Contrast Between Mystic & Pauline Christians

Thesis: In this essay, we will be examining the differences of Pauline and Mystic
Christians, and the point of this essay is to give a better understanding of
what we may know or believe as human beings.

Introduction:
For some of you that have taken a look at this, and are wondering just what the is a
Pauline, or Mystic Christian—i have prepared definitions for you. Pauline Christianity is a term
used to refer to a branch of Early Christianity associated with the beliefs and doctrines by
Paul the Apostle through his writings. Most of orthodox Christianity relies heavily on these
teachings and considers them to be amplifications and explanations of the teachings of Jesus.
Mystic Christianity is the pursuit of communion with, identity with, or conscious awareness
of the Christian God through direct experience, Intuition, instinct or insight.



The Mystics of Christianity tend to read the bible in more of an esoteric way, or if you like-a spiritual way. It is said that truth is for everyone, but not for everyone, because truth often seems more science-fiction than science fiction. For someone to understand the bible in a deeper sense, a esoteric/spiritual sense takes an elevated consciousness than most. The bible is not always meant to be taken literally, but in a more spiritual way—directing the stories that are written as concepts, meaning the battles, victories of the internal Self materialized...so to the mystic Christians it is beneficial to read the Holy Bible as such.

The tradition of Christian Mysticism is as old as Christianity itself. At least three texts from the New Testament set up themes that recur throughout the recorded thought of the Christian mystics. The first, Galatians 2:20, says that: I am Crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (KJV)

Another important scriptural text for Christian mysticism is l John 3:2: Beloved, now we are the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Pauline Christians read the bible as is, in a literal sense for the most part...as it is taught in the churches. The Holy Bible has a lot of lessons in it, but the way that the lessons are taught gives a lot of credit to external forces such as the devil. Some biblical passages are clearly written as poetry, and Jesus made extensive use of parables; the people and incidents that he described may or may not have been fictional. Some other biblical verses must be interpreted figuratively. For example, when Jesus is reported to have said in John 15:1 "I am the vine, ye are the branches..." Jesus is obviously not a vine, and his followers are obviously not branches. He was speaking metaphorically; However, they believe that most biblical passages, from Genesis to Revelation, should be interpreted literally. The default is a literal interpretation, unless some other method is clearly intended. Thus, as the first part of Genesis explains: God did create the first humans, the other species of life, the earth itself and the rest of the universe in six days. However, there is some wiggle room on the meaning of the word translated as "days." The flood destroyed all of the human race except for 8 individuals: Noah and his family. Noah's descendent's repopulated the earth after the flood, and the very first rainbow really was seen by Noah and his family. God confused the speech of the people at the Tower of Babel and thereby established the major linguistic groups in the world, and so on. It all happened
exactly as the Bible describes.

Opposed to the external force “The Devil,” Christian mystics feel that the reason we get into a bad situation is because of our ego's/devils/negative emotions = 7 Capital Sins, which are: Anger, Pride, Greed, Lust, Jealousy, Envy & Gluttony. Some may have mis-informed you if they have told you that these beings are healthy emotions, which is only a reason to keep feeding them—health does not hurt.

Pauline Christians believe that the devil is an external force that can tempt us to do things that we may or may not want to do. The devil is an angel that fell from heaven once upon a time, because he thought he was more powerful than God, so he was kicked out of heaven, along with a 3rd of the angels.

Mystic Christians embrace all religions as forms of truth, because the mystics can see the books for what they really are, which are stepping stones. We do not curse a baby, a baby has to learn for themselves, be guided by their functions through the help of a exterior force, and when the baby gets older...they tend to go astray to find their own way if not properly raised/risen, but the good thing about The Supreme, or the ALL allows everyone to choose their own way, but eventually everyone makes it back to The Supreme, and Heaven and Hell are only states of Mind.

Pauline Christians do not accept any doctrines as truth other than their own, because their book is the word of God. Some of these type of Christians may wish the other religions well, but very strongly doubt that they will make it to heaven.