Christian Mysticism

Some interesting quotes from an article I am reading:

"Only the humble of heart are recognized by God and have been historically trusted with the Wisdom of God."

"In absolute terms there are basically two belief systems/religions on Earth. One, is for God, the other is against God. All of the religions of the world fit within this continuum. At one end is Christianity at the other is Satanism.....It should not come as a surprise that some Christian sects, in spite of their Christian designation are, based on their actions, at the negative end of the continuum."

Jesus said, "You are either for me or against me."  Other religions are against Jesus, therefore they are for Satan, without realizing it. 

"Those who are born into a Christian culture inherit a blessing and with it a conceptual advantage. It even shows materially in how the Christian world manifests its inner belief outwardly in the lifestyles of its countries and cities. Many in the non-Christian world, given the choice, would prefer the living conditions of the Christian countries. The lifestyle of the Christian world are an externalized manifestation of the inner concepts and beliefs born out of Christian concepts, as the conditions of the Hindu, Taoist, Islamic worlds come from their beliefs."

That was funny and interesting.  God truly has blessed America.  He always blessed those who love him.  This is not he prosperity gospel.  Paul said, "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."  And he does. :) 

"Purely intellectual Bible studies are often exercises in personal pride – instead of humility. One wanting to out-think the other for the glory and praise. The meaning of the words are usually not revealed to these." 

lol  This is so true!  I remember reading some commentaries in college.  Ten different people seemed to have a completely different take on the same verse.  I was appalled by this.  I thought, "If they all have the Spirit of God in them, who leads us into all truth, how can they interpret things so differently?!"  This may answer my question, God reveals more truth to the humble.  In Mt. 11:25 Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children."  Very true. 

"The esoteric meaning of the Bible is not meant to be ripped out of it’s words by force of pride. The mystical meaning within the Bible is freely revealed only to the humble of heart (the meek) and no others because they are the only ones who can be trusted with it for its own sake."

Paul talks about God uses the foolish to shame the wise, so this concept is Biblical.  Very interesting. :)

"This mystical meaning is kept hidden from the proud because they do not love the wisdom for its own sake but the notoriety that it may bring.  This lack of spiritual immaturity protects the mysteries from being defiled."  Yes Jesus said he spoke to the people in parables so that they would not see.  God wants his word to be hidden to some and revealed to others.  Interesting. :)  This concept has always confused me somewhat but I can see why God does this now. 

"Don't cast your pearls before swine."  And you cannot reason with a fool.  That concept is in Proverbs.  Some people just cannot be reasoned with.  You are wasting your time if you try.  Not until God opens their eyes so that they have eyes to see will they see.  Things of the Bible are spiritually discerned.  If someone does not have spiritual eyes, they will not see, they will not be able to understand the Bible.   

"New Age philosophy mixes the truths of many beliefs including Christianity, with falsehood so cleverly that it has made itself somewhat amorphous in order to suit individual instinctual spiritual needs but to make and have no expectation towards achieving those goals. The new Age movement prides itself for being non-judgmental. This is a very well calculated stance that removes the need for an individual to weigh right and wrong – good and evil. This new relativism is said to be more “mature,” than Christianity but it is without direction and leads nowhere. It is for those who are looking for a short-cut (which does not exist) to enlightenment. It considers Christ to be merely another philosopher. The New Age philosophers magnanimously accept Christ’s teachings but without the need to have to live by them, therefore by extension it is not Christian."

Yes watch out for this.  It is called by some as "Grace Teaching" and is infiltrating the church.  There is a right and wrong.  We cannot throw out our minds in our faith.  We are to love others but love sometimes means tough love.  Love is not always just accepting everything everyone else does. 

"Paganism worships the unseen devas, nature spirits and natural forces of Creation. Although these entities and forces exist and maintain the activity in nature, they are very low and subordinate to truly angelic beings and have no supremacy. They are in fact out ranked by even the dumbest human being and therefore subordinate to human beings. Pagans are actually worshiping something that is below them in rank. This literally does harm to their souls by lowering their already naturally high vibration (power) to that of the object of worship whose vibration is much lower. It would be like a human asking to be taught by a worm or to worship a worm."  Wow.  Watch out for this.  I will say there are some characteristics of this is Charismatic circles.  The worship of signs and wonders over God himself.  Be wary of this. 

"Why would anyone in their right mind worship the lowest when they could, with the same effort, worship the Highest and be elevated in the process. In one sense, just like some Christian practices that actually worship objects and things (idols) other than God or Christ themselves, Pagan practices are therefore heathenistic. Furthermore, Paganism refuses to even look at Christianity objectively. They do not want to hear that Christians were brutally persecuted to death at the hands of the Pagans of Rome."

(The end of the article was a bit odd but education nonetheless)

This was a big shocker to me for sure:

"Magic
This is another “biggie.” Although it is understandable that this would be of concern, the term “magic” needs to be put into context and, the terms magician and sorcerer are used interchangeably in the bible probably due to incorrect translation. The ceremonial garments of the Catholic priesthoods are taken out of the old testament and are not Pagan in origin. They are also, not coincidentally, the ceremonial garments of a magician. All of the artifacts used in Catholic churches and in the Catholic ceremonies are also used in magical practices. Why should those who use the same garb,  and implements for essentially the same purpose but in a non-Catholic context be considered evil. Are the priests that much better that they can do the same thing but be considered holy and the others called blasphemers."

How strange that Catholic symbols are also used by magicians. :(

"As far as spiritual practices are concerned: a magician learns the laws of nature of the physical world, the world of the soul and of the spirit and works with them with the sanction of God to do good for his fellow human beings. A sorcerer uses the same principles to do evil for his own gain. His abilities are limited for the protection of mankind and his abilities were not earned through honest effort but by the help of a demon."

Yep.  Well that was very enlightening.  Read it if you like. 

I did not realize how much mysticism there was in our church history.  Even Augustine was a mystic.  Very interesting.  I wonder how or why. 

God give us more and more wisdom every day as we seek you.  And keep us humble so that we can always understand as much as we can about you.  Thank you and we love you.  Amen :)

God bless!

http://amaluxherbal.com/bmysticism/christian_mysticism_and_the_occult.htm