Next, superstitions grew out of the influence of Greco-Roman mystery religions, such as the Cult of Mithras and Isis, which influenced the church with mystical and magical beliefs about the powers of special rituals. ![]() Like Christian mysticism, asceticism took its impulse from Neoplatonic philosophy. The first of these forebears of Christian mysticism is asceticism, which is the radical rejection of the physical world. offers direct knowledge of God by extraordinary experiences and states of mind. These practices include asceticism, sacramental superstition, and the allegorical interpretation of Scripture. Other contemporary female mystics were Catherine of Siena and Teresa of Ávila.Ĭhristian mysticism emerged from other practices in the history of the church that have “magical” and unrealistic qualities about them, which make such practices highly suspect or unorthodox. English mystics included the female Julian of Norwich. Gerhard Groote, a Dutch mystic, was founder of Brothers of the Common Life, which is considered a forerunner of the Reformation. Interestingly, their mystical book Theologica Germanica influenced Martin Luther to some degree. The fourteenth century produced the mystical Dominican theologians Meister Eckhart, Johann Tauler, and Heinrich Suso. ![]() ![]() Christian mysticism claims roots in the Scriptures, but it was also influenced by Neoplatonic philosophy via the author Pseudo-Dionysius and the scholastic philosopher John Scotus Erigena, the eighth-century translator of Pseudo-Dionysius. Mysticism as a whole is not unique to Christianity, being found in religions and philosophies worldwide. It offers direct knowledge of God by extraordinary experiences and states of mind. Mysticism asserts the earthly possibility of a personal, immediate union of the soul with the being of God himself. The fourteenth century saw the blossoming of mysticism, a movement that has influenced the church to this day.
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