Studying “Theology and Spirituality: Notes on the Mystical Christology of John Donne”

 Anglican Theological Review. Summer 95,Vol. 77 Issue 3: 281-290. AN: 9509270488

Mark McIntosh, in his essay entitled “Theology and Spirituality: Notes on the Mystical Christology of John Donne,” questions the impact of Donne’s role as a preacher on contemporary Christian theology as well as how his image of Jesus widens our view of Christology today. He outlines three basic points for the essay: first, throughout the Middle Ages, spirituality and mystical texts were inextricable partners in forming Christian theology, second, since that time, spirituality and theology have become separate entities, and third, current connotations of spirituality and theology as disciples are often uninteresting, weak, and domesticated versions of what were previously regarded as “vibrant, lively, even flamboyant disciplines.” Essentially, McIntosh’s goal is to use early spiritual insights to infuse contemporary theology with the energy and vision necessary to analyze Donne’s theoretical ideas in his works.

McIntosh begins the body of his essay with the assertion that Donne develops three primary classical themes of Christian mystical tradition: “the birth of Christ in the soul, the imitation of Christ, and the spiritual marriage of Christ and the soul.” He employs these themes to explore the implications of the doctrine of salvation and the relationship between Christ and humanity. McIntosh firmly insists that Donne never uses Christ as a visual or learning aid, but rather always treats Jesus as the source of human inspiration. Donne preaches that the Passion is a topic upon which to be meditated, and it has the power to create extraordinary amazement in one’s soul. McIntosh then asks how Christ has such a profound and powerful effect on His people? One possible response is that Christ “reaches out to humankind from the coming divine dominion and pours out proleptically on humanity the consummate benefits of his own glory.” In other words, Christ is glorified in Heaven and shares the profits of His glory down upon His people so that they might become spiritually connected with and inseparable from God.
According to McIntosh, Donne claims that the marriage of Christ and the soul is an everlasting, unbreakable relationship founded on the principles of God’s eternal desire. In addition, all human souls are built with the capacity to experience this love and longs to be fulfilled by this relationship with God. However, humans can only experience said relationship if and when they are able to fully comprehend the birth of Christ in their souls. Similarly, McIntosh states: “The Christian is to love Christ, says Donne, in both the glorious and traumatic moments of Jesus’ journey on earth and in his interior presence to the soul.” This unconditional love helps create a deeper connection between Christ’s journey and one’s own spiritual journey.
The next main point McIntosh explores is how the aforementioned bond between Christ and the human creates a specific image of Christ’s own being and what qualities Christ must embody in order to foster this kind of a relationship. Donne’s Christology, according to his writings and sermons, argues that God impacts the human soul through the journey of his son, Jesus Christ. In other words, the events in Jesus’ life identify a particular yet inclusive human existence that creates a profound and communal interaction between Christ and the believer. In McIntosh’s words, Donne insists that “it is not simply an external process of physical or moral imitation that Donne has in mind, but a complete application of Christ’s existence to the soul.” One means of accomplishing these aims is to experience the “liquefaction” or assumption of the identity of Christ through his bloodshed and tears that makes him accessible to encompass all people with his teachings.
McIntosh next presents several viewpoints on the idea that Christ becomes the focus of human personal reality and is exceptionally accessible to human comprehension of sacrifice and struggle. Contemporary theology suggests that present-day personal challenges and situations of martyrdom are intrinsically connected to Christ’s journey and therefore, he is the focal point of the ever-widening concept self-giving love. McIntosh concludes his article with a brief discourse on the separation of theology and Christology and presents a counter-argument to his previous assertion that this separation has proved detrimental to both disciplines. McIntosh sums up the essay with a statement about Donne that he never fails to acknowledge the vivacity of human activity and personal involvement with the comprehension and connection with the events of Jesus’ life.
McIntosh’s article aims to analyze Donne’s Christology as found in his religious works and form conclusions on its implications on contemporary Christian theology. The essay succeeds in showing Donne’s passion for preaching and encouraging religious growth in his readers’/listeners’ souls, and uses specific examples to illustrate his beliefs in regards to Christology. McIntosh appeals to the modern-day Christian’s commonly-held beliefs about Christianity and the relationship with Christ and attempts to prove that Donne’s teachings have strongly influenced these beliefs. While McIntosh provides some solid examples to support his theory, it is a hasty assumption that Donne has had such considerable influence on the ideals of contemporary Christian theology.
McIntosh’s proposed discussion of the separation of spirituality and theology is introduced to be a large part of the article’s discourse, but, it is only addressed for a short paragraph at the end of the essay. McIntosh fails to adequately develop his conclusions about this separation and leaves the reader wondering what the mention of this topic has to do with the rest of the article. It is interesting, however to compare this essay to others referring to the religious beliefs of John Donne, such as Michael Schoenfeldt’s article about the “Poetics of Sacrifice” and Barbara Lewalski’s essay about “Protestant Poetics and the Protestant Paradigm of Salvation.” Both of these pieces present relevant information about Donne’s view of human sacrifice and the relationship of Christ to humanity. In respect to these articles, McIntosh presents a comparatively insightful exploration of Donne’s beliefs about Christian sacrifice and succeeds overall in of his aims as a critic of Donne’s religious teachings.