“One reason multitudes, including individuals unaffiliated with any religious tradition, continue to pray is, quite simply, that it is hard for them not to. Praying seems almost instinctive. It feels like something we might learn to do even if never guided in the matter. Some form of prayer, it scarcely surprises, appears in all times and places.”
“When Christian faith dominated the West, religious experiences were deciphered within churches, usually by their leaders. Those days of supremacy are over. Secularization, however, has not vanquished the experiences, which continue as ever. Nor has it eliminated spiritual appraisals of them. What it has done is contract the reach of Christian theology, so that many now interpret what happens to them without the aid of church teaching.”
Those are two quotes from Dale Allison’s excellent book, Encountering Mystery: Religious Experience in a Secular Age. Allison is self-described as at the end of his career as a New Testament professor. He has published many books on New Testament themes, particularly the Gospel of John. But now, after decades of scholarly work, he finally got to write the book he wanted to author. This work describes many mystical experiences by people, and Allison’s gathered them along with his own commentary.
Why do so many people pray, whether they are in or out of formal religion?
The phenomenon of people experiencing angels.
What about evil and Satan?
These and other questions are explored in this book, which concludes with Allison’s own engagement with those who might be skeptical of these encounters with mystery.
I spoke with Dale Allison about his career and this new work. You can listen to our conversation below.
Professor Dale Allison, Princeton Theological Seminary, author of many books on the New Testament. Most recent book and topic of our conversation is Encountering Mystery: Religious Experience in a Secular Age
He is the Richard J. Dearborn Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary. He earned his MA and PhD from Duke University. His academic research and publications include the historical Jesus, the Gospel of Matthew, Second Temple Judaism, and the history of the interpretation and application of biblical texts. His book, Constructing Jesus, was selected as “Best Book Relating to the New Testament” for 2009–2010 by the Biblical Archaeology Society. His most recent books are The Resurrection of Jesus: Apologetics, Polemic, History and Encountering Mystery: Religious Experience in a Secular Age. He served for several years as the main New Testament editor for de Gruyter’s International Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception and has been on the editorial boards of multiple academic journals. On a more popular level, he has written books on George Harrison, religious experience, and death and what might lie beyond.
James Hazelwood, author, bishop, and spiritual companion, is the author of Weird Wisdom for the Second Half of Life and Everyday Spirituality: Discover a Life of Hope, Peace, and Meaning. His website is www.jameshazelwood.net