I’m Wondering About the Relationship Between Mysticism and the Church. Here’s Why.

I often get asked if Christian mysticism needs the institutional church. Do you have to be a member of a church in order to be a Christian mystic? Or, to paraphrase a common way many people describe their spiritual lives: is it possible, in our day, to be “MBNR,” that is, “Mystical But Not Religious”?

Almost ten years ago, on page 30 of The Big Book of Christian Mysticism, I wrote the following:

Mysticism is often connected with religion. Here I am using religion...

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