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vja4Him
“I don't recall seeing the word "Mysticism" in my Bible ....â€
The English words “mystic†and “mysticism†come from a Greek word anglicized as “musterionâ€, that means “mysteryâ€. If you look up the words “mystery†and “mysteries†in your Strong’s Concordance, you will find every NT use of the word in the KJV. The KJV translates the Greek word consistently. If you use a different translation, the Greek word may be translated differently, sometimes as a phrase. The NIV translates the Greek word as “secrets†in the Gospels, but translates it consistently as mystery everywhere else.
In the NT, the Greek word usually refers to something that we can’t know or is hard to understand, something mysterious. And it also refers to something kept hidden since the beginning of time as a mystery, like the Gospel that we can freely know today. The word is used in relation to relationships only in Ephesians 5:32 referring to the relationship between Christ and the ekklesia, and in Colossians 2:2 referring to the relationship between those who are in Christ and God and the Father and Jesus Christ. The latter relationship being very mysterious and complex. The various ideas of the nature of God, even among Trinitarians, is a clear example of this matter.
In early Christianity, the term was used to refer to our relationship with God and with Jesus Christ through the Spirit of God. Ways of how to accomplish this relationship grew into Traditions in both Orthodoxy and Catholicism. This is what is referred to as “Christian Mysticismâ€. Today the term mysticism has become synonymous with the occult. That is why I said that it is better to use another term that comes from another Greek word used in the NT....Spirituality. But the terms “Christian Mysticism†and “Spirituality†refer to the same relationship. Roman Catholicism preferred the term “Christian Mysticism†until very recently because it is the term used in their Tradition. But they have picked up the term “Spirituality†from its Protestant usage. Orthodoxy is not so fast to make the change. Protestants have generally preferred the term “Spiritualityâ€, because of their dislike of the term mysticism, but some because of its use in Roman Catholic Tradition.
Protestants and Catholics didn’t always get along as well as they do today, that is, a more common acceptance of one another as Christians while acknowledging the obvious differences. Yet the former negative mindset is still quite strong among some fundamentalists, Catholic and Protestant. There are Catholics who do not believe that Protestants are real Christians in the Catholic sense of the word; and there are Protestants who believe that Catholics are not Christians in the Protestant sense of the word. There are going to be some surprised individuals on both sides of the fence when we are all standing before Jesus face to face. Thanks for listening to my rant for today.
JamesG
