Landscape with the Prophet Elijah in the Desert, Abraham Bloemart; 1610s

PROTESTANTISM, as far as I know, has not produced a single monk in the desert or hermit in the wilderness who has forsaken everything, all worldly pleasures and human interaction, to contemplate the wonderful and terrifying mysteries of God.

— Comments —

Ed writes:

There have been a few Protestant hermits but since there is no special, defined class of monks in Protestantism, what constitutes a Protestant hermit is more open to interpretation. I think hermit activity within Protestantism is viewed with some suspicion because monkish celibacy (seen as a more virtuous and more disciplined state than Christian marriage), asceticism, and the rest are viewed as an improper orientation to works instead of grace. Mysticism, insofar as it is associated largely with hermits and monks, is also viewed with suspicion because it so often leads to idiosyncratic and unorthodox belief (though much that is idiosyncratic and unorthodox has found roost within Protestantism, of course). On the other hand, many ordinary Protestant believers, particularly of the fundamentalist or Pentecostal varieties, routinely practice fasting and intercessory prayer in a manner that’s probably far closer to the practice of monks than of ordinary Roman Catholic believers (that’s my impression at least; please correct me if I’m wrong).

At any rate, here and here are a couple of accounts of some Protestant hermits.

 Laura writes:

I don’t know anything about the fasting practices of Pentecostalists.

If there is no authority to determine what is orthodox belief, it makes sense that mysticism would be looked upon with suspicion. And if faith is everything, then contemplation is not important. The great mystics are not known for unorthodox beliefs.

Ed writes:

No, the great mystics are not known for orthodox belief. That’s one reason they sometimes become the rock stars of the Christian world, at least to non-Christians. Many years ago I remember reading the poetry of St. John of the Cross and Thomas Traherne with great interest and pleasure while at the same time thinking that Christianity was total bunk. Christian mystics (along with Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist mystics) were often held in high esteem by Theosophists and New Agers. That’s because, plucked out their native contexts, mystics appear to say (and the non-Christian mystics often do say) that God can be known through contemplation/meditation alone. This is a very attractive belief but certainly Christ and the Apostles taught no such thing. Nevertheless, though Protestants may have more suspicion of mystics than Roman Catholics and no similar mystical tradition, they have certainly had their share of influential mystics, starting with Jacob Boehme and Emanuel Swedenborg.

Laura writes:

You are suggesting that St. John of the Cross was a heretic, and that is not true. You offer no support for your statement that “the great mystics are not known for orthodox belief.” The Catholic mystics are known for their devotion to the faith in its entirety. The fact that some people mistake the Christian experience for purely a mystical one is not the fault of the mystics, anymore than the fact that some people mistake the Christian experience for purely a rationalistic one is the fault of the great theologians. As you suggest, the problem is when they are “plucked out of their context.”

Jewel writes:

One of the deepest pleasures I have discovered since I became a Catholic is reading the priceless words of the saints and Desert Fathers of the Catholic and Orthodox faiths. What impoverished and spiritually starving people are so many Protestants because they ignore the nourishing truths of Christian history as the Catholic Church as safeguarded it.

I am beginning to see the discontent and disconnect with Protestantism from many people. I am getting questions from many Protestants about why I converted and what I believe. There is a great spiritual famine. They are looking at how their faith no longer answers the questions they never thought they’d have to ask.

While Rome is sclerotic, corrupt and suffering from the same spiritual gangrenous rot that Protestantism is dying from, people are being called out of Modernism and Protestantism and whether the world realizes it or not, the Church Militant is getting ready for battle. And this is a very good thing.

Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat!

We truly live in interesting and exciting times.

Ed writes:

You said that I suggested “that St. John of the Cross was a heretic, and that is not true.” What I suggested by my own example was that it is easy to read St. John of the Cross and other mystics out of their proper Christian context. This is not the “fault” of the mystic but that’s the way it is. Mystics often speak of the ineffable in highly metaphorical or otherwise tangental language that allows for open-ended interpretations. This can create difficulties even within their proper Christian context, and in the case of St. John of the Cross it did result in early accusations of the illuminist heresy by the Inquisition though he was later vindicated.

The statement “the great mystics are not known for orthodox belief” was yours, not mine. I merely agreed with it. [Laura writes: Actually, I said, great mystics are not known for unorthodox beliefs.]

Your original point was that Protestantism lacked hermits and mystics and this was a strike against it. The point of my post was to attempt a brief explanation of why Protestantism lacked the formal home for hermits and mystics that Catholicism provided and to that extent agree with you. [Laura writes: My original point was that Protestantism lacks monks and hermits who have give up all worldly goods and companionship. You offered one unknown example.] But despite their general rejection of monasticism, Protestantism has produced a number of prominent mystics (the number of hermits is harder to gauge) and to that extent you are wrong.

Jack writes:

While Not a mystic/monk, I was wondering what you make of Charles Spurgeon. What writing! What Sermons!

Laura writes:

I’m sorry, I have never read him.

By the way, I did not mean to suggest that there are not impressive Protestant writers and preachers.

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