It has also influenced the understanding of mysticism as a distinctive experience which supplies knowledge. William James popularized the use of the term 'religious experience' in his 1902 book The Varieties of Religious Experience.

new ways of knowing and loving based on states of awareness in which God becomes present in our inner acts. He also argues that we should speak of 'consciousness' of God's presence, rather than of 'experience', since mystical activity is not simply about the sensation of God as an external object, but more broadly about McGinn argues that 'presence' is more accurate than 'union', since not all mystics spoke of union with God, and since many visions and miracles were not necessarily related to union. Hat part, or element, of Christian belief and practice that concerns the preparation for, the consciousness of, and the effect of a direct and transformative presence of God. Life of Francis of Assisi by José Benlliure y Gil Presence īernard McGinn defines Christian mysticism as:

6.4 Renaissance, Reformation and Counter-Reformation.

6 Influential Christian mystics and texts.

Castle clash sacred light