William Johnston

In Being in Love, William Johnston addresses the question of the purpose of prayer. He shares with the reader the discovery of new ways to a prayerful life that is both meditative and active. His message is to surrender in love to God, to love God with one's own being, through prayer. Here Being in Love shows us how to pray—with heart, mind, intellect and body—as a form of communicating with God, one another, and the world around us. Johnston reveals, using his relationship with the Eastern traditions as a backdrop, the need and importance of finding stillness in our inner lives. He demonstrates in a clear and practical way, how we can make prayer a place for meditation and personal growth.

From the earliest centuries there has existed a Christian theology of mysticism, defining the state which Bernard Lonergan called a "being in love with God." St. John of the Cross wrote such a theology for the sixteenth century, calling it "the science of love." Now, William Johnston, one of the great spiritual writers of our time, attempts to do the same for the twenty-first century. In Part One of Mystical Theology Johnston surveys Christian mysticism through the centuries. Johnson shows that such a theology today must dialogue with modern science and with Eastern religions. Part Two provides this dialogue, where Johnston engages Einstein's theories as well as Zen Buddhism. In Part Three, it becomes clear how the "science of love" is no longer an esoteric discipline for monks and nuns. In Johnston's writing it becomes accessible to all modern people grappling with problems of sexuality, social justice, world peace, and the protection of the environment. Mystical Theology is indispensable to all those seeking guidance as well as intellectual and historical foundations of the Christian mystical experience today.

William Johnston writes that "the Christian mystic is one who lives in the Christ-mystery and is transformed by it." Making the distinction between Christian mysticism and other mystic experiences, Johnston locates Christian mysticism in the Scriptures—in meditation on the Word of God. "For God who spoke of old interruptedly converses with the Bride of His beloved Son; and the Holy Spirit. . . leads unto all truth those who believe and makes the word of God dwell abundantly in them." The Wounded Stag examines the Old and New Testaments, the Christian mystical tradition, the Eucharist and mystical prayer, and explains how these can lead to the resolution of the conflicts within our hearts. Without inner peace, Johnston offers, we cannot hope for peace in our world. As it discusses the social implications of Christian mysticism, Johnston's book carries this very important message for our world today.

William Johnston writes that "the Christian mystic is one who lives in the Christ-mystery and is transformed by it." Making the distinction between Christian mysticism and other mystic experiences, Johnston locates Christian mysticism in the Scriptures—in meditation on the Word of God. "For God who spoke of old interruptedly converses with the Bride of His beloved Son; and the Holy Spirit. . . leads unto all truth those who believe and makes the word of God dwell abundantly in them." The Wounded Stag examines the Old and New Testaments, the Christian mystical tradition, the Eucharist and mystical prayer, and explains how these can lead to the resolution of the conflicts within our hearts. Without inner peace, Johnston offers, we cannot hope for peace in our world. As it discusses the social implications of Christian mysticism, Johnston's book carries this very important message for our world today.

The Inner Eye of Love offers a contemporary theology of mysticism that locates it at the very center of authentic religious experience. It provides as well a practical guide for meditation even as it maps out the oceanic experience toward which meditation points. Johnston begins with the mystical tradition itself, its roots and origins, its appearance and significance in the Gospels, the letters of Paul, and the early Church. He explains what mysticism is and is not, and how it is inextricably bound up with love. It is at the level of mysticism, he maintains, that the two traditions of East and West can at last understand one another and begin to work together to heal a broken world. The Inner Eye of Love escorts the reader through the stages of the mystical journey, from initial call to final enlightenment. Johnston compares and contrasts the Oriental and Christian experience, continually revealing new points of commonality The much discussed "dark night of the soul" is seen here in a positive way, as an emptying preliminary to the overbrimming of the soul with the knowledge and love of God. Finally, the author considers the often misunderstood relation between mysticism and practical action.

Silent Music breaks down the barriers between science and religion, as well as between religions themselves, in order to extrapolate a comprehensive understanding of the "science of meditation." Johnston explores the concept of meditation from all perspectives in a rich account that runs the gamut from friendship to biofeedback. Understanding all approaches and incorporating them into a united vision, Silent Music reveals as new way of understanding the mystical and our search for wisdom in the modern world. Included is a glossary of terms and an index.

Christian Zen is a ground breaking book for all Christians seeking to deepen and broaden their inner lives. Providing concrete guidelines for a way of Christian meditation that incorporates Eastern insights, it is a helpful book that can open new spiritual vistas and reveal profound, often undreamed-of dimensions of the Christian faith.

Christian Zen is a ground breaking book for all Christians seeking to deepen and broaden their inner lives. Providing concrete guidelines for a way of Christian meditation that incorporates Eastern insights, it is a helpful book that can open new spiritual vistas and reveal profound, often undreamed-of dimensions of the Christian faith.

The Inner Eye of Love offers a contemporary theology of mysticism that locates it at the very center of authentic religious experience. It provides as well a practical guide for meditation even as it maps out the oceanic experience toward which meditation points. Johnston begins with the mystical tradition itself, its roots and origins, its appearance and significance in the Gospels, the letters of Paul, and the early Church. He explains what mysticism is and is not, and how it is inextricably bound up with love. It is at the level of mysticism, he maintains, that the two traditions of East and West can at last understand one another and begin to work together to heal a broken world. The Inner Eye of Love escorts the reader through the stages of the mystical journey, from initial call to final enlightenment. Johnston compares and contrasts the Oriental and Christian experience, continually revealing new points of commonality The much discussed "dark night of the soul" is seen here in a positive way, as an emptying preliminary to the overbrimming of the soul with the knowledge and love of God. Finally, the author considers the often misunderstood relation between mysticism and practical action.

This work seeks to break down the barriers between science and religion, as well as between religions themselves, in order to extrapolate a comprehensive understanding of the science of meditation. It reveals ways of understanding the mystical and our search for wisdom in the modern world.

A presentation of the ways in which committed Christians can integrate wisdom and a solidly Christian outlook. The author draws thoughts from mystics, spiritual writers and Eastern and Western teachers to demonstrate how Christians can benefit from Oriental teaching and experience.

It is surely a significant manifestation of the permanence of the soul's quest for God that the Western world, at a time when human values, principles, and ideals are being questioned and rejected, has turned to an interest in the age-old practice of the East - the quest for inner peace and tranquility as found in the profoundly moving experience of contemplation after the method of Zen Buddhism. In this deeply sympathetic study, the author compares the principles and the practices of Zen with the traditional concepts, aims, and results of Christian mysticism. His object is, first, ecumenical - to explore the bases of Zen and Christian mysticism, so that Buddhist and Christian can communicate; second, to rethink the basic concepts of Catholic mystical theology in the light of the Zen experience; and last, to encourage more people to contemplative prayer.