Whereas medieval mysticism (male and female individuals) represented a corpus all by itself and was limited in its impact on subsequent periods, the situation with early modern mysticism proves to be a very different one. The Görlitz cobbler Jakob Böhme (Jacob Boehme) exerted a huge influence both on his contemporaries and posterity, which has continued until today. Many modern theologians and philosophers have responded to Böhme’s intriguing writings, but much of that remains difficult to understand, and this despite its enormous spiritual appeal. Similar to other alternative thinkers, Böhme rejected the official Church (Lutheran) and aimed, like Caspar Schwenkfeld (1489–1561), for a direct relationship between the individual and the Godhead after he had experienced repeated…
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Citation: Classen, Albrecht. "Jacob Boehme". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 May 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=463, accessed 21 November 2024.]
