Defining Christian Mysticism

Christian mysticism is focused on personal encounters with the divine rather than extraordinary abilities or miraculous events. It encompasses a wide range of spiritual experiences, from subtle feelings of closeness to God to more intense states of ecstasy. This definition acknowledges that mysticism exists on a spectrum, which reflects varying degrees of religious experiences across individuals. The term itself, originating from 19th-century scholarship, signifies a crossing over from typical perception to a direct experience of the divine, fundamentally altering one’s understanding of reality.