Yesterday Elizabeth and I went for a hike up a mountain we had not yet explored, and I took this picture (right) of Kristiansand. Agder University is in the foreground, and we live toward the left.
We stopped for a picnic and read a few chapters of Dostoevsky's "The Idiot." We're at the part where he discusses the moment before an epileptic attack, which is compared to mystical experiences of "the moment" which transcend time.
This got me thinking more about meditation and spiritual formation... after the summer vacation, maybe we could have a blog conversation about mystical experience.
LeRon- I look forward to that blog conversation. I think mystical experiences are generally overlooked in theological dialog and yet they "form" the core elements of most people's experience with the divine.
Posted by: David Worley | 15 July 2007 at 05:50
Sounds good. Beautiful picture.
Posted by: Dana Ames | 15 July 2007 at 23:07
David,
I completely agree that mystical experience is overlooked in theology today (ah, the good old days of Schleiermacher, eh?) ;)
I'm interested in your use of (and placement of quotation marks around) the term "form" in your comment... if you have time, could you elaborate? (E.g., are you distinguishing this from "material" or do you have something else in mind?).
LeRon
Posted by: LeRon | 16 July 2007 at 08:45
LeRon- It seems to me that mystical experience is foundationally important for the formation of our experience of the divine. Could it be that our capacity to receive and experience the divine is developed (or "formed") and this is what is meant by spiritual formation?
Spiritual formation, in my background, was always conceived to be the way in which I align with God and live in some sort of obedience or concurrence with God. The unspoken presupposition in this framework is that my capacity to receive God is already fully present, whereas I think this must be developed through faithfulness to a way of life that is existentially distinct from the "patterns of this world." This sort of framework for formation is making less sense to me recently and I am beginning to think more in terms of my capacity to experience the divine. Thus, I need to be "formed" in a way that enables me to more fully experience God and this sort of formation has to be accomplished through the summation of the totality of my sense experience (post Hume and Kant). If we think of mystical experiences as being occasional turbo-charged experiences of divine presence, then mystical experience becomes a sort of spiritual formation gift that God benevolently extends to many of us occasionally throughout our life. I think mystical experience therefore moves from being an expectation (charismatics) or unnecessary experience (conservative Baptists) to being a divine gift that expands the contours of soul to enable a greater experience of the divine presence in which we live.
Posted by: David Worley | 17 July 2007 at 23:29
David,
I see what you mean, and I agree. Such experiences do not just happen (or not happen) to us, they form us, shaping our subjectivity and receptivity.
Posted by: LeRon | 19 July 2007 at 08:24
My, my, you've certainly come a long way since our Fuller days of Liverpool Rummy (Do you still play?), tennis, theology and the like. Sounds like you're having the time of your life! Blessings to you; say, "Hi," to Elizabeth for us.
David and Jody
Posted by: David McElrath | 24 July 2007 at 07:58
Hi David and Jody!
Yes, we definitely still play liverpool rummy... in fact we played last night.
Actually, when a person starts explaining how the hand might have turned out differently if they had done something they didn't do, we still call that person "Jody"! ;)
Are you guys still pastoring in southern California? I'll be in L.A. and San Diego later this year (see right sidebar) and would love to see you.
LeRon
Posted by: LeRon | 24 July 2007 at 14:13
Hi LeRon,
Yes, we are still in socal. We would love to see you when you are in the area! From the side bar it looks like we missed you in San Diego. If you are going to be back in the San Diego area we'd love to get together. Maybe play a few hands for old time sake! (We still have an occasional "PERCH!" in our games....)If Pasadena is our only option, we will see what we can do.
Blessings,
David and Jody
Posted by: David McElrath | 24 July 2007 at 18:07
Prompted your saying, "the moment before an epileptic attack, which is compared to mystical experiences of "the moment" which transcend time." I remembered this article by David Bradshaw: "Christian Approach to Philosphy of Time."
http://www.uky.edu/~dbradsh/papers/Christian%20Approach%20to%20Phil%20of%20Time.pdf
Especially the last part.
Posted by: bruce johnson | 24 July 2007 at 19:14
Hi David,
Actually, I will be in San Diego this November for the AAR, so maybe we can work something out! My email is leron.shults@hia.no
P.S. We still yell "perch" too, although now everyone else yells "perkins" (spongebob squarepants reference).
Posted by: LeRon | 24 July 2007 at 22:32