Exchange

[a recent email exchange]

C: i have to go to work soon, so i'll keep this brief. my point regarding the mysticism and intellectualism stuff is this: i don't know how many times Christ alone says that we are to be like children in our relationship to God. i don't know many children who sit on top of moutains or study theology and think that that is spending time with their father. i'm sorry if i come off as a little agressive, but if you call yourself a minimalist, why do you choose the most complicated ways to communicate with God? one of the perspectives speakers a while back mentioned that the wisest, smartest, most spiritual being outside of the Trinity is the devil himself. this may sound paranoid, but i've seen both in my brother and in myself how intelligence and good intentions can still produce a flawed philsophy, even one that masquerades as christianity. i know that you already know this, seeing as i learned it from you, but you need to truly understand: the Kingdom is meant to be lived, not thought about. if mysticism or intellectualism is the key, then why do we still struggle?

ps: i'm a pascifist again. do you want to bet on how long it will last? smart money says i'll change my mind before i get off work.

ME: Jesus only said it once about the children. And I agree with him. It really is easy and not that complicated, though we make it that way.

I think we agree on intellectualism. In no way am I defending intellectualism; to the contrary. Now the mysticism part, we would need to talk about more. You should know my view. Head stuff is limited, and is probably more of a barrier for most people. We have to look at our whole being or self. I have laid out my scheme (not original) on the parts of the self. Remember the Paul McCartney slide? Our mind is part of our self, along with our body, heart, and social parts. The bottom line for me is the heart. That is where we can interface with the divine resources and it is the well-spring of action. It is where kingdom living is generated.

How many ways are there to communicate with God? God resides in our hearts. So the only way to directly communicate with Him is through our hearts and it is not that complicated. It is easy because you don’t have to do anything. It seems hard only because of how we live our lives. Remember, Jesus said come to me if you are tired and I will give you rest. My way is easy. (my paraphrase).

ps: a passivist? You are in some good company. Einstien was a passivist until Hitler came on the scene.

[second exchange]

C: sorry if i came off as a bit of a jackass. i'm not really arguing with you, and i know you aren't defending intellectualism. i'm just wandering if mysticism is really that different from intellectualism, in terms of it's potential to distract from true sprituality. the zoroastrians did not believe in logic, or reason, but their study of astrology, fortune telling, and mysticism kept them focused on their heads just the same. i'm not accusing you of that, but i think it's worthwhile to explore whether what we do is spiritual or just our own brand of intelectualism. note that i don't think there shouldn't be an intellectual side to christianity, but i know that i, if no one else, am at risk of focusing entirely on that side of things, which produces the kind of cold, unfeeling intellectualism and mysticism that i lived by for a long time. even if i did the right thing, i did it because it was the most logical choice, not because it was right. i don't know how prevelent that kind of thing is in the church, but i prefer to shoot first and ask questions later if i think i see it anywhere, particularly in myself, because i know how damaging (and depressing) it can be.

ME: I really hear what you are saying. I guess we need to define mysticism. I see God interfacing with us at the heart level as mystical. It certainly is not very empirical since it could never be tested.

What is the spiritual life? I like the knowing, being, and doing scheme, although I recognize it is incomplete. However, it gives us something to react to. You are suggesting that you tend to go overboard in the knowing part. Actually, most do. I see most of evangelicalism as being skewed in that direction. We tend to suck at the heart thing and we don’t do all that much either. But at least we are going to heaven!



If you made it this far...good question: what is the spiritual life. Any thoughts?