Through complete detachment from earthly things the soul is prepared to receive the fullness of God. "Ris[ing] from everything that is not God, away from himself and all created things" the spiritual man begins his descent into greatness (46). Paradoxically, to reach the highest state of human existence we must descend to the lowest depths of humility and self-denial: "the deeper we sink, the higher we rise, for height and depth are here [in the divinized person] identical" (143-144). This paradoxical pattern of descent/ascent finds its source in the work of Christ (Philippians 2:5-11). It is this pattern that is the basis for Johannes Tauler's (1300-1361) spirituality.

In this essay, I will highlight three themes from Tauler's writings that relate to his spirituality - distortion of external religious practices, detachment from earthly things, and the divinization of the human being.

The Distortion of External Religious Practices

Tauler recognizes that all things, including theological studies and religious practices, can be performed in such a way that their true end is distorted. Religious people can participate in an active exterior life while possessing no real inward desire for God. Put simply, they play the part but do not have a heart for God. They possess "no water springing up from the ground of their souls" - from "within" (64).

Every possible external thing that can help people grow in holiness is also a potential barrier to true spirituality. "Belonging to a religious order does not convey holiness, nor does any cowl or any tonsure, any cloister or any community… Holiness does not consist in exclaiming 'Lord, Lord,' or in reciting a lot of prayers, reading fine books, and impressing the world with my brilliance and eloquence" (160).

Tauler is particularly opposed to "exterior precepts" and "techniques" that lead people away from meeting God "in the deepest ground of the soul" (107). He fears that the mere accomplishment of such techniques may eradicate genuine thirst for God. "What may pass for religion in these people is nothing but a set of methods and practices of their own choice... As long as they have filled their outward observances, they are thoroughly satisfied. The cisterns they have made for themselves suit them fine, and for God they do not thirst" (64).

Tauler reserves some of his harshest criticisms for those who emphasize external techniques over internal reality. "Whoever draws such people away from the higher graces, enforcing exterior practices upon them, prepares a terrible judgment for himself. Trying to force such souls into pious exercises puts more obstacles in their way than did the pagans" (107). An emphasis on externals saps the life out of a spiritual community, leading people away from an authentic interior life through constant activity. "The reason is that we are so fragmented, so scattered all over the lot. We put great emphasis on what appeals to the senses, on our activities and various projects. The number of vigils and psalms and other pious practices occupy us to such an extent that we cannot find the way to our inmost ground" (149).

One of the most dangerous consequences of distorted religion is the creation of a religion that suits and pampers the self - a "self-willed" religion. Because of Original Sin we are prone to seek our own interests in everything - including the things of God. In religion, we often are not seeking God, but our own benefit and welfare (cf. Matthew 16:23; Philippians 2:21). Instead of self-denial, our religious practices and preferences may be a cloak for self-indulgence. "Their self-love is so beautifully cloaked, so splendidly projected, that no one could possibly object. Eventually it makes them seek their own in everything: Personal advantage is what they pursue in their pleasures, their consolations, their comfort, and their honor. So totally are they absorbed in themselves that they even make use of God" (70). We must completely and uncompromisingly give ourselves over to God and God's will in order to escape the snare of self-willed religion. We must seek God for God's sake - not for what God can give but because of whom God is (81).

Detachment from Earthly Things

In order to prepare our souls to receive the Holy Spirit, we must remain detached from all created things. Put simply, "we must turn away and withdraw from all that is not God pure and simple" (80). We must pursue God in the interior life - in the ground of our being. If we did so, "[w]e would find true freedom and the Kingdom of God within. But that is exactly what we fail to do; we look for all things outside ourselves, pursuing this and that, and in this process we finally lose ourselves" (114). The goal of detachment is greater receptivity of God. "The fewer the obstacles, the greater will be the desire" (159).

The most difficult aspect of detachment has to do with battling petty distractions - "superficial concerns, frivolous occupations, and all such trivialities" (56). "These things take little bites out of us, distracting our hearts and stifling true inwardness; they weaken the divine life within the soul to such an extent that in the end grace and love begin to seriously diminish. And so we come to lose the fervor that draws us to God, and both awe and adoration begin to pale" (56). These petty distractions are more deadly than we realize which makes them very dangerous to true spirituality. "Little temptations are far more dangerous than the great ones. Aware of their evil, we are on guard against them, but the petty flaws hardly seem worth our attention. Nevertheless, that which we cannot recognize as bad is far more pernicious than that which we can" (56).

Even the spiritual experience of enjoyment of God can be deceptive and oppressive. Sometimes "when we think we have grasped God, it is only our own enjoyment we have grasped" (71). Tauler offers a test to examine whether this may the case: "If we feel restless and distressed and are troubled as soon as the sweetness begins to fade and diminish, if we are unable to serve God as willingly and as faithfully as before, then we may be sure that it was not really God we served" (71).

It may appear that Tauler's emphasis on detachment would make a person aloof from suffering or uncaring for the needs of the world. Yet this is not the case. Tauler presents a contemplative life that is active and public. The spiritual Christian is good for all people. Divinized people "address themselves to everything God wills to be prayed for... They are noble souls, and the whole of Christendom draws profit from them. To all they give sustenance, to God glory, and to mankind consolation" (90). Unlike other mystics, Tauler does not position the active life as the enemy of the contemplative life. Many mystics use Jesus' rebuke of Martha and subsequent affirmation of Mary in Luke 10:38-42 as the basis for affirming the higher value of the contemplative life over the active life. However, Tauler does not set Mary in opposition to Martha. "When Our Lord reproved Martha, it was not because of her work - it was good and holy - but because she was overly concerned" (155).

