theology; but Jesus' conception, in which the Holy Spirit overshadows Mary, and his transfiguration , in which he

1464-632: The Hebrew , Greek , and Latin languages. The treatise itself does not discuss or reflect on the fact that it is written in German. Theologia Germanica gained immense cachet in the Radical Reformation , and in later Lutheran and Pietist traditions. In 1528, Ludwig Haetzer republished Theologia Germanica with interpretive "Propositions" by the Radical Reformer Hans Denck . Towards

1525-789: The Stoics and Essenes with the active lives of virtue and community worship found in Platonism and the Therapeutae . Using terms reminiscent of the Platonists, Philo described the intellectual component of faith as a sort of spiritual ecstasy in which our nous (mind) is suspended and God's spirit takes its place. Philo's ideas influenced the Alexandrian Christians, Clement , and Origen , and through them, Gregory of Nyssa . Inspired by Christ's teaching and example, men and women withdrew to

1586-710: The "two ways", that is, the way of life and the way of death; this idea has biblical roots, being found in both the Sermon on the Mount and the Torah . The two ways are then related to the notion of purity of heart, which is developed by contrasting it against the divided or duplicitous heart and by linking it to the need for asceticism, which keeps the heart whole/pure. Purity of heart was especially important given perceptions of martyrdom, which many writers discussed in theological terms, seeing it not as an evil but as an opportunity to truly die for

1647-478: The Synoptics in stressing knowledge or John in stressing love. In his letters, Paul also focuses on mental activities, but not in the same way as the Synoptics, which equate renewing the mind with repentance. Instead, Paul sees the renewal of our minds as happening as we contemplate what Jesus did on the cross, which then opens us to grace and to the movement of the Holy Spirit into peoples' hearts. Like John, Paul

1708-433: The Synoptics is the desert, which is used as a metaphor for the place where we meet God in the poverty of our spirit. The Gospel of John focuses on God's glory in his use of light imagery and in his presentation of the cross as a moment of exaltation; he also sees the cross as the example of agape love, a love which is not so much an emotion as a willingness to serve and care for others. But in stressing love, John shifts

1769-443: The basis of most subsequent English translations. Susanna Winkworth translated the book in 1857. In 1980, Bengt R. Hoffman brought out an English translation of Luther's 1518 edition. David Blamires’ 2003 translation is based on Wolfgang von Hinten ’s 1982 critical edition. Christian mysticism Contemplative practices range from simple prayerful meditation of holy scripture (i.e. Lectio Divina ) to contemplation on

1830-480: The biblical, the liturgical and the spiritual or contemplative. The biblical dimension refers to "hidden" or allegorical interpretations of Scriptures . The liturgical dimension refers to the liturgical mystery of the Eucharist , the presence of Christ at the Eucharist. The third dimension is the contemplative or experiential knowledge of God. Bernard McGinn defines Christian mysticism as: [T]hat part, or element, of Christian belief and practice that concerns

1891-482: The deserts of Sketes where, either as solitary individuals or communities, they lived lives of austere simplicity oriented towards contemplative prayer . These communities formed the basis for what later would become known as Christian monasticism . The Eastern church then saw the development of monasticism and the mystical contributions of Gregory of Nyssa , Evagrius Ponticus , and Pseudo-Dionysius . Monasticism, also known as anchoritism (meaning "to withdraw")

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1952-656: The end of his life (1541–42), the radical Sebastian Franck produced a Latin paraphrase of the Haetzer version. Sebastian Castellio published Latin (1557) and French (1558) translations, after his break with John Calvin over the execution of Michael Servetus (1553). Just over a decade later, Valentin Weigel studied the work in his Short Account and Introduction to the German Theology (1571). The mystic Johann Arndt reedited an earlier printing based on Luther in 1597; this version

2013-444: The following concepts: In Christian mysticism, Shekhinah became mystery , Da'at (knowledge) became gnosis , and poverty became an important component of monasticism . The term theoria was used by the ancient Greeks to refer to the act of experiencing or observing, and then comprehending through nous . The influences of Greek thought are apparent in the earliest Christian mystics and their writings. Plato (428–348 BC)

2074-531: The goal of spiritual growth away from knowledge/ gnosis , which he presents more in terms of Stoic ideas about the role of reason as being the underlying principle of the universe and as the spiritual principle within all people. Although John does not follow up on the Stoic notion that this principle makes union with the divine possible for humanity, it is an idea that later Christian writers develop. Later generations will also shift back and forth between whether to follow

2135-592: The image of Moses and Aaron leading the Israelites through the wilderness, and he describes our union with God as the marriage of our souls with Christ the Logos , using the wedding imagery from the Song of Songs . Alexandrian mysticism developed alongside Hermeticism and Neoplatonism and therefore share some of the same ideas, images, etc. in spite of their differences. Philo of Alexandria (20 BCE – c.  50 CE)

2196-443: The increasing tendency to locate the mystical in the psychological realm of personal experiences – serves to exclude it from political issues as social justice. Mysticism thus becomes seen as a personal matter of cultivating inner states of tranquility and equanimity, which, rather than seeking to transform the world, serve to accommodate the individual to the status quo through the alleviation of anxiety and stress. Mystical experience

2257-502: The influence of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (late 5th to early 6th century) the mystical theology came to denote the investigation of the allegorical truth of the Bible, and "the spiritual awareness of the ineffable Absolute beyond the theology of divine names." Pseudo-Dionysius' apophatic theology , or "negative theology", exerted a great influence on medieval monastic religiosity. It

2318-552: The life of Christ , renouncing sin and selfishness , ultimately allowing God’s will to replace human will. Luther wrote, [N]ext to the Bible and St. Augustine , no book has ever come into my hands, from which I have learned... more of God, and Christ, and man and all things that are... Another goal of Luther in the publication was supporting his thesis that the German language was just as well-suited for expressing theological ideas as

2379-429: The liturgical mystery of the Eucharist, the presence of Christ at the Eucharist. The third dimension is the contemplative or experiential knowledge of God. The 9th century saw the development of mystical theology through the introduction of the works of sixth-century theologian Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite , such as On Mystical Theology . His discussion of the via negativa was especially influential. Under

2440-568: The material world as evil, contrary to orthodox teaching that God took on human flesh and remained sinless. Thus, the nature of mystical experience could be tailored to the particular cultural and theological issues of the time. The idea of mystical realities has been widely held in Christianity since the second century AD, referring not simply to spiritual practices, but also to the belief that their rituals and even their scriptures have hidden ("mystical") meanings. The link between mysticism and

2501-508: The mind. Among the Greek Fathers, Christian theoria was not contemplation of Platonic Ideas nor of the astronomical heavens of Pontic Heraclitus, but "studying the Scriptures", with an emphasis on the spiritual sense. Later, contemplation came to be distinguished from intellectual life, leading to the identification of θεωρία or contemplatio with a form of prayer distinguished from discursive meditation in both East and West. Some make

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2562-625: The period before Jesus was highly corporate and public, based mostly on the worship services of the synagogues, which included the reading and interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures and the recitation of prayers, and on the major festivals. Thus, private spirituality was strongly influenced by the liturgies and by the scriptures (e.g., the use of the Psalms for prayer), and individual prayers often recalled historical events just as much as they recalled their own immediate needs. Of special importance are

2623-495: The practice of what is now called mysticism was referred to by the term contemplatio , c.q. theoria . According to Johnston, "[b]oth contemplation and mysticism speak of the eye of love which is looking at, gazing at, aware of divine realities." Several scholars have demonstrated similarities between the Greek idea of theoria and the Indian idea of darśana (darshan), including Ian Rutherford and Gregory Grieve. "Mysticism"

2684-430: The preparation for, the consciousness of, and the effect of [...] a direct and transformative presence of God. McGinn argues that "presence" is more accurate than "union," since not all mystics spoke of union with God, and since many visions and miracles were not necessarily related to union. McGinn also argues that we should speak of "consciousness" of God's presence, rather than of "experience", since mystical activity

2745-616: The presence of God, resulting in theosis (spiritual union with God) and ecstatic visions of the soul's mystical union with God . Three stages are discerned in contemplative practice, namely catharsis (purification), contemplation proper, and the vision of God. Contemplative practices have a prominent place in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy , and have gained a renewed interest in Western Christianity. The Greek theoria (θεωρία) meant "contemplation, speculation,

2806-442: The roots of the notion of religious experience further back to the German theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768–1834), who argued that religion is based on a feeling of the infinite. The notion of religious experience was used by Schleiermacher to defend religion against the growing scientific and secular critique. It was adopted by many scholars of religion, of which William James was the most influential. McGinn's emphasis on

2867-559: The sake of God—the ultimate example of ascetic practice. Martyrdom could also be seen as symbolic in its connections with the Eucharist and with baptism. Theoria enabled the Fathers to perceive depths of meaning in the biblical writings that escape a purely scientific or empirical approach to interpretation. The Antiochene Fathers, in particular, saw in every passage of Scripture a double meaning, both literal and spiritual. As Frances Margaret Young notes, "Best translated in this context as

2928-461: The sake of the prize; later writers will see in this image a call to ascetical practices . The texts attributed to the Apostolic Fathers , the earliest post-Biblical texts we have, share several key themes, particularly the call to unity in the face of internal divisions and perceptions of persecution, the reality of the charisms , especially prophecy, visions, and Christian gnosis , which

