mysticism and early Lutherans

[ayani]

hey all-

i've been re-reading some things about the denomination i was raised in, and there's a fair amount of information stating that Lutheranism started out as a semi-mystical movement. i find this very interesting, as i don't think of modern Lutheran worship as being especially mystical.

does anyone have information about the mystical roots of Lutheran thought, and what about Lutheran ideas tied them to mysticism?

 

[michel]

hey all-

i've been re-reading some things about the denomination i was raised in, and there's a fair amount of information stating that Lutheranism started out as a semi-mystical movement. i find this very interesting, as i don't think of modern Lutheran worship as being especially mystical.

does anyone have information about the mystical roots of Lutheran thought, and what about Lutheran ideas tied them to mysticism?

Hi Gracie, Namaste.
You might try this :-http://www.perefound.org/jhr_arch.html

 

[ayani]

Heini, never a towering intellectual, simplified and systematized his father's ideas into an inner-worldly pietism and adopted the German evangelical pietist theology of assurance-- the necessity of an intense, emotionally wrenching inner-struggle (Busskampf) resulting in the ravishing, joyous psychological union with God, the inner-worldly mystical "bride of the lamb."

i can see a good deal of connection between this and Luther's own struggles with salvation and theology. thank you for the link, michel! much appreciated!

 

[cturne]

http://www.perefound.org/jhr_arch.html

Could someone please translate the paper at that link into English for me? Maybe it's just because it's the end of the day, but I tried to read that paper that was published at that link, and after the first paragraph, the words just all blur together!

Also, just curious, what would be the definition of mysticism as referred to in this thread? Could someone explain what 'Lutheran mysticism' is?

 

[Joannicius]

Being the scholar and linguist, Luther reached back into the roots of Christianity for the mystical understanding.... these are discussed here ad infinitem

 

[Karlstadt1]

I just finished "Dancing Alone" by Frank Schaffer, the son of Francis Schaeffer. It was an eye-opening history of what went wrong since the Diet of Worms. In short, Schaeffer says that Luther wanted to reform and purify the church. He thought that he would get his day in court at Worms. Instead, he was given two choices: repent of every criticism you made of the church authorities, or be excommunicanted. Painted into a corner, the reformation became a rebellion.

 

[Mehr Licht]

Luther was a fan of Theologia Germanica and said that next to Augustine (himself often regarded as a mystic) and the Bible he had never learned more from a book. He published editions of it in 1516 and 1518. So if you want to see the type of mysticism of Luther was "into" you might want to read that. He also seemed to have been influenced by the mystic John Tauler and wrote a collection of notes on his sermons as well. Certain aspects of the more speculative branches of mysticism he didn't seem to have much use for and he even criticizes Dionysius the Areopagate in that regard though. A shame too because Dionysius was the man if you ask me.

The Lutheran Church has produced it's fair share of mystics too. My favorite being Jacob Boehme. His writings are a real treasure trove but they aren't that easy to digest. Others include Valentine Weigel, Johann Arndt, Gottfried Arnold, Abraham von Frankenberg, and Knorr Von Rosenroth. I would like to add Johann Scheffler /Angelus Silisius who was raised Lutheran and was a follower of Boehme but he went and converted to Roman Catholicism for some reason.

You can read the Theologia Germanica here
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cts=1331171186756&ved=0CD8QFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fm.ccel.org%2Fccel%2Fanonymous%2Ftheologia.html&ei=bg9YT6S_FeTq0gHm4o3NDw&usg=AFQjCNGtYdpr0ZVXFc3k8SmNNqPsTBFYpQ