Love is the goal of all God's work in our lives - love for God and love for others (170). "Sin remains love's adversary" (171). Through detachment, sin is confronted and reduced while love is generated and enhanced. A heart abounding in holy desire - which is good for the church and the world - can only exist when we practice detachment. "A friend of God must conduct himself differently from a friend of the world, but this should not imply a separation from one's neighbor" (172).

The Divinization of the Human Being

The goal of spiritual formation is complete transformation - unreserved union with God in Christ through the Spirit. This union completely transforms a person. This is the "divinized life... a union of our created spirit with God's uncreated one... a true transformation of the whole being" (141).

Throughout his writings, Tauler often describes the joys of such a state. When one is "granted to share in the divine life... [t]he spirit meets wholly with God and enflames itself in all things, and is drawn into the hot fire of love, which is God in essence and in nature... one finds nothing but divine life... their whole manner of life is divinized... They dwell in God, and God in them" (90).

Tauler compares divinization with drinking directly from the source of a bubbling spring. "Whoever arrives here has discovered what he has been searching for far and wide. His spirit will be led into a hidden desert far beyond his natural faculties. Words cannot describe it, for it is the unfathomable darkness where the divine Goodness reigns above all distinctions... In this wilderness the spirit is raised above itself, above all powers of comprehension and understanding, and the soul now drinks from the very spring, from the true and essential source. How sweet and fresh and pure are the waters at the source, before they have lost their freshness as they flow on into the riverbed" (59).

In divinization a person transcends human limitations through union with the divine. "[T]he soul is led to a blessed state in which it is raised high above itself and all its powers" (60). Divinization takes a human beyond the senses and beyond reason. "What the soul encounters there soars above all the senses. Reason may not touch it, no one may grasp or understand it, it is a true foretaste of eternal life" (60). In divinization the physical limits of human existence are transcended through intimate union with God.

Paradoxically, to reach the highest state of human existence is to also reach the lowest depth of human self-awareness. "Beloved, to have attained this state is truly to have reached the deepest depth of humility... for here we have reached the most perfect knowledge of our own nothingness. Deeper than this we cannot penetrate into the depth of humility, and the deeper we sink, the higher we rise, for height and depth are here identical" (143-144).

To achieve this state is our created purpose and God's greatest desire. God single-mindedly desires to dwell in the human soul. "God desires and needs only one thing in all the world; and that He desires so ardently that He sets His whole heart upon it. It is this: to find the lofty ground with which He had endowed man's spirit empty and prepared so that He may accomplish His eternal work within it" (46).

Having addressed three major themes of Tauler's spirituality, I now reflect on the personal relevance of Tauler's spirituality in my life.

Fighting Distortion

Tauler correctly recognized that all things, including theological studies and religious practices, can be performed in such a way that their true end is distorted. Over the course of eighteen years as a Christian (which includes 11 years in Church Ministry) I have noticed that constant study and Christian ministry can leave me cold, dry, and dead. Just because I study the Bible, read Christian books, engage in Christian practices, and lead a Christian church does not automatically make me spiritual. At first this "disconnect" greatly bothered me. Now I see that this is a temptation for all people involved in Christian ministry. Holy things can be taken for granted. The true purpose of the holy things can be forgotten. When this occurs we are in a desperate situation - for if holy things no longer stir us, what will? It is refreshingly ironic to be warned about the spiritual danger of external religious duties from a medieval Catholic mystic!

Tauler despised theological talk that did not result in spiritual transformation. After profoundly describing the doctrine of the Trinity, Tauler warns: "To experience the working of the Trinity is better than to talk about it... [You] should allow the Holy Trinity to be born in the center of your soul, not by the use of human reason, but in essence and in truth; not in words, but in reality" (104). The Trinity must be personally experienced and not simply rationally explained. The same is true for every other Christian doctrine. Tauler condemns scholars who "spoil everything which should be born in the spirit - be it doctrine or truth of whatever kind - by lowering it to the level of their reasoning powers" (70). Reality is bigger than the mind. Christian truth exists for the purpose of spiritual formation, and not simply for rational debate. I wonder how many times I have "spoiled" Christian truth by "lowering it to the level of my reasoning powers."

Pursuing Divinization

Some evangelicals may be uncomfortable with Tauler's goal of complete divinization - full participation in the life of the Triune God. This is unfortunate, for it undervalues what God has and is accomplishing through God's eternal union with humanity in Christ.

Tauler, like most others who speak of divinization, is well aware that we don't "become God." But he does expect - as I do - to completely share in the fullness of God in an intimate way that is more wondrous than we could ever possibly imagine. Simple legal forensic imputation alone does not hold a candle to this! I don't simply need forgiveness, I need life. I don't simply need an external salvation, I need complete inward transformation.

The goal of spiritual formation is complete transformation - perfect union with God in Christ through the Spirit. No other doctrine inspires me more. I love to consider how God has forever united himself with humanity in the person of Christ through the Spirit and how this union makes possible my complete transformation into Christ's likeness. Because a human being (Jesus) now shares in the fullness of joy, communion, love, and delight within the Trinity, I now - as an adopted son - can share in this same fullness. I taste it rarely now, but it is this rare taste that drives me forward into the future.

I am afraid that Christians have often short-changed the full glory of the Gospel message by neglecting divinization in fear that this topic would prove confusing to some or be abused by others. It is tragic to lose such a great treasure out of fear of men. God calls us to something greater than we can possibly fathom. We should not neglect it out of fear, but wholly embrace the mystery out of love. If we limit our teaching to only topics that cannot be abused, we will end up with nothing to say.

© Richard J. Vincent, 2004