The essential writings of Christian mysticism

by Bernard McGinn (Editor)

Paperback, 2006

Publication

New York : Modern Library, 2006.

Call number

GT-C-C / McGin

Barcode

BK-06726

ISBN

0812974212 / 9780812974218

Original publication date

2006

Physical description

xviii, 559 p.; 21 cm

Description

This clear and comprehensive anthology, culled from the vast corpus of Christian mystical literature by the renowned theologian and historian Bernard McGinn, presents nearly one hundred selections, from the writings of Origen of Alexandria in the third century to the work of twentieth-century mystics such as Thomas Merton. Uniquely organized by subject rather than by author, The Essential Writings of Christian Mysticism explores how human life is transformed through the search for direct contact with God. Part one examines the preparation for encountering God through biblical interpretation and prayer; the second part focuses on the mystics' actual encounters with God; and part three addresses the implications of the mystical life, showing how mystics have been received over time, and how they practice their faith through private contemplation and public actions. In addition to his illuminating Introduction, Bernard McGinn provides accessible headnotes for each section, as well as numerous biographical sketches and a selected bibliography.… (more)

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User reviews

LibraryThing member tadrosp
Good reference book to the "essential writings" of mysticism. From the perspective of a non-specialist, the editor is clearly an expert and has put together in one volume a diverse collection of mystic works across the ages, from Patristics to the Middle Ages, from the Church East and West.
LibraryThing member davidpwithun
Overall, this book gave a decent general overview of Christian mysticism. My biggest complaint, though, was that there was too much focus on the West (and when the editor did use authors from the East, he chose pieces which are more in tune with Western Christianity than Eastern). There was also
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too much focus on very small heretical movements (why so many quotes from the Quietists?); their presence in the book was disproportionate to their presence in history. Not bad, but there's much better out there.
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LibraryThing member palaverofbirds
Picks the best sections of works from scores of theologians. Well-organized by themes. The short bibliographies are concise and do a great job of putting the texts into proper perspective so you get a sense of where each mystic got his/her ideas.

Would certainly like to own a copy someday. A book I
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will go back to again and again, I'm sure.
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Rating

(14 ratings; 4.1)
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