Holy Heretics: Losing Religion and Finding Jesus
Religion & Spirituality:Christianity
Episode Summary
One of the paths available to you post-evangelicalism is mysticism, a spirituality that in many ways is almost the direct antithesis of evangelical Christianity. If evangelicalism was all about certainty, apologetics, Biblicism, and defending your faith at all costs, Christian mysticism can be defined by unknowing, mystery, paradox, and direct experience with the Sacred. Mystics know something the rest of us don’t know. God is right here with us, right here inside us, right here hidden in plain site just waiting on us to have the eyes to see that this tired old world is filled to the brim with Divinity.
A mystic is anyone who has moved beyond the basic understanding of faith as a belief system and into a deeper level of spirituality, recognizing faith as an intimate relationship with the divine through direct experience. They have a “thirst to taste both the holy and the human with unmediated directness,” in the words of Harvard scholar Harvey Cox.
The mystical life has less to do with brief moments of divine euphoria and more to do with the realization that through practice, meditation, silence, contemplation, service, and prayer, God is a lived and present reality in daily life. To the mystic, God is no longer some external object to be studied from a distance, but rather an immediate reality to be known, loved, and communed with. Mystics typically inhabit the border streams of faith, existing on the margins, often running afoul of institutional religion. The telos or end goal of their faith is loving union with God, a kind of returning home to your maker and sustainer. Mystics embody what orthodox Christianity has been preaching from the beginning—that God is both transcendent (other worldly) and immanent (present), beyond us yet with us, unknowable yet utterly known. Simply, mystics understand that “knowing” God goes beyond the intellectual and the rational to include intimacy, like a bride “knows” her husband.
Bio:
Keith Giles is a former pastor who left the pulpit to follow Jesus and start a house church where no one takes a salary and 100 percent of all offerings are given to help the poor in the community. He has been a published writer since 1989.
He is the author of several books, including: "Jesus Unbound: Liberating the Word of God from the Bible" and "Jesus Untangled: Crucifying Our Politics To Pledge Allegiance To The Lamb."
Keith is the co-host of the Heretic Happy Hour Podcast which has featured interviews with Bart Ehrman, John Fugelsang, Richard Rohr, Brad Jersak, Greg Boyd, and many others.
Keith also teaches several online courses including "Square 1: From Deconstruction to Reconstruction" and other courses based on his many books.
You can follow him online and find out more about his books at www.KeithGiles.com
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Show notes:
http://www.sophiasociety.org/podcast/what-is-christian-mysticism
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This episode was produced by The Sophia Society and written by Gary Alan Taylor. Music is by Faith in Foxholes.
Ep. 21: Should I Stay in Church? with Dismantle Pod
Ep. 20: What Is the Bible? with Dr. Pete Enns
BONUS: “I Just Want Real Friends”: Finding Community Post-Deconstruction (Roundtable Discussion)
Ep. 19: How Complementarianism Feeds Sex Trafficking with Meghan Tschanz
Ep. 18: Is Christianity Harmful? with Will Thorpe (Heretical Theology)
Ep. 17: From Fundamentalism to Nuance: Rediscovering Ancient Spiritual Practices w/ Travis Wade Zinn
Ep. 16: Recognizing and Healing from Religious Trauma with Jess Hugenberg of Welcome to the Process
Ep. 15: Who’s on Top & Why It Matters: Rethinking Christian Sex Advice (with Sheila Wray Gregoire)
Ep. 14: Gaining a Deeper Understanding of God from Muslim Friends with Rachel Pieh Jones
Ep. 13: Moving beyond Biblical Literalism with Fr. Brendan Ellis Williams
Ep. 12: Deconstructing Toxic Christianity One Joke at a Time with Kristina Harutoonian (The DTR Blog)
Ep. 11: ChurchToo: What’s Purity Culture Got to Do with It? with Emily Joy Allison
Ep. 10: What happened to Joshua Harris? The I Kissed Dating Goodbye author shares about purity culture and deconstructing his faith
Ep. 9: How “Christian Values” Gave Rise to Toxic Masculinity with Kristin Kobes Du Mez
Ep. 8: The History of Christianity in America with Chris Staron of Truce Podcast
Ep. 7: Loving Your Enemies with Dr. Russell Johnson
BONUS: Responding to the Ravi Zacharias Report
Ep. 6: Unholy Trinity: Power
Ep. 5: Unholy Trinity: Patriarchy
Ep. 4: Unholy Trinity: Purity Part 2
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