The mystic is not even aware of the difference
between his own conception of God and traditional religion; he is under
the impression that he is still an orthodox believer, long after he has
broken fresh ground; for he has taken from the traditional doctrine
everything which he can re-animate. The remainder is dead as far as he
is concerned. To accuse him of heresy appears to him as a monstrous
misunderstanding.
Thus mystic and reformer drink from the same well of direct religious
consciousness. But while in the case of the mystic the well is
fathomless, it is much more shallow in the case of the reformer. Certain
of himself, he directs his energy to the conversion and reformation of
the world. He resembles in some respects the public orator and
agitator; he has a grasp of social conditions, strives to influence his
surroundings by word and deed, and is ready to sacrifice his life to his
convictions. The mystic remains solitary and misunderstood. Luther, who
was to some extent influenced by German mysticism, fought, at his best,
against the dogma of historical salvation.
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