Person-Mysticism: The Heart of Christian Spirituality

A twofold sensitivity characterizes Christianity. One is sensitivity to its inner core and the other is sensitivity to its surrounding culture in which it lives and communicates its message. The inner core is the person of Jesus Christ whom his followers experienced as utterly human and completely divine. This is the heart of Christian spirituality. It found its creedal expression in terms of one person having two natures. Although the different creedal statements responded to various Christological controversies and remained faithful to its inner core, neither understanding nor communicating one person having two natures has been easy. Matters came to a head with the anthropocentric turn of the modern period. Friedrich Schleiermacher showed his sensitivity to the changed culture, only to be castigated by Karl Barth for not being sensitive to the inner core. This article argues that studies in nature-mysticism found in the contemporary world enable us to understand the ancient metaphysical terminology of one-person two-natures and also maintain the twofold sensitivity. I do this by using the category of “person-mysticism.” “Person-mysticism” is about encountering God in another human person, understood as an extension of “nature-mysticism” that involves encountering the divine in nature.