I am a Christian Mystic

I am a student of Gnosticism because I am a specialist in Christian mysticism. The Gnostics were among the first mystics.

This is important to remember, because later mystics had to distance themselves from the Gnostics in order to survive. And even now, telling you their secret, could cast the heresy label on them.

But the Gnostics were not heretics, they were lovers of God and seekers of union with God. It was the institutional church that went astray seeking power and control through their union with the Roman government. They rendered to Caesar what was God’s.

Or you can see it as a repeat of Israel’s reject of God as their King and the election of a human King (1 Sam. 8:7-8). The Roman Church replaced Jesus Christ as the Head of the Church with a human Pope as the Head of the Church (Eph 5:23).

But there are a bunch of different groups calling themselves Gnostic, and many varied beliefs. And modern scholarship is still confused about the whole subject of Gnostics and Gnosticism. It is just easier to call myself a Christian mystic.

I am a Christian mystic who follows the lead of the Apostles Paul, John, Thomas, Valentinus, and the Desert Fathers and Mothers. You can include all the Christian mystics, both East and West, since that time.

However, claiming that I am a Christian mystic sounds kind of like claiming I am a saint. It smacks of a lack of humility. But I have experienced the presence of God and seek union with God, so that makes me a mystic. I will say no more than that.