When I saw that we had to read Dark Night of the Soul for this class, I was extremely excited. I have always enjoyed the rich tradition and practice of Christian mysticism and St. John of the Cross is part of that tradition. St. John changed what it meant to know God intimately and that can clearly be seen in the opening of Dark Night of the Soul. St. John brought a new definition of knowing God in the deepest part of the heart and knowing Him as much as possible in the soul. Dark Night of the Soul brought life to Christian tradition and countered some of the ideas circulating the church at this time. St. John had such great influence even though he was imprisoned and that led to the Dark Night of the Soul
I commented on Jackson and Clabo's posts.
I am not familiar with Christian mysticism, but hopefully reading this book will remedy that. I agree with you. St. John changed what it meant to be intimate with God. His attention to detail in his descriptions really paints a picture for the reader or listener to put themselves in those positions.
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