2989-456: The story of Jacob's ladder —and sought to fend off the demon of acedia ("un-caring"), a boredom or apathy that prevents us from continuing on in our spiritual training. Anchorites could live in total solitude (" hermits ", from the word erēmitēs , "of the desert") or in loose communities (" cenobites ", meaning "common life"). Monasticism eventually made its way to the West and was established by

3050-463: The stress on "experience" is accompanied by favoring the atomic individual, instead of the shared life on the community. It also fails to distinguish between episodic experience, and mysticism as a process that is embedded in a total religious matrix of liturgy, scripture, worship, virtues, theology, rituals and practices. Richard King also points to disjunction between "mystical experience" and social justice: The privatisation of mysticism – that is,

3111-439: The third hypostatic level has theoria . Knowledge of the one is achieved through experience of its power, an experience that is contemplation ( theoria ) of the source of all things. Plotinus agreed with Aristotle's systematic distinction between contemplation ( theoria ) and practice ( praxis ): dedication to the superior life of theoria requires abstention from practical, active life. Plotinus explained: "The point of action

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3172-403: The transformation that occurs through mystical activity relates to this idea of "presence" instead of "experience": This is why the only test that Christianity has known for determining the authenticity of a mystic and her or his message has been that of personal transformation, both on the mystic's part and—especially—on the part of those whom the mystic has affected. Parsons points out that

3233-440: The vision of the divine was introduced by the early Church Fathers , who used the term as an adjective, as in mystical theology and mystical contemplation. In subsequent centuries, especially as Christian apologetics began to use Greek philosophy to explain Christian ideas, Neoplatonism became an influence on Christian mystical thought and practice via such authors as Augustine of Hippo and Origen . Jewish spirituality in

3294-537: The work of John Cassian and Benedict of Nursia . Meanwhile, Western spiritual writing was deeply influenced by the works of such men as Jerome and Augustine of Hippo . Neo-Platonism has had a profound influence on Christian contemplative traditions. Neoplatonic ideas were adopted by Christianity, among them the idea of theoria or contemplation, taken over by Gregory of Nyssa for example. The Brill Dictionary of Gregory of Nyssa remarks that contemplation in Gregory

3355-654: The work. In 1612, Pope Paul V placed it on the Catholic Church’s Index Librorum Prohibitorum , where it remained into the second half of the twentieth century. The first English translation of the Theologia Germanica dates from 1648. It may have been the work of the preacher John Everard . A text from 1497, the Wuerzburg or Bronnbach manuscript, was discovered in 1843 and contained text not included in Luther's editions. This text forms

3416-419: Was a Jewish Hellenistic philosopher who was important for connecting the Hebrew Scriptures to Greek thought, and thereby to Greek Christians, who struggled to understand their connection to Jewish history. In particular, Philo taught that allegorical interpretations of the Hebrew scriptures provides access to the real meanings of the texts. Philo also taught the need to bring together the contemplative focus of

3477-473: Was an English preacher and author. He was also a Familist , hermetic thinker, Neoplatonist , and alchemist . He is known for his translations of mystical and hermetic literature. He graduated B.A, at Clare College, Cambridge in 1600, M.A. in 1607, and D.D in 1619. He was lecturer at St Martin in the Fields from 1618. He was imprisoned, twice in a short space of time, for preaching about Spanish cruelties, as

3538-545: Was brought before the Court of High Commission in 1636, when he was vicar of Fairstead, Essex , and charged with various heresies: Familism, Antinomianism , Anabaptism . He was fined heavily. On a second occasion, in 1640, he recanted his spiritualist beliefs. His sermons, published posthumously, are between Martin Marprelate and Richard Overton in style. In the preface by Rapha Harford to Some Gospel-treasures Opened ,

3599-584: Was endorsed by Philipp Jakob Spener and had over sixty later printings. In total, about two hundred editions were published between the sixteenth and twentieth centuries. John Calvin rejected the work. In a letter to the Reformed Congregation in Frankfurt, Calvin says it is "conceived by Satan's cunning... [I]t contains a hidden poison which can poison the church." The support for the Theologia Germanica among Protestants led to Catholic suspicion of

3660-475: Was influenced by Neo-Platonism , and very influential in Eastern Orthodox Christian theology . In western Christianity it was a counter-current to the prevailing Cataphatic theology or "positive theology". Within theistic mysticism two broad tendencies can be identified. One is a tendency to understand God by asserting what he is and the other by asserting what he is not. The former leads to what

3721-495: Was seen as an alternative to martyrdom, and was less about escaping the world than about fighting demons (who were thought to live in the desert) and about gaining liberation from our bodily passions in order to be open to the word of God. Anchorites practiced continuous meditation on the scriptures as a means of climbing the ladder of perfection—a common religious image in the Mediterranean world and one found in Christianity through

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