Mysticism and Contemporary Life

Bernard McGinn is one of the greatest living historians and interpreters of Christian mysticism. His career spans more than 50 years and he has authored innumerable books, articles, and edited volumes on all dimensions of Christian mysticism. These essays by some of the most significant names in the contemporary field of spirituality seek to honor Prof. McGinn by examining the role of mysticism in contemporary life. These fifteen essays examine the fruit of McGinn's life work to contemplate the ways in which the history of mysticism is relevant to many dimensions of contemporary life. They also address the future of the study of Christian spirituality in general and mysticism in particular by evaluating the place of religious experience and spiritual practice in lives of an increasingly diverse, multi-cultural, and global cultural reality. Taken together these essays paint a picture of the current state of studies in mysticism and spirituality and point to some future trajectories that scholarly research and religious practice should pursue.