“THE CHURCH CANNOT EXIST WITHOUT …” ?

“The Church cannot exist at all without a measure of mysticism, but as soon as mysticism begins to gain ground, it begins to do away with the need for the Church’s ministers and their services.

“In the extreme case, the mystic may dispense with the Scriptures and even the Incarnate Christ himself, and seek to relate directly with the uncreated, absolute godhead. Mysticism appears to make the Church and institutional religion unnecessary and thus a threat to the established Church even when it operates within a total orthodox theology.”  HAROLD BROWN, O.J., “Heresies”, p 285 – 6.