Why Mysticism 2020?

Virtually everything that can be said about mysticism has already been said.

Thus, I constantly struggle with whether this blog should even exist. However, after many decades of delving into this topic, I think/hope that I can bridge some gaps between various religious and philosophical traditions, and perhaps add to folks’ overall understanding of how these topics fit together.

Unfortunately, our society has broken up into too many disparate tribes. One person’s belief is another person’s heresy. Is the God of Meister Eckhart the same God of Jesus, or Mohammed, or Moses, or Lao Tsu (who would have used the term Tao)? Can logic lead us to God, as Wittgenstein seemed to believe, or can it lead us to the Tao (as mathematician Raymond Smullyan believed)?

This blog represents the culmination of my decades-long attempt to bridge the gap between mainstream Christianity, atheism, and agnosticism. Given that one definition of compromise is when the guy that doesn’t get what he wants makes sure the other guy doesn’t either, I offer this blog. My experience with it so far is that it annoys traditional Christians and atheists equally, making it quite a challenge to find a target audience. For every reader I add with a post, I lose one with the same post.

Most people are unaware of the long history of mystical, apophatic and existentialist Christian thought. These traditions, along with others, contain a view of the nature of the universe – and yes, of God – that can survive any logical analysis and inquiry.

I encourage you to suspend any preconceived notions that you have and read some of the posts for the message they actually send.

Please also visit http://www.appealingfilm.com for information on a film I wrote and directed on these same topics.