The Christian Mystery: From Pagan Myth to Christian Mysticism

by Louis Bouyer

One of the most gifted and internationally renowned theologians of our time here explores the importance of mystery and mysticism in the Christian tradition. He begins with a historical look at myth and mystery in pagan, Hellenistic and Classical cults, and the subsequent development in Christian mysticism and spirituality. From myth and mystery he moved to mysticism in the Christian West up to the present. Christian tradition is compared to Jewish, Islamic and Buddhist mystic experiences. Throughout, Bouyer seeks to focus on the power and meaning of these phenomena in their place in the modern Church. Here the reader will find a new way of reading the Bible and a firmer meaning of what it is to be a Christian. Translated from the French by Illtyd Trethowan.

Genres: Christianity, Religion

314 pages, Paperback

First published March 5, 1995

About the author

Rev. Louis Bouyer (1913-2004) was a member of the French Oratory and one of the most respected and versatile Catholic scholars and theologians of the twentieth century.

A friend of Hans Urs von Balthasar, Joseph Ratzinger, and J.R.R. Tolkien, and a co-founder of the international review Communio, Bouyer was a former Lutheran minister who entered the Catholic Church in 1939.

He became a leading figure in the Catholic biblical and liturgical movements of the twentieth century, was an influence on the Second Vatican Council, and became well known for his excellent books on history of Christian spirituality. In addition to his many writings, Bouyer lectured widely across Europe and America.

Woman in the Church (with an epilogue by Balthasar and an essay by C.S. Lewis), was one of the first three books published by Ignatius Press, in 1979. Other Ignatius Press books by Bouyer include The Word Church and Sacraments in Protestantism and Catholicism, Women Mystics, and the introduction to John Henry Newman: Prayers Verses Devotions (Bouyer wrote a biography of Newman).

He was chosen by the Pope to be part of a team to initiate the International Theological Commission in 1969.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Asks and answers many questions we have around the relationship between mystery religions and Christianity, definitions of mysticism "East" and "West", contrasts in use of the word "gnosis" in gnosticisms and Christianity, etc. Did the Church Fathers betray the faith by getting too Greek, or did it actually go the other way around, with the Neoplatonists sneaking bits of Christianity into their schemata? Very clear, very generous, very biblical.