The Christian Mystery: From Pagan Myth to Christian Mysticism

Description

A scholarly and masterful exploration of the meaning and importance of 'mystery' and 'mysticism' to the Christian revelation, offering a fuller understanding of Christian spirituality down the ages and a firmer grasp of what it means to be a Christian.

Louis Bouyer is a giant of the twentieth-century theological ressourcement, a leading figure in the liturgical movement and a co-founder of the International Catholic Review Communio

'What is particularly exceptional about this book is the way in which Bouyer employs different disciplines and areas of knowledge to pursue the question: who is this father of Jesus Christ? Comparative religion, psychoanalysis and the Bible and tradition are all engaged with, to give a satisfying and rich answer.' Gavin D'Costa, Theological Book Review "reminds us once again of how much a Catholic theological culture in these islands owes to the (non-Catholic) Scottish publishing house of T&T Clark...Pere Bouyer is Mircea Eliade arrayed in the Episcopal robes of St Gregory of Nyssa. Corners of a building so grandiose as to include, as this one does, myth, depth psychology, and the social sciences as well as the history of religions from Shamanism to Shinto, can surely be chipped away here and there by thinkers with other suasions to offer or by specialist scholars. Yet the overall effect of Bouyer's construction is impressive...Bouyer gives us his own his own prescription for the reinvigoration of theological life." - Irish Theological Quarterly, 2001