Overview

This book is a study on the life and mystical thought of George Matheson. In the closing decades of the nineteenth century, Matheson was a Church of Scotland minister at Innellan on the west coast of Scotland. Matheson was of Highland descent and blind from the age of eighteen. His spiritual journey included a distressing experience of atheism, the attraction of Hegelian idealism, and through the practice of silence and meditation on Scripture, he wrote of the Eternal through mystical union. Matheson has much to offer those interested in the inner life, not least Christians in the Presbyterian tradition.

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9781725298927

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Reviews

This moving and perceptive study of the writings of one of Scotland's spiritual giants locates George Matheson among the classic Christian mystics of the church catholic. It offers an original and timely picture of Presbyterian mysticism as exemplified by the blind seer of Innellan. --Ian Bradley, University of St Andrews, Emeritus In the nineteenth century, George Matheson made a considerable and surprising impact on the spiritual life of Presbyterian Scotland. This challenging study offers fresh insight into the important dynamic of mysticism which powered his work and enhanced his influence and generates creative suggestions for contemporary Christian discipleship. --George Newlands, University of Glasgow, Emeritus In this scholarly and accessible work, Scott McKenna provides an engaging portrait of George Matheson, one of the finest preachers and spiritual writers to emerge in Victorian Scotland. By focusing on key mystical elements of Matheson's work, McKenna captures that blend of humane learning, theological breadth, and spiritual intensity that characterized much of Scottish church life of the period. Matheson belongs to a tradition that can still speak to us. --David Fergusson, University of Cambridge

This moving and perceptive study of the writings of one of Scotland's spiritual giants locates George Matheson among the classic Christian mystics of the church catholic. It offers an original and timely picture of Presbyterian mysticism as exemplified by the blind seer of Innellan. --Ian Bradley, University of St Andrews, Emeritus In the nineteenth century, George Matheson made a considerable and surprising impact on the spiritual life of Presbyterian Scotland. This challenging study offers fresh insight into the important dynamic of mysticism which powered his work and enhanced his influence and generates creative suggestions for contemporary Christian discipleship. --George Newlands, University of Glasgow, Emeritus In this scholarly and accessible work, Scott McKenna provides an engaging portrait of George Matheson, one of the finest preachers and spiritual writers to emerge in Victorian Scotland. By focusing on key mystical elements of Matheson's work, McKenna captures that blend of humane learning, theological breadth, and spiritual intensity that characterized much of Scottish church life of the period. Matheson belongs to a tradition that can still speak to us. --David Fergusson, University of Cambridge

Author Information

Scott S. McKenna is a Church of Scotland minister in Ayr, Scotland. He has written numerous articles, meditations, and prayers for church publications. Scott has written an intellectual biography of the Scottish theologian John Caird (1820-1898) and in 2018 completed his PhD on George Matheson (1840-1906) at the University of St Andrews.

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