George Matheson And Mysticism A Biographical Study

This book is a study on the life and mystical thought of George Matheson. In the closing decades of the nineteenth century, Matheson was a Church of Scotland minister at Innellan on the west coast of Scotland. Matheson was of Highland descent and blind from the age of eighteen. His spiritual journey included a distressing experience of atheism, the attraction of Hegelian idealism, and through the practice of silence and meditation on Scripture, he wrote of the Eternal through mystical union. Matheson has much to offer those interested in the inner life, not least Christians in the Presbyterian tradition.

This book is a study on the life and mystical thought of George Matheson. In the closing decades of the nineteenth century, Matheson was a Church of Scotland minister at Innellan on the west coast of Scotland. Matheson was of Highland descent and blind from the age of eighteen. His spiritual journey included a distressing experience of atheism, the attraction of Hegelian idealism, and through the practice of silence and meditation on Scripture, he wrote of the Eternal through mystical union. Matheson has much to offer those interested in the inner life, not least Christians in the Presbyterian tradition.

As death comes out of the closet in contemporary society, this book presents the views on heaven and the afterlife of a number of well-known Victorians, and others not so well known, in the belief that they may help us today.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1908 edition. Excerpt: ... assume that negative attitude towards the current method of regarding Divine, truth which was adopted by many of those who came under the influence of Caird's teaching. The Professor himself, it need hardly be said, never wavered in his allegiance to what is truly essential in the Christian religion. Indeed, he was the helper of those who had the power to follow him in his search after eternal truth; and the inspiration of his teaching and character was deeply felt by those who sat under him. But a spirit of negation began to possess not a few of those who at the time were affected by the new outlook upon theology. Matheson never fell under its spell, nor had he as a student become thoroughly imbued with the positive spirit which reconstructed afresh the forms of belief after criticism had done its work with them. He was evidently content for the time being to walk in the old paths, and to light them up with flashes of imagination and poetry. He could not, however, live long in a frail house of this kind; the crash was bound to come, and when it did come his theological tabernacle was a mass of ruins. Ten years before his death, referring to this experience, which could never be forgotten by him, he said: At one time, with a great thrill of horror, I found myself an absolute atheist. After being ordained at Innellan, I believed nothing; neither God nor immortality. I tendered my resignation to the Presbytery, but to their honour they would not accept it, even though a Highland Presbytery. They said I was a young man, and would change. I have changed. I do not think that the matter ever came to so acute a crisis ecclesiastically. There is no evidence that the subject came officially before the court, although he undoubtedly was quite...

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