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Contemporary Mysticism...

The 20th century has experienced a revival of interest in both Christian and non-Christian mysticism. Early commentators of note were the Austrian Roman Catholic Baron Friedrich von Hügel, the British poet and writer Evelyn Underhill, the American Quaker Rufus Jones, the Anglican prelate William Inge, and the German theologian Rudolf Otto. A prominent non-clerical commentator was the American psychologist and philosopher William James in The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902).

In non-Christian traditions, the leading commentator on Zen Buddhism has been the Japanese Daisetzu Suzuki; on Hinduism, the Indian philosopher Savepalli Radhakrishnan; and on Islam, the British scholar R. A. Nicholson. The latter half of the 20th century has seen an increased interest in Eastern mysticism. The mystical strain in Judaism, which received particular emphasis in the writings of the Cabbalists of the Middle Ages and in the movement of the Hasidim of the 18th century, was again revealed by the modern Austrian philosopher and scholar Martin Buber. Modern mystics of note have been the French social philosopher Simone Weil, the French priest and philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and the American Trappist monk Thomas Merton.


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"Mysticism," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2008

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