John Yungblut: Passing the Mystical Torch

Sample

"The diaphany of the divine at the heart of the universe on fire! There were few passages that the late John Yungblut loved to quote more than this from Teilhard de Chardin's The Divine Milieu. The dichotomy of matter versus spirit is false. Matter's evolution across billions of years is but spirit unfolding. The divine is at the heart of the advancing universe, and aflame!

So sang Teilhard, and after him Yungblut and mystics across Earth who knew that spirit is everywhere. Yungblut sang of the stupendous journey of the universe toward ever-greater complexity and interiority not only with Teilhard but also with depth-psychologist Carl Jung, who wrote of the identical process taking place on the microcosmic scale within the individual human being. Yungblut used the evocative language of Christianity to marry these complementary cosmological and psychological visions. Both, in his mind, were part of one numinous tapestry, and all his writings spread before us the splendor of this tapestry.

Quakers aware of John Yungblut's great outer-inner vision from his books and Pendle Hill pamphlets (aware not only of his gospel of evolutionary Christianity but of the gentling presence and power of his person) will find validation for their deep respect and love for the man in the pages that follow. Readers unaware of this visionary Quaker, of this guide on the mystical journey, have a bright discovery awaiting them.

Sample: Conclusion

Using the imagery of a relay race, Yungblut once wrote, “There is a singular joy in placing the baton securely in the hand of one's successor in the race." (56) Imagine yourself as that solitary individual John Yungblut was so fond of addressing. Imagine that you are listening before a fire to this ardent guide on the mystic's journey who is intent on passing the baton as he tells you of his gospel of evolutionary Christianity. Listen to the strength of his attraction to Jesus whose experience of forgiveness unleashed a torrent of love. Listen to his indebtedness to mentors in his life such as Rufus Jones, Teilhard de Chardin, Carl Jung, Martin Luther King, Jr., Loren Eiseley, Thomas Berry, and Joseph Campbell. Hear the rise in his voice as he calls for a spirituality of the Earth. Catch from him the wonder of being a link in a great chain, part of a great mystical succession in the vanguard of the universe's evolution of consciousness!