A Sociology of Mystic Practices: Use and Adaptation in the Emergent Church
Ebook
Overview
This book investigates the process of spiritual borrowing between the emergent church (EC) and the Christian mystical tradition. From its inception, the EC has displayed interest in mystic practices, but the exact nature of this interest or how these practices are appropriated and reinterpreted in the EC context has not been researched. My research shows that the emergent church is appropriating Christian mystic practices by investing these practices with their own theological content. The practices themselves are changed to fit in their new context, showing that EC belief shapes EC behavior. My study adds a new case study perspective to the sociological examination of the process of spiritual borrowing, especially through close inspection of how a spiritual practice changes to fit a new theological context. Additionally, my book contributes to the study of the complex relationship between belief and behavior.
“Dann Wigner’s book draws on his exciting research into ECM
groups in the Southwestern USA, focusing on how they engage in
mystical practices derived from long-standing Christian traditions.
Using ethnographic methods, Wigner explores how ECM members embody
and make sense of these practices, furnishing an illuminating
discussion of one of the most intriguing and unpredictable
movements in contemporary Christianity.”
—Mathew Guest, Durham University, UK
“This book is a welcome contribution to the scholarship
on the Emerging Church Movement. It provides compelling snapshots
of how Emerging Christianity is expressed on the ground, exploring
how Emerging Christians engage with mystical traditions. Its
insights about ‘spiritual borrowing’ raise questions for future
research in the field.”
—Gladys Ganiel, Queen’s University Belfast
“The Christian life is best understood as a series of
practices which come from, and form, faith. While the faith does
not change, the shape of the practices does. Dann Wigner has
explored and understands the shape faithful practices are taking in
an ever-changing and emerging church, and for this we must be
grateful.”
—William Brosend, School of Theology, The University of the South,
Sewanee, TN
Product Details
- Title : A Sociology of Mystic Practices: Use and Adaptation in the Emergent Church
- Authors:
- Wigner, Dann
- Guest, Mathew
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications
- Publication Date: 2018
- ISBN: 9781532636882
Dann Wigner is an adjunct professor at Middle Tennessee State
University, Wayland Baptist University, and the University of the
South. He teaches religious studies classes at the university level
and has offered workshops, seminars, and one-on-one direction in
Christian contemplation for several years. He also has an extensive
background in theological librarianship, and he is currently
Instruction and Information Literacy Librarian at the University of
the South. This is his first book.