Every so often I find a book that reminds me what it is I love about reading, and why I go to all this trouble! Knox is brilliant, articulate, knowledgeable, and penetrating, he is a pleasure to read. I have spent many long hours trying to understand the enthusiastic religious temperament, and Knox, a reasonable Catholic offers a most welcome perspective.
Knox compellingly shows us the two different kinds of religious enthusiasm, which he would like to define as "ultrasupernaturalism."
I would suggest a distinction between "mystical" and "evangelical" enthusiasm. One, taking its point of departure from the Incarnation rather than atonement, by-passes the theology of grace and concentrates on the God within...The other, more acutely conscious of man's fallen state, thinks always in terms of redemption; to know, somehow, that your sins are forgiven, that you are a new creature in God's sight, is all that matters...either tendency can be a signpost to the morass. Your Anabaptist or Ranter may consult the light within him..The mystic's claim is that he adheres to the 'base' or 'apex' of his soul--call it which you will; an inner sanctum, beyond the reach of sense, but apt for communion with the divine...cuts himself in two; half of him is in the clouds, the other half remains on earth, mysteriously divorced from its spiritual partner...on the opposite slope lies the peril of pure antinomianism (Not being subject to morals or a divine law) St. Paul with his Omnia mihi licent (All things are lawful) St. Augustine, with his Ama, et fac quod vis (Love and then what you will, do) Luther with his Pecca Fortiter (Sin without fear)..is it certain that any natural law of morals is binding on a soul which has emancipated itself from the natural, and lives now by a law of grace? (Parenthetical translations are mine--Enthusiasm: 581-582)
This is a pleasure to read. Knox has just described the two sides of Protestantism taken to doctrinal extremes, one illumined by an "inner light" that finds God with-in, and the other illumined by an "inner-light" that can interpret the Bible. Knox takes us through the vexed history of Enthusiasm from Paul's opponents in First Corinthians through John Wesley and modern revivalists. He concludes that all kinds of enthusiasm have their point of departure in a rejection of Authority. I couldn't help but detect a veiled criticism of Protestantism itself, though he also is quick to recognize periods of enthusiasm within Catholicism. Indeed, his primary thesis is that Enthusiasm is "ultra-supernaturalism" on a recurrent theme. Knox rightly calls America the last vestige of Enthusiasm, taking note how similar we are to the Donatists, Montanists, Anabaptists, and so on.
There are so many wonderful quotes in this book, although as a reader I was bogged down in some places dealing with obscure Enthusiasts. Even so, Knox's wisdom and great writing has won me over. I highly recommend this book.
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