Mysticism (from the Greek μυστικός) is the pursuit of communion with, identity with, or conscious awareness of an ultimate reality, divinity, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, instinct or insight. Mysticism usually centers on a practice or practices intended to nurture those experiences or awareness.
Mysticism exists in various religions. Mysticism can be found in Hassidic Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Neo-platonism, Sufism, Quakerism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, Islam and Mormonism. It was present in all the ancient religions of Asia and the pre-Christian religions of Europe. In non-religious secular societies, mysticism appears as New Age belief.
I wish to contend that mysticism is a unifying factor in all false religion. Mysticism is a rejection of an external revelation from God and a substituting in its place of an internal experience. It is a replacing of “Thus saith the Lord,” with “I feel.” This is no exaggeration. Many mystics openly avow such teaching, claiming that reason is not the organ of truth and that it is through feelings that God make truth known.
Over the next couple of days we will be examining mysticism in more detail, showing why it is contrary to Scripture. It is pantheistic at heart and thus contrary to Christianity.
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