Christian mysticism in ancient Africa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. Specific concerns may be found on the talk page. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions.(December 2007)

This article is orphaned as few or no other articles link to it. Please help introduce links in articles on related topics. (April 2008)

Africa's Christian mysticism, in recognizable and outspoken form, seemed to first take place in the desert, a place known in the past to have been the site of Israel entering into covenant with Yahweh, John the Baptist preaching the word, and Jesus praying and fasting before meeting the devil. Perhaps this evinces that indeed, the desert is a place to meet God, for “environment creates religious experience,” and “environment can lead to an altered state of consciousness.” In part, this can be attributed to “the suffering of the desert” which “creates a detachment — and detachment is basic in the religious path.” Indeed, “[the] desert leads to a cosmic experience, a kenotic or emptying experience,” and it is here that we come to realize that “we know more about what God is not than about what He is.” ^[1]

As is common in mystical experience, the desert is not only a “real” place, but also a symbol for “wherever one prays and listens to the word of God.” That aside, the desert of northern Africa was home to a highly spiritual group known as the Desert Fathers or Desert People. These people, highly influenced by Coptic Christianity in the mid to late 3rd century, led quiet lives, often sharing the Gospel with those they traded with or otherwise came in contact with, but most cherishing their personal communion with God. As time would have it, they virtually invented both the eremitic (a.k.a. hermit) and the monastic (a.k.a. monk) way via Saint Anthony. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

It is said, after the Creation account in Genesis, that “the LORD God planted a garden eastward; and there he put the man whom he had formed” (emphasis added). This would suggest that the man, Adam, had been created somewhere in the world outside of Eden, to the west. Given that little lies west of Mesopotamia (where Eden presumably existed) besides Africa, this might support the notion that, ultimately, all of the world’s religions are African rooted. And with them, all disciplines of mysticism. ^{[4] [5]}

Plato, not Adam, however, is proclaimed contemporarily by many scholars as the definitive “Father of Christian Mysticism.” In part this is due to his passion for “the life of the spirit,” and his curiosity about what and how humanity knows about the “nature of the truly Real.” Certainly echoes of his thinking are found in New Testament literature, if nowhere else than the Gospel of John. The problem here, though, is twofold: 1. there is evidence that Hindu sadhus living before the 5th century BC (before Plato’s birth) had already developed many of the thoughts Plato would later be recognized for, and 2. Christian mysticism may have originated within Christianity. Perhaps, given Plato’s inadvertent influence on Dionysius, via neo-Platonism, and in turn the broad effect had as a result of Dionysius’ Mystical Theology (c. 520 A.D.), Plato can be titled the father of Western Christian Mysticism. ^{[6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]}

That is not to say, however, that African mysticism was left untouched by Plato — -the quintessential example being Saint Augustine, who will be studied later in more detail. His mystical experience first came while he was a Platonist. Also, many of the early African Church including Fathers Clement, Tertullian, Athanasius, and Origen also had “a strong Neo-Platonic flavor in all their work,” though they were not all necessarily mystics. ^{[12] [13]}

[edit] Montanists

The Montanists, whose presence dates as far back as 179, headed a prophetic movement that became one “of the most influential events in the history of Christian mysticism.” ^{[14] [10]}

Montanus and his followers spoke while in ecstasy, thus distinguishing themselves from the orthodox Christian prophets who communicated their message when they had returned to their senses. The ecstasy of Montanus is said to have been deliberately induced, but we do not know in what way. He regarded himself as a passive instrument, a lyre upon which played the divine plectrum. The prophecies were usually delivered in great excitement and often in an unknown ‘tongue.’ ^[10]

Before Neo-Platonism could have significantly influenced Christianity, St. Paul and the Montanists were engaging in mystically interpreted ecstatic raptures. For many Christians, particularly of the charismatic forms, such experiences have not ceased. They are not meant to be understood but simply enjoyed — a journey into the “best and fullest life conceivable: the divine life.” Montanism was firmest in North Africa and Asia Minor, though it was considered heretical by the majority of Christians. Presently, many Montanistic elements are foundational for many self-identified Christian denominations, but are generally considered heterodox at best or heretical by more orthodox groups. Despite this, it is important to note this presence of mysticism early in "African Christianity." ^[10][15]

[edit] Desert People

The monasticism of the Desert People of northern Africa could be described as “a way of life in which the world was totally given up in pursuit of God.” This alone evinces an undeniable presence of mysticism. At the same time there was a strong sense of practicality in how they lived, for the Desert People are known to have “emphasized work and self-sufficiency, weaving palm fronds into mats and baskets, and working as harvesters,” unlike many mystics since who depended on charity. It is said that with their earnings, they fed not only the local poor, but sent shiploads of grain to the prisons and poor of Alexandria. Most, but not all, came from a poor background, which doubtless made the privations of the desert easier to endure. Many of these monastics were considered ascetics and were popularly admired. On the other hand, they were condemned by some because of their “savage enthusiasm which represents man as a criminal and God as a tyrant” — the former clearly being part of Evangelical thought today. ^[16]

The Desert People’s mystical experiences are said to be the result of three major components: 1. the reading, hearing, speaking and singing of the Scriptures; 2. their devotion to the sacraments, especially the Eucharist; and, 3. their connectedness to the spiritual community of the Church. Perhaps another key component was the strong desire of the Desert People to meet Satan, the reason being that “it was much better to meet the devil than to not.” “For he is always at work; and he is never more dangerous than when he conceals himself.” Whether apparent or embellished, the Desert People are reported to have had a saying that went: “No temptation; no salvation.” Not to leave the wrong impression, it must be emphasized that the chief concern of the Desert People was that they love each other, and any visitors, with that love which comes from God alone. ^[17]

Though the word “monk,” (a word used formally for monastics by 400 A.D.) might infer total isolation, it seems that this was more the option each monk wanted left open for him or herself. They often lived in small monastic villages, but built them far away from everything else so that utter privacy could be ensured. There were also monasteries, built as permanent housing for the monks of a given area. Both the facilitation of villages and monasteries connected the monastics to the Church that fed the mystical life of each monk. The monasteries, in particular, were made to be visitor-friendly and were a place that welcomed outsiders to come and observe and learn from the monks. Recurrently, the most striking observations that could be made were the strict sleep and dietary regiments the monks subjected themselves to. Undistractible simplicity was key to monastic life. ^[18]

[edit] References