There's a good deal of bellyaching about the "post-modern" or "emergent" movements in Evangelicalism. Some of it is quite necessary; other parts, not so much. The "I'm Okay - You're Okay" theology moving along within that sect and the glorification of old church traditions and rituals that still aren't old enough to accurately reflect the beliefs or practises of original Christians are two examples that come to mind. To be sure, a great deal of what they're resurrecting within Protestantism might be some of the most nefarious examples of syncretism that set Jesus' movement down the wide and comfy path that leadeth unto Constantine.
But not all of it is...
A few criticisms in particular strike me as burning the body to fix the warts. While "messy spirituality" has become a codeword for cheap grace, and the "solidarity" with the felt needs of unbelievers seems like the new wave of seeker sensitivism (which the emergent movement supposedly goes against) – not to mention an easy out on ever having to stand for anything, other aspects of the emergent church could probably use re-assessment from some of those so thoroughly opposed to it.
What troubles me more is that some of these aspects seem so integral, so utterly biblical that it boggles my mind how the theological intelligentsia has come to have such grave issues with them. Particularly, I keep hearing about the evils of "mysticism", "contemplation" and "spirituality".
Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to pick these notions apart right now, and point out that while the emergent toffs still probably get it wrong, these matters in themselves are absolutely vital in experiencing God, and living out the Christianity fully.
Spirituality – Yes, it's a word that gets co-opted a lot. What most people mean when they say "I'm not religious, I'm spiritual" is that they've dabbled in enough Far-Eastern gobbledygook and read their horoscopes so often that they feel like they're better, holier and more enlightened than everyone else – and they can receive this feeling without having to actually change one iota of what they believe or do in their every day life. All right, it's ridiculous, but let's move on; let's not let Shirley MacLaine and the Beatles steal away a good term which, in essence, means beliefs pertaining to spiritual matters.
As Christians, the nature of our beliefs are inherently spiritual. We believe God ministers to us through the Holy Spirit. Angels and demons wage war over this realm – these are described as spiritual beings. In biblical thought, every person has a spirit. God Himself is described as being a "spirit", and in the very same verse believers are commanded to worship Him in spirit.
So, with all these things having to do with spirits, how could we not embrace – with caveats – the notion of spirituality? Christianity is a spiritual religion. Bottom line. We don't just believe that the material realm is all there is. We believe that there are underlying causes behind what goes on in every person's life and the world around us. This, folks, is spirituality. Learn to embrace biblical spirituality, because you're not going to be able to have that relationship and experience with God that Christ died to bring us if you don't.
Contemplation – God says that when we reject knowledge, He will reject us. So what does it mean to contemplate? It means to think, reflect or meditate on something, particularly with an aim towards arriving at deeper truths regarding a given matter. It's a way of attaining (wait for it...) knowledge.
If one thing seems tautologically evident, it's that people who condemn "contemplatives" probably spend very little time contemplating anything themselves.
It goes back to spirituality, particularly God calling us to know Him and grow deeper in Him. Without contemplation, whether it be on the Scripture, on the nature of Christ, on God's impact in our lives, or on the salvific history that has brought us to where we are, we stagnate. We grow cold. We grow distant from the LORD, and are left with rote slogans and other people's words to take for the truth about Him.
He does not want us like this!
God wants us going forward, striving onward. Without contemplation, our spirituality will be hollow and meaningless; our very testimonies become hollow and meaningless. Yes, neo-Catholics and emergent monk-wannabes engage in contemplation – of sorts – but that doesn't mean that contemplation is a bad thing. Shoot! A lot of the things that the monk-wannabes do can even be quite helpful, even if it isn't entirely biblical, and honestly – considering all the things we have no problem doing in everyday life that the Bible never even comes close to prescribing, I don't think there's much argument against these "questionable" forms of contemplation simply from the Bible's silence. Guard against things that the Bible forbids, not what the Bible doesn't talk about.
And finally...
Mysticism – This is a tricky one, because good protestants across the spectrum have abjured mysticism for centuries. Personally, I get forced to wonder two things in this light: first, why is mysticism so bad? Second, how do they read their Bible and stay so immune to it?
Supposedly, mysticism leads to witchcraft, spiritism, and all types of unbiblical things. I'd counter saying that taking an interest in any abstract subject – whether it be thought, spirituality, theories or even fictional literature – could open up those types of doorways. Like I said above, we shouldn't be wary based on the Bible's silence, but based on the Bible's prohibition.
So we shouldn't summon Baal Shaggoth in order for him to enchant a charm bracelet that will give us esoteric powers, but neither should we resist ecstatic and mystical experiences as the Holy Spirit provides them, nor should we be utterly closed off to the possibility of "mystic truths" being written into the Bible. If one examines the way NT authors use OT Scripture, you would quickly note that they found nothing unbiblical or unchristian about doing this.
Nor should we go as far as some do to say that the Holy Spirit simply doesn't provide ecstatic experiences. I could say based on my own testimony that this is hogwash. Further to the point, Jews contemporary to Jesus believed that the Holy Spirit existed so that God could communicate with His people through prophecies, visions, etc., etc. Things that fall under that umbra of "mystical".
Mysticism is all throughout the Bible. Genesis 1 is actually an incredibly mystical passage that gets trampled by the ultra-literalistic and concrete reading given to it by so many who fear mysticism and its implications. Ezekiel 1 is among the most mystical passages of the world's literature, so strange, alluring, otherworldly and in-depth is its narrative. The Book of Daniel, the Book of Revelation, the Book of Zechariah, even the Psalms and the Proverbs – what are these books if not mystical in their imagery and teachings?
Perhaps it's Paul's fault. Perhaps we Christians just get so hung up on a concrete reading of the Pauline corpus in order to form a more perfect systematic theology, or a better guide to who gets into Heaven and who doesn't, that we pass over the richness and depth that both we and those who don't (or no longer) believe are missing. If we refuse to recognise and embrace the mysticism inherent in such things as Ezekiel 1 or Jesus' transfiguration, then we are rejecting what God has for us in His word. We are rejecting knowlegde that He puts before us. I'll refer you to the above Hosea passage to let you chew on that.
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Another problem arises when Christians abjure the spiritual, contemplative and mystical aspects of the Christian life – and it's a problem we're seeing just about everywhere that Christianity has been reduced to a moral rulebook or a theological guidebook. If God is not engaging our souls, unifying the seen and the unseen, or even giving us a set of beliefs worth thinking deeply about, there are plenty of demons and false prophets who would gladly fill that void. Instead of rejecting these things, no matter how much they are smeared by Satanic devices, I say it is our duty as Christians living the life Christ intended us to that we embrace full on the dark, unnerving and downright weird parts of our faith. There's a world crying out for what God has got – we need to be there to serve it to them.
