The Church in an Age of Secular Mysticisms
Why Spiritualities without God Fail to Transform Us
by Andrew Root
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Pub Date 10 Oct 2023 | Archive Date 24 Oct 2023
Baker Academic & Brazos Press | Baker Academic
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Description
In the last book of the Ministry in a Secular Age series, leading practical theologian Andrew Root shows the differences between these spiritualities and authentic Christian transformation. He explores the dangers of following or adapting these reigning mysticisms and explains why the self has become so important yet so burdened with guilt--and how we should think about both. To help us understand our confusing cultural landscape, he maps spiritualities using twenty of the best memoirs from 2015 to 2020 in which "secular mystics" promote their mystical and transformational pathways. Root concludes with a more excellent way--even a mysticism--centered on the theology of the cross that pastors and leaders can use to form their own imaginations and practices.
Advance Praise
“Brilliant, genre-defying—part philosophical history, literary analysis, and a new postmodern apologetics—Root playfully illustrates how we have become trapped in the present by way of the past, and neither heroics nor introspection nor ourselves will save us. Instead, he posits an enticing, ancient transformation in confession and surrender to something beyond ourselves. A balm for those guilted by Instagram and self-help, Root’s book is both illuminating intellectual history and an essential guide for spiritual leaders navigating secular mysticisms.”—Erin Raffety, writing faculty, Princeton University; empirical researcher, Princeton Seminary
“Andy Root has penned a theological gem. This book is a primer on spiritual theology and philosophical theology that inspires readers to recover and reconsider traditions of confession and surrender. Root balances wit and humor with intellectual depth. His theological musings not only touch the mind but set the soul on fire. This thought-provoking book is an important read that challenges mainline pastors and congregations striving for relevance in the secular age.”—Kermit Moss, faculty, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary
“Once again, Andrew Root manages to bring together lighthearted story and reflection with a remarkable mastery of philosophy, theology, literature, and art to help us make sense of how emerging generations think about God and the spiritual life. A gifted practical theologian, Root invites us to wrestle with the nature of historical and contemporary mysticism in the Western world so that we might resist a spirituality that essentially ends in the self and respond to the transformative invitation to Christ-centered relationships. Ministry leaders seeking to understand and connect with the youth and adults they serve will benefit greatly from Root’s practical wisdom that invites us to open ourselves to the God who reaches out to us and calls us into the world.”—Angela Reed, associate dean for academic affairs and associate professor of practical theology, Truett Seminary, Baylor University
“Root’s final book of the Ministry in a Secular Age series is like a good farewell speech: full of reflective storytelling and festive comments on the past—here in the form of memoirs. Most importantly, the book passes on a legacy: the mystery of how a theology of the cross paradoxically offers a path for transformation of the self. At the end of his secular pilgrimage, Root becomes a mystical guide, pointing passionately at how transcendence may be found in the receptive life—a life of passive surrender and confession.”—Bård Norheim, professor of theology, NLA University College, Norway; coauthor of The Four Speeches Every Leader Has to Know
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781540966735 |
| PRICE | US$28.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 288 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Ethan L, Reviewer
Andrew Root’s whole “Ministry in a Secular Age” series is a must read for Christians who want to get a handle on what time it is and significant reconsiderations of who we are, what we are about, and what we are doing. This concluding volume, The Church in an Age of Secular Mysticisms: Why Spiritualities Without God Fail to Transform Us, does not disappoint.
I always find it challenging to review works by Root in this series because there’s so much going on and it’s nearly impossible for me to keep it all straight. But here goes.
Root interlaces his experiences over the past few years, concluding in a gut-wrenching way, and in the process explains his interest in and consideration of what he deems “secular mysticisms.” In this he recognizes how modern Western society remains God- and spirituality-haunted, and the “secular mysticisms” are the ways in which many in society end up exploring spirituality in a secular age.
There are three main streams of mystical thought in this age: a “humanist” strand, a “counter-enlightenment” strand, and the “Beyonder” strand, according to his framework. He explains all three: the “humanist” one prevalent in liberalism and the pursuit of social justice; the "counter-enlightenment” as the one prevalent in conservatism in its current expressions; and the way he will advocate, the way of the “beyonder.”
He does well at showing how despite all their differences, the “humanist” and the “coutner-enlightenment” forms of secular mysticism all end up making it about the self and the development of the self, and in this he finds their great failings. He spends much time in the thought of Bul, Luther, Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, Rosenzweig, and others in expressing these limitations and encouraging cultivation of the “Beyonder” type of mysticism.
The “Beyonder” perceives a God greater than he or she and thus looks beyond him or herself in this kind of mysticism. In the end, the mystical path of the “Beyonder” is a kind of holy resignation, a submission to that which is beyond them and anything they could imagine. It’s a confession the self can only imagine, improve, and do so much.
As with all the books in the “Ministry in a Secular Age” series, it’s nearly impossible to do it any kind of justice in a short review. There’s a lot to process and consider here, and much that is profitable.
