Tag Archives: mysticism

Article: Die transformerende effek van ’n mistieke lees van die Skrif / The Transformative Effect of a Mystical Reading of Scripture, by Celia Kourie

Posted on April 18, 2020 by Jonas

In this article, Celia Kourie argues that using the historical-critical method to interpret the Bible has proven to be too limiting. A more spiritual, mystical reading of scripture can add a depth of understanding unavailable to a strictly rational approach. … Continue reading →

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Article: Bible Study as Luminous Converting Encounter: Swiss Pietist Initiatives in 19th-Century French Canada, by Glen G. Scorgie

Posted on November 7, 2019 by Jonas

In this article, the author Glen Scorgie describes how 19th century Swiss evangelical missionaries to Canada introduced a contemplative form of shared scripture reading which led to mystical experience and conversion. Here is the article’s abstract: This article examines the … Continue reading →

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Book: Signposts to Silence. Metaphysical Mysticism: Theoretical Map and Historical Pilgrimages, by J.S. Krüger

Posted on August 7, 2019 by Jonas

Retired Professor in Religious Studies at the University of South Africa and now Research Associate in the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Pretoria, J.S. Krüger writes that his book does not depend on any single academic … Continue reading →

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Essay: Paul Baynes and Richard Sibbes, by Tom Schwanda

Posted on April 12, 2019 by Jonas

This essay appears in Protestants and Mysticism in Reformation Europe, a multi-author collection of essays described as “an expansive view of the Protestant reception of mysticism, from the the beginnings of the Reformation through mid-seventeenth century.” Tom Schwanda begins his … Continue reading →

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Article: Spirituality & the Social: Some Reflections on the Basics, by Marc De Kesel

Posted on April 2, 2019 by Jonas

Central to this article’s discussion about the development of modern spirituality is the notion of “the social.” According to the article’s author, Marc De Kesel, a modern understanding of “social” emerged when the term “subject” became more identified with a … Continue reading →

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Article: The Praxis of Spirituality: Experiencing God and Responding to that Relationship, by Janet K. Ruffing

Posted on January 24, 2019 by Jonas

Janet Ruffing begins her article by describing some of the questions facing Christian spirituality studies today. For Ruffing, practice begins with an inner experience of God followed by reflection and interpretation to discern its meaning. She then shows how mystical … Continue reading →

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Essay: Apocalypses and Mystical Texts: Investigating Prolegomena and the State of Affairs, by Pieter G. R. de Villiers

Posted on November 22, 2018 by Jonas

In this essay which introduces a volume of essays exploring the nature and origin of Jewish mysticism and its relation to Christian mysticism, Pieter de Villiers describes modern developments in the study of Jewish and Christian apocalyptic and mystical texts.  … Continue reading →

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Article: Reading Ruusbroec in Argentina: Darkness, Loss and the Common Life, by Douglas E. Christie

Posted on November 7, 2018 by Jonas

After Douglas Christie visited La Perla, a site in Argentina infamous for its role as a place of torture and death during that country’s “Dirty War”, he turned to the writings of  Jan van Ruusbroec and Michel de Certeau to help … Continue reading →

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Book: Apocalypticism and Mysticism in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity, edited by John J. Collins/ Pieter G. R. Villiers / Adela Yarbro Collins

Posted on October 16, 2018 by Jonas

Co-edited by SSCS Past President Pieter G. R. de Villiers (who is also a contributor), this essay collection explores how Christian mysticism drew on late Hebrew and Aramaic texts and the Greek philosophical tradition for its early development. Here is … Continue reading →

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Essay: Embodied Knowing and the Unspeakable Sacred: Practice in Christian Spirituality, by Claire E. Wolfteich

Posted on October 1, 2016 by Jonas

In an essay appearing in Sacrality and Materiality: Locating Intersections (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2016), Claire Wolfteich proposes to expand scholarship in spirituality beyond the more common approach of studying texts to exploring spiritual practices. She writes I will address the theme of materiality and sacrality … Continue reading →

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