Stages of Mystical Development in the Primordial Content of the Gospels and Acts
Empirical Studies of the Arts 1993 DOI: 10.2190/h12x-ywwl-bud9-xvhc (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | The Gospels and Acts of the New Testament |
| Measures | Regressive Imagery Dictionary |
| Citations | 4 |
| Key points | Argues that the narrative accounts of Jesus' ministry and the infancy of Christianity in the Gospels and Acts exhibit a five-stage pattern of primordial content, consistent with Underhill's model of spiritual development, and that sections identified by this pattern correspond thematically to the model's stages. |
Abstract
Computerized content analysis of a narrative text can reveal shifts in the author's state of awareness. The Regressive Imagery Dictionary [1] is a well-validated content-analytic measure of primordial thought, which is a primitive, global, nontemporal mode of consciousness in which logic and disbelief are suspended. In narratives, increased primordial content seems to be associated with altered states of consciousness. Hypothetically, primordial thought is also the form of awareness in mystical experiences. Prior research has shown that certain religious texts, including the King James Bible in its entirety, manifest a five-stage pattern of primordial content consistent with Underhill's model of spiritual development in the prototypical Christian mystic [2]. The present study demonstrates that this pattern also runs through the narrative accounts of Jesus' ministry and the infancy of Christianity given in the Gospels and Acts of the New Testament. Sections of text identified by this pattern correspond thematically to the stages of the Underhill model.