A World Transfigured

In A World Transfigured: The Mystical Journey, Philip Sheldrake demonstrates the importance of the mystical dimension of religious belief and practice. Using the words of the great theologian, Karl Rahner, Sheldrake makes the case that the Christian of the future will be either a mystic or nothing at all. In our contemporary world, this judgment applies equally to other religions as well.

After chapters on the meaning of “mysticism” and the connection between mysticism and beliefs, Sheldrake describes important dimensions of mystical writings, illustrated by a range of examples. These are “Love and Desire,” “Knowing and Unknowing,” “Wonder and Beauty,” “Mysticism and Everyday Practice,” and “The Mystic as Radical Prophet.” Finally, the book briefly explores why mysticism fascinates so many people in our modern times.

Philip Sheldrake is professor and director of the Institute for the Study of Contemporary Spirituality at Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio, Texas. He is also senior research associate of the Von Hügel Institute, St Edmund’s College, University of Cambridge, and senior research fellow in the Cambridge Theological Federation (Westcott House). Sheldrake trained in history and theology and was awarded the DD (Higher Doctorate) in 2015 by the University of Oxford. He has taught and written extensively on Christian spirituality, is author or editor of eighteen books, and is past president of the international Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality.