Western culture has always included a strong element of mysticism in its traditions. Mysticism is strongly based on the occurrences of revelations: experiences in which Divine knowledge is disclosed to someone, usually in the form of some incredible happenstance (for example, a bush that burns but never turns to ash.) Revelation is where all three major world religions started. Even more than that, revelation is appealing to both humans and God: to humans, because it means that anyone can gain knowledge directly from God (not just scholars who spend every waking moment attempting to acquire such a breakthrough); to God, because it is a surefire way to spread knowledge of his plans and needs (knowledge he needs humans to have, if he wants his plans carried out by them.) Revelatory experiences are the backbone of mysticism in the western tradition.
The starting point for all three major world religions--Judaism, Christianity, and Islam--was Abraham’s first revelation and covenant with God. In exchange for completing a few other obligations, God promised Abraham that he would …show more content…
Innumerable methods were attempted, including prayer, sacrifice, cult-based ritual, dream interpretation (as in the case of Joseph), folk magic, and more. Most often, these endeavors did not work: no revelations occurred, despite the feverish attempts to incur one—but once in a great while, these tactics were successful. One famous scenario tells of four sages who manage to enter the heavenly orchards in God’s throne room. They desperately want to see God on his throne, but upon seeing him, one sage dies; another goes mad, and another renounces his religion and starts to worship other gods upon his return to earth. Only one rabbi returns seemingly unharmed, and according to the story, this is because he was the only one worthy of seeing God, as he was the only one who had mastered his studies of Chariot mysticism. (Sherwin,
The starting point for all three major world religions--Judaism, Christianity, and Islam--was Abraham’s first revelation and covenant with God. In exchange for completing a few other obligations, God promised Abraham that he would …show more content…
Innumerable methods were attempted, including prayer, sacrifice, cult-based ritual, dream interpretation (as in the case of Joseph), folk magic, and more. Most often, these endeavors did not work: no revelations occurred, despite the feverish attempts to incur one—but once in a great while, these tactics were successful. One famous scenario tells of four sages who manage to enter the heavenly orchards in God’s throne room. They desperately want to see God on his throne, but upon seeing him, one sage dies; another goes mad, and another renounces his religion and starts to worship other gods upon his return to earth. Only one rabbi returns seemingly unharmed, and according to the story, this is because he was the only one worthy of seeing God, as he was the only one who had mastered his studies of Chariot mysticism. (Sherwin,