By Michael Gryboski, Editor Tuesday, September 16, 2025

Notable theologian and author John Piper has warned Christians not to pursue mysticism or believe that one can connect with God in a supernatural realm to gain hidden knowledge.         

In a recent episode of the “Ask Pastor John" podcast, the Desiring God website founder responded to a letter from a listener named Dianne who asked about the Bible teacher's views on mysticism.

“I don’t know if this question has come up before, but what are your thoughts on Christian mysticism and Christian mystics and their interaction with God?” she wrote.

“Did they experience something in their walk with God that we have generally lost today? Is mysticism something that we should pursue to have a closer walk with God?”

Defining mysticism as a “kind of ecstatic or out-of-body connection with supernatural powers in the hopes of gaining some hidden knowledge or experience of ultimate reality that would give power to successful life change,” Piper warned against such practices.

“No, we shouldn’t pursue it. Don’t seek transformation or power through ecstatic or out-of-body connections with supernatural powers. Don’t go that route,” he said.

Piper references 2 Corinthians 12, in which Paul of Tarsus writes that while he knew of a man who “was caught up to paradise” and that he would “boast about a man like that,” yet Paul said he would not "boast about myself, except about my weaknesses.”

Piper explained that Paul “thought it was foolish to boast about mystical experiences as though it were the true sign of an apostle or the key to godliness or Christlikeness.”

“The real power of the Christian life — the peculiarly Christ-given power, Christian power, the real power of an apostle — lies not in mystical experiences, but in trusting Christ to show his power in and through our weaknesses,” Piper continued.

Piper added that while “we should not reject extraordinary experiences if they come,” Christians should not “go after them.”

“We should not seek them as an ordinary way of experiencing the power of Christ,” he concluded. “Rather, we should seek to know Christ so deeply that He Himself becomes the satisfaction of our souls, and the gladness of our hearts, and the contentment of our minds as we walk the Christlike path of sacrificial love.”

Christian mysticism has been a theologically contentious issue in some churches, as some denominations encourage the practice while others view it with concern.

Jared C. Wilson, an author and assistant Professor of pastoral ministry at Midwestern Seminary, wrote in a piece for The Gospel Coalition in 2018 that “there is a good kind of mysticism and a bad kind of mysticism.”

“The right kind of mystical Christian experience exercises the liberty of theological exploration without the heresies of theological entrepreneurialism,” wrote Wilson.

“The truth is, the true Christian life is rightly understood as a mystical experience. But we must take care that our mystical experience is ordered intentionally by true Christianity.”

Regarding the topic of Christian mysticism, the apologetics website Got Questions states that it's “vital to remember that anything a Christian experiences must line up with the truth of the Bible.”

“God is certainly beyond our full comprehension, and there is much that is mysterious about Him. But He has revealed Himself to us. Rather than seek out mystical experiences, we should involve ourselves in the things God has revealed to us,” the site noted.  

“There is mystery, yet the way in which we are called to live is not at all mysterious. Study the Word, seek to honor God, and allow His Holy Spirit to work within you.”