Christ the Original Mystery: Esoterism and the Mystical Way, with Special Reference to the Works of Ren� Gu�non

by Jean Borella

René Guénon’s explication of the principles of an interior understanding of sacred forms has established his reputation in the West as the master theorist of esoterism. But until now his doctrine has not been the focus of thorough study in Christian circles. Christ the Original Mystery (a republication of the work issued in 2004 as Guénonian Esoterism and Christian Mystery ) is the first major work to combine an analysis of Guénon’s ideas about esoterism with a critical examination of their application to Christianity. Here Guénon’s remarkable insights into the problems of the modern world, symbolism, and metaphysics are masterfully situated by Jean Borella within the horizons of the Christian Mystery, the sacraments, and the mystical way. “In this brilliant study of Christian esoterism and mysticism, Jean Borella accomplishes several urgent he establishes a nuanced definition of esoterism that respects the fundamental priority of divine revelation; he demonstrates the myriad ways in which René Guénon, father of modern esoterism, misread the Christian mysteries by ignoring the testimony of scripture and the early Church Fathers; and he points the way towards a life-giving exploration of the Christian inner life based on the orthodox teaching of deification. This last achievement may be the book’s highlight, as Borella introduces his readers to a number of little-known or forgotten texts of the highest order, including the anonymous The Evangelical Pearl , Benedict of Canfield’s The Rule of Perfection , and Louis Laneau’s On the Deification of the Just —works of profound Christian spirituality.”— PHILIP ZALESKI , Research Associate, Department of Religion, Smith College; co-author of A History “René Guénon was one of the great metaphysical minds of the last few centuries. Jean Borella shows in this landmark study exactly where Guénon’s work remains of perennial value for Christians, but also demonstrates the limitations and personal idiosyncrasies that led him to distort some of the most important elements of Catholic and Orthodox doctrine. This book may well stimulate the recovery of authentic metaphysics within the Church for which Guénon longed, but which he despaired of seeing in his lifetime.”— STRATFORD CALDECOTT , author of The Radiance of Dimensions of Cosmic Christianity “Exhaustively documented and brilliantly conceived, this monumental treatise refutes a Guénonian thesis regarding the limits of Christianity and reaffirms the Patristic doctrine of theosis as the consummation of the Christian Way.”— WOLFGANG SMITH , author of Christian Gnosis from St. Paul to Meister Eckhart

Genres: Religion

507 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2018

About the author

Jean Borella is a Christian philosopher and theologian. Borella's works are deeply inspired by Ancient and Christian Neoplatonism, but also by the Traditionalist School of René Guénon and Frithjof Schuon.

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A better title would have been: Against Esoterism, a Critique of Guenon's Christians. + Mysticism and Esoterism in Traditional Christianity. Borella is an amazing scholar and is exhaustively detailed across many fields. The main concern of the book's first part is providing a critique of Rene Guenon, who didn't seem to know much about Christianity despite being a widely popular scholar on religions. Borella's work is thus important for anyone familiar with Guenon's work, the man didn't even bother reading Christian history or the Church fathers, rather, he fancied some secret occult alternative Christianity that lived hidden within an ignorant church. Borella destroys that vision that today unfortunately still prevails in many spiritualist believers.

The second part of the book analyses what mysticism and esoterism mean in Christianity, again Borella uses the actual Christian Tradition and concludes that what the church says about itself is true. The literary richness of the Christian mystics and theologians are beautifully illustrated and one concludes there is no need for any alternative theories or secrecy.

The book is a must-read for anyone who has read even one book of Guenon and is interested in the True Tradition of the Christian religion. It is however a difficult book sometimes with many philosophical arguments, philology, and theological disputes.

[Mason Fraley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the best treatment of the phenomenology of faith as a metaphysic, if you’re into that sort of thing