"Love will not be idle": Non-Doing and Action in the English Mystical Tradition
This essay explores the dynamic of contemplative action, which I will refer to as ‘social mysticism’, or what from the perspective of comparative mysticism we might also want to term a form of ‘non-doing’. It focuses primarily on the medieval English mystical tradition, illustrating that two forms o...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
2023
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| In: |
Entangled Religions
Year: 2023, Volume: 14, Issue: 4 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Mystique
/ Christianisme
/ Contemplation (théologie)
/ Action sociale
/ Moyen anglais
/ Littérature
/ Histoire 1300-1500
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| RelBib Classification: | AG Religious life; material religion CD Christianity and Culture KAF Church history 1300-1500; late Middle Ages KBF British Isles |
| Further subjects: | B
Theology
B Social Action B Mysticism B Medieval English Mysticism |
| Online Access: |
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| Summary: | This essay explores the dynamic of contemplative action, which I will refer to as ‘social mysticism’, or what from the perspective of comparative mysticism we might also want to term a form of ‘non-doing’. It focuses primarily on the medieval English mystical tradition, illustrating that two forms of action are discussion—ordinary actions and those which flow out of contemplation. It is noted that the latter constitute a detached form of action. To draw out the full ramifications of social mysticism within a Christian context a short coda is added that considers mysticism in the writings of three twentieth-century anglophone writers, all of whom were strongly influenced by medieval Christian mysticism. The essay sets out to show that focusing on the relationship between mysticism and action raises questions concerning the extent to which ineffability offers the most useful marker for Christian mysticism. |
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| ISSN: | 2363-6696 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Entangled Religions
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.46586/er.14.2023.10391 |