JACOB BOEHME AND THE SPIRITUAL ROOTS OF PSYCHOTHERAPY: DREAMS, ECSTASY, AND WISDOM. By Glenn J.McCullough. Studies in Theology and Religion, 35. Brill, 2025. Pp. xviii + 308. Hardback, €161.00.
Religious Studies Review December 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1111/rsr.70021 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | MDMA |
| Key points | Argues that Jacob Boehme's mystical theology, rooted in divine duality, human suffering, and spiritual rebirth, introduced key concepts later developed in depth psychology, and that Boehme extends an intellectual lineage from Saint Augustine to C. G. Jung and transpersonal psychology. McCullough contends Boehme both continued and radically transformed Christian ideas about the soul's journey toward divine union, and that his thought remains relevant to modern therapeutic discourse. |
Abstract
McCullough is an assistant professor of practical theology and spiritual care at the University of Toronto. He offers a detailed and engaging study that connects early modern mysticism with the foundations of modern psychotherapy. By positioning the seventeenth-century German philosopher and Christian mystic, Jacob Boehme (1575–1624) within a longer intellectual lineage reaching back to Saint Augustine and forward to C. G. Jung and transpersonal psychology, McCullough describes the relations between theology, metaphysics, and the psychology of the soul. The central argument of the book is that Boehme's original theological approach—rooted in his reflections on divine duality, human suffering, and spiritual rebirth—introduced key concepts in depth psychology. Drawing on Boehme's writings alongside later developments in existential and analytical thought, McCullough reconstructs how mystical experience and self-knowledge became connected with the Western understandings of the psyche. The work situates Boehme not only as a pivotal figure in the Christian mystical tradition but also as one who redefined spiritual introspection in ways similar to contemporary therapeutic perspectives. McCullough's comparison to Saint Augustine is particularly engaging. By tracing Augustine's notions of dream analysis and perception of the soul, as antecedents to Boehme's spiritual psychology, he establishes a coherent scholarly continuity between late antique and early modern ideas. This Augustinian dimension provides essential grounding, showing how Boehme's insights were both a continuation and radical transformation of Christian ideas about the soul's journey toward divine union. What distinguishes McCullough's study is its analytical clarity and the refusal to romanticize mysticism. Rather than reading Boehme through an anachronistic psychological lens, he situates him within a complex historical context, exemplifying his relevance to modern therapeutic discourse. The book stands as a significant contribution to the growing discourse on the intersections of spirituality, mysticism, and psychological healing. It will appeal to scholars of Western esotericism, early modern theology, and the intellectual history of psychology. It offers a compelling argument for Boehme's lasting significance in the evolution of spiritual self-understanding.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on MDMA, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Differences Between the Mechanism of Action of MDMA, MBDB, and the Classic Hallucinogens. Identification of a New Therapeutic Class: Entactogens | 1986 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Background and Chemistry of MDMA | 1986 | Historical analysis | |
| The origin of MDMA (ecstasy) revisited: the true story reconstructed from the original documents* Original documents in Merck's historical archive in Darmstadt, Germany, years 1900–1960 | 2006 | Historical analysis | |
| Distinct neural mechanisms for the prosocial and rewarding properties of MDMA | 2019 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How could MDMA (ecstasy) help anxiety disorders? A neurobiological rationale | 2009 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |