Wisdom Christianity

Wisdom Christianity

Wisdom Christianity is a movement within Christianity that embraces Vedanta and the teachings of the East. It places importance on experiencing the divine through mysticism, which the originators found somewhat lacking in the traditional way of teaching Christianity in the West.

The premier figure in Wisdom Christianity was Bede Griffiths, who sought to take the mystical elements in Hinduism and Taoism and unify them with Christianity. In doing this he hoped to restore Christianity to what he considered its roots where meditation and direct experience of God was emphasized, as with the Desert Fathers. Proponents consider this spiritual wisdom to be found in the New Testament, but believe that has been de-emphasised throughout much of Christian history.

While never losing sight of the fact that Jesus is the way to salvation, in Wisdom Christianity the idea (from the New Testament) that "the Kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21) is married to the Hindu concept of the atman. By allying Christianity with mysticism, the movement seeks to ground faith in direct experience and wisdom arising from the mystical experience of nonduality and thus allow Christianity to return to being a more inwardly-directed religion.


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