2023 Catholic Media Association First Place Award, Mysticism
In A World The Mystical Journey, Philip Sheldrake demonstrates the importance of the mystical dimension of religious belief and practice. Using the words of the great theologian, Karl Rahner, Sheldrake makes the case that the Christian of the future will be either a mystic or nothing at all. In our contemporary world, this judgment applies equally to other religions as well.
After chapters on the meaning of “mysticism” and the connection between mysticism and beliefs, Sheldrake describes important dimensions of mystical writings, illustrated by a range of examples. These are “Love and Desire,” “Knowing and Unknowing,” “Wonder and Beauty,” “Mysticism and Everyday Practice,” and “The Mystic as Radical Prophet.” Finally, the book briefly explores why mysticism fascinates so many people in our modern times.
Philip Sheldrake is a theologian who has been closely involved with the emergence of Christian Spirituality as an academic field. Sheldrake is Past President of the International Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality, and was Leech Professor of Applied Theology at Durham University. His publications have focused on the interface of spirituality, theology, and religious history, and he has also written on religious reconciliation.
Sheldrake trained in history, philosophy, and theology at the universities of Oxford and London, and later taught at the Universities of London and Cambridge. Sheldrake is Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Senior Research Fellow, Cambridge Theological Federation, and Honorary Professor, University of Wales. He has also regularly been a visiting professor in the United States.
Repetition weighs down this book that could have used better editing. While it is a solid treatment on the subject, there is little here that hasn't already appeared in many, many other books on the topic. I was left wondering...was this book really necessary?