“At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, ‘Are you also going to leave?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life.’ ” (John 7:66-68 NLT)
The Christian Mystic. Devoted to the words of life, and challenged of God to be witnesses of that life in a world cursed with death. According to wikipedia, here is a quote from J.K. Rowling, author of Harry Potter. >
“My books are largely about death. They open with the death of Harry’s parents. There is Voldemort’s obsession with conquering death and his quest for immortality at any price, the goal of anyone with magic. I so understand why Voldemort wants to conquer death. We’re all frightened of it.”
I think that was a very honest statement on her part. Based on the world she chose to create in her books, I assume she doesn’t believe the Bible version of the hereafter. Most people, whether they will admit it or not, are probably frightened about death. The question of what is really on the other side, if anything at all? If not for my faith in God’s word, I’d be the same. Probably any sane person would be.
For the Christian Mystic, the Bible has our answers. If our faith is strong, this brings us peace. But Rowlings is a Mystic of another sort. She would probably classify herself as “spiritual”, but just exactly what does that mean? Perhaps it means to suspect there is something on the other side, but not sure of what it is, so it is also feared. If Christian Mystics prove to be right, then Rowlings has made multi millions off of glamorizing what it means to be a magician in Pharaoh’s court battling against the people of God. When the books are opened to give an account of our deeds on earth, she may have a lot to explain.
But Mr. Potter contends against a really evil dude! She has made Harry a symbol of something good! As I said, she has glamorized what God’s word reveals to be evil. Power based on seeking witchcraft, hexes, satanistic rituals, spells, incantations, and so forth. Perhaps she believes it all to be pure fiction, but according to the Bible, it is not. Therefore, if Christian Mystics prove to be right in their faith, people like J.K. Rowlings will have a lot to explain. They believe they are having their good time now, but the Christian Mystic understands this world is cursed, and this is not the time to be having our good time. The flesh is a life built on sand.
Our Lord explains about the true riches of joy, peace, love, helping others, and serving the Father. He has the words of life. A life built on spirit is the only true blessing. There is really nothing in this world we can possess except God. Unless you can keep it forever, you don’t really possess it. Your fancy car, your mansion house, even your very life you will release one day, all of it, gone like dust in the wind. You possess nothing, unless you possess God. This is Christian Mysticism.
I intend to use Harry Potter as my main dark side antagonist to the Christian Mystic simply because of it’s extreme success, setting some major new records in our current culture around the world. If we picture our world as Pharaoh’s court, Harry Potter is definitely Pharaoh’s magician, not God’s Moses. Here’s some stats.
The first novel: “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”, came out on June 26, 1997 and the series has been received with immense popularity and commercial success. The books have a wide adult audience as well as non-adult. So Harry Potter has been with us for two decades already, and a child of eight then, would be twenty-eight now. The Harry Potter generation is coming up to bat!
Wikipedia stats say as of May 2013 the books had sold more than 500 million world wide and is the best selling “book series” in history. Four of the books consecutively set records as the fastest selling books in history. In the U.S. alone, the final installment sold eleven million copies in 24 hours! In 2016 the total value of the Harry Potter franchise was estimated at 25 billion! So if you’re looking for a character to represent a “good wizard”, Harry Potter is the one everyone knows.
But why should this be important to us? Because the Christian, whether mystic or not, should realize we do live in a matrix. I wonder how many wannabe Harry Potters we have coming into power ready to contend with the people of God on every level? To them, the God of the Bible is a monster, a belief system we just spent five episodes proving the opposite of, and thus the Christian Mystic (CM), the devout follower of Christ, finds himself at odds with this world’s version of being “spiritual”. Jesus himself said in this world we would have tribulation. The Bible calls Satan the prince of the power of the air. Be forewarned, in the arena of ideas, beliefs, and faith in this world, we have a real battle on our hands.
But is it all just harmless fun? Perhaps it could be if it were not for the matrix we live in. God’s word says the tongue, (words and beliefs), set on fire the course of nature. It changes and sets on fire the very direction of nature! The CM understands the spiritual and physical effect we all have on this planet. In the end God’s snake eats the others and the child of God ends up in the promised land, but the painful path of getting there is full of tribulation. But don’t bother a J.K. Rowlings with little details like that, she’s busy getting hers now, and she doesn’t believe you anyway. You are the fool for believing such things. (Yet she fears what is on the other side.)
These articles will eventually speak more of what it really means to be a Christian Mystic. They strongly believed in and sought a life “transformation” by the power of God. It’s all really cool stuff. But first, I think it’s important to realize just how much our world is falling in love with a version of Pharaoh’s magicians. Do not be fooled. The Disciples said it: Where else would we go, Lord, for you have the only words of life. We may not understand everything the Bible says, but as a follower of Christ we know the answers are there, and as a Mystic we delight in diligently searching them out. These are true riches we can actually possess! We should not settle to be average in our Christianity. We should seek God, and the understanding of His mysteries with all of our heart, because we delight in Him. This is the truly transformed heart. This is the Christian Mystic, a seeker of things above, more than here on earth.
Path Without End 