You can’t have a light without a dark to stick it in.
— Arlo Guthrie, “The Neutron Bomb” from Precious Friend
The Big Book of Christian Mysticism
Order your copy of The Big Book of Christian Mysticism from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, or Borders. Or, ask for it at your local bookstore.
Welcome
THE WEBSITE OF UNKNOWING (www.anamchara.com) is all about Celtic, contemplative, emergent, and mystical spirituality, and assorted other topics.
Click on these book covers to learn more about books by Carl McColman, or click here to buy copies.
Upcoming Class
Introduction to Christian Mysticism through Emory University's "Evening at Emory" Program.
The renowned twentieth century German theologian Karl Rahner said, “The Christian of the future will be a mystic or will not exist at all.” What could he have meant by this? In the popular mind, mysticism is associated with eastern spirituality, like Yoga or Zen. But there is a little-known tradition of meditation and spiritual awakening even within Christianity. This non-sectarian class will survey the history of Christian mysticism from Biblical times to the present, explore the meaning of mysticism and why Christians often view it with suspicion, and consider the role that mysticism might play in Christianity of the present and future.
Textbook: The Big Book of Christian Mysticism.
Instructor: Carl McColman
September 23-October 21, 2010
7:00-9:00 pm
Click here to registerSpeaking of Mysticism
Carl McColman talks about mysticism: what it is, and why it matters, in this interview which originally aired on Atlanta's AM 1690 in September 2008. Click here to listen:Newsletter
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Whenever I post to this blog, an announcement is generated for my Twitter feed, so you can always keep up to date with what's going on here.What others say…
"www.anamchara.com is a beautiful site that lists books and web sites introducing all aspects of Christian mysticism."— Abbot Christopher Jamison, host of "The Monastery" on the BBC
"One of the best spiritual blogs around"— John Skinner, author of Hear Our Silence and translator of Julian of Norwich's Revelation of Love
"Thanks, Carl, for your fine and much needed work."— Richard Rohr, author of
Everything Belongs: The Gift
of Contemplative Prayer
"You are a gifted writer, thoughtful person, and wise teacher."— Edward C. Sellner, author of
Finding the Monk Within
"Recommended website"— Steven Sadler, author of Looking for God: A Seeker's Guide to Religious and Spiritual Groups of the World
"Carl McColman is part Ken Wilber, part Richard Rohr, and part Indiana Jones’ dad."— Brittian Bullock, blogger, Sensual Jesus
"As a former professor of education, I tend to critique instructors rather severely. However, Carl McColman, in my opinion, ranks as one of the all-time great instructors. He has an unbelievable mastery of his subject matter & an uncanny ability to translate esoteric matter into understandable form. On top of that, he's very personable. This is my second Evening at Emory Class with Carl and I will sign up for any class that he teaches!"— Student evaluation formArchives
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E = MC2, dark is not in the equation; light exists with or without dark, dark vanishes with light. Otherwise the eternal light of heaven, where there is, as reported in scripture, no darkness, is a lie. However, on Earth the purpose of divine light, from The Holy Spirit within us, is to pierce the darkness and guide people to see God, accepting the release from the darkness of sin and death which came from Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross.The promise is that eventually there is no darkness to pierce, only light, the presence of God.
Merry Christmas to